A review on phytochemistry and pharmacology of Moringa oleifera leaves (Moringaceae)

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam (Moringaceae) is a highly valued plant, distributed in many countries of the tropics and subtropics. It is widely used as a nutritive herb and prossesses valuable pharmacological activities. The present article describe ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, nutritives values and pharmacological activities, like anthelminthic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, anti-diabetic etc. of Moringa leaves. Finally, being that the leaves are the most used part of the plant, their contents in terms of bioactive compound and their pharmacological properties are discussed. Many studies conducted on cell lines and animals seem concordant in their support for these properties. However, there are still too few studies on rabbit to recommend Moringa leaves as medication in the prevention or treatment of diseases. Therefore, further studies on rabbit are recommended.