Moringa genus has 13 species belonging to the monogeneric Moringaceae family. Among these
species, Moringa oleifera (drumstick) is the best known and native to northwest India (grows
wild in the foothills of Himalayas) and also cultivated in other parts of the Indian subcontinent,
tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, North and South America. M. Oleifera is a drought-tolerant,
deciduous-to-evergreen fast-growing medium-sized tree and can be easily propagated by seeds
or stem cuttings. Its multifarious applications in medicine have earned it the epithets ‘Miracle
Tree’ and ‘Mother’s Best Friend’. Recently Prof. Kothari published a review in Journal of Herbal
Medicine (2018) on the ‘Nutritional
and medicinal applications of
Moringa oleifera’ highlighting the
current status and future possibilities.
WHO has also emphasized the need to
promote research on deciphering the
role of bioactive compounds in human
health. Although several studies have
reported the efficacy of the extracts
from different parts of M. Oleifera
against viruses like HIV, HSV, HBV,
EBV, FMDV, and NDV, they are
largely anecdotal due to lack of
empirical evidence. Recently in 2015,
a high-quality reference genome of M.
Oleifera was published, which has now provided a much-needed impetus towards deciphering
the molecular basis of the intricate biochemical pathways involved in the synthesis of bioactive
compounds. The production of the potent bioactive compounds can now potentially be
augmented by employing biotechnological interventions such as CRISPR-mediated genome
editing. Since the beginning of 2020, there has been a global effort towards expediting the
development of the vaccines and/or drugs to combat the menacing pandemic COVID-19. We
strongly feel that there is an urgent need for detailed studies on the mode of action of bioactive
compounds against viruses including COVID-19 by fostering collaborative efforts between AUR
and other institutes in the country and with financial support from DBT and/or DST.
Legend to inset Fig. Morpho-reproductive traits of M. oleifera Lam. (A) Tree growing in a natural habitat, (B) Gum
exudated from the cut portion of stem, (C) Tripinnate leaf, (D) Mature flower buds, (E) Flowering twig, (F) Flower,
(G) Dissected petals and sepals, (H) Stamen and the inset shows the green autofluorescence of the pollen grain
visualized by the fluorescence microscopy, (I) Pistil, (J) Ovary, (K) Longitudinal section of the ovary, (L) Crosssection of the ovary, and (M) Fruits and the inset shows the whitish papery-winged seed