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Moringa oleifera and Its Biochemical Compounds: Potential Multi-targeted Therapeutic Agents Against COVID-19 and Associated Cancer Progression

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Abstract

The Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global concern, with updated pharmacological therapeutic strategies needed. Cancer patients have been found to be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 and death, and COVID-19 can also lead to cancer progression. Traditional medicinal plants have long been used as anti-infection and anti-inflammatory agents, and Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) is one such plant containing natural products such as kaempferol, quercetin, and hesperetin, which can reduce inflammatory responses and complications associated with viral infections and multiple cancers. This review article explores the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of M. oleifera as an anti-COVID-19 and anti-inflammatory agent, and its potential role in reducing the risk of cancer progression in cancer patients with COVID-19. The article discusses the ability of M. oleifera to modulate NF-κB, MAPK, mTOR, NLRP3 inflammasome, and other inflammatory pathways, as well as the polyphenols and flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol, that contribute to its anti-inflammatory properties. Overall, this review highlights the potential therapeutic benefits of M. oleifera in addressing COVID-19 and associated cancer progression. However, further investigations are necessary to fully understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of M. oleifera and its natural products as anti-inflammatory, anti-COVID-19, and anti-cancer strategies.

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Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Abbreviations

M. oleifera :

Moringa oleifera

NSP:

Non-structural protein

Mpro:

Main protease

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha

IL:

Interleukin

NF-κB:

Nuclear factor kappa B

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

NLRP3:

NOD-like receptors (NLR) family pyrin domain-containing 3

MAPK:

Mitogen-activated protein kinase

PI3K:

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases

mTOR:

Mammalian target of rapamycin

JAK/STAT:

Janus kinas/signal transducer and activator of transcription

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Esfahan, Iran

    Ali Yousefi Rad & Kahin Shahanipour

  2. Department of Molecular and Cell Biochemistry, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Esfahan, Iran

    Ali Asghar Rastegari

  3. Department of Biology, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Esfahan, Iran

    Ramesh Monajemi

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  1. Ali Yousefi Rad
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  2. Ali Asghar Rastegari
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  3. Kahin Shahanipour
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  4. Ramesh Monajemi
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The core of the study came from AYR. All authors wrote the manuscript. AAR supervised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ali Asghar Rastegari.

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Yousefi Rad, A., Rastegari, A.A., Shahanipour, K. et al. Moringa oleifera and Its Biochemical Compounds: Potential Multi-targeted Therapeutic Agents Against COVID-19 and Associated Cancer Progression. Biochem Genet (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-024-10758-w

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