A comprehensive Review of Green Nanotechnology and Nanodelivery of Moringa oleifera Bioactive

Fatima Alrushdi

doi:10.64943/ljacs.2026.010206

Authors

Fatima Alrushdi Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2680-0012

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64943/ljacs.2026.010206

Keywords:

Flavonoids, Nrf2 pathway, nanoencapsulation, silver nanoparticles, oral bioavailability

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. also called the "miracle tree," is one of the most extensively studied multipurpose medicinal plants in pharmacognosy and phytochemistry its leaves, seeds and pods containing flavonoids, phenolic acids, vitamins, carotenoids, glucosinolate, isothiocyanate (ITCs), alkaloids and bioactive peptides with antioxidant-, anti-inflammatory-, antimicrobial- anticancer-, hepatoprotective- and cardioprotective implications. Polyphenol-rich extracts from Moringa plants have recently formed an eco-friendly platform for the green synthesis of metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles. "This uncommon pharmacological opportunity, however, is drastically constrained by physicochemical properties such as poor aqueous solubility, chemical and thermal instability. This review demonstrates that polyphenol redox chemistry operates as a unifying mechanistic thread linking M. oleifera bioactive' contribution to therapeutic actions with those processes involved in biosynthesizing and stabilizing nanoparticles, jointly establishing the plant as both a phytotherapeutic source and green nanotech platform. They act on free-radical scavenging, by activating the NRF2 (Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2)/phase-II antioxidant enzyme axis (SOD, CAT, GPx), by inhibiting NF-κB )Nuclear factor kappa B) mediated inflammatory signalling and through metabolic modulation of enzymes like α-amylase and α-glucosidase at the biochemical level; and in a similar context nanocarriers have improved stability (typical encapsulation efficiencies ~ 70–95%) with controlled-release profiles while green-biosynthesized nanoparticles (roughly 5–50 nm) exhibit antimicrobial, photocatalytic and cytotoxic properties as the same electron-donating polyphenolic hydroxyl groups operate both to trigger defence mechanisms against oxidative stress while driving redox processes responsible for reducing/capping metal ions during synthesis. This review attempts to provide a cohesive overview of Moringa through integration of its phytochemical/pharmacognostic profile, biochemical mechanisms, bioavailability barriers, nanodelivery systems and the principles of green synthesis under one integrative mechanism; such efforts to strengthen the justification for development of nano-promoted Moringa products bioactive into therapeutic applications in biomedicine and antimicrobials and environmental applications.

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