Murraya koenigii, an aromatic tropical and sub-tropical plant belonging to
the Rutaceae family, is valued for its culinary, medicinal, and industrial applications.
Its fresh leaves contain 23.73% alkaloids, 1.24% flavonoids, 8.74% saponins, 4.4%
phenolics, 5.2% tannins, and some volatile oils, while the stem bark and roots yield
carbazole alkaloids and triterpenes with notable medicinal properties. Murraya koenigii
exhibits a broad spectrum of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory,
cytotoxic, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, anthelminthic, and
hepatoprotective effects. Polyherbal mouthwashes with Murraya koenigii, Acacia
nilotica, Psidium guajava, and Eucalyptus hybrid effectively prevent dental issues such
as caries and plaque-induced gingivitis. Additionally, crude extracts from its leaves
provide benefits like lipid-lowering, anti-diabetic, anti-diarrheal, and antihypertensive
properties, and the whole plant is valued for treating bronchial respiratory problems,
reducing cholesterol, and enhancing digestion. The oil of Murraya koenigii leaves has
shown remarkable cholinesterase inhibitory activity, and its derivatives exhibit
significant pharmacological activities, including anticarcinogenic, proapoptotic,
antiangiogenic, and neuroprotective effects, which help alleviate oxidative stress,
neurotoxicity, and cognitive dysfunction. It is evident that Murraya koenigii plant
extract is very promising for the synthesis ofmetallic nanoparticles, with optimized
conditions, including reaction time, pH of the solution, temperature, etc. Despite its
advantages, large-scale nanoparticle production faces challenges related to repeatability
in physio-chemical properties and toxicity, necessitating further research into
optimizing and quantifying essential phytochemical constituents and metallic
precursors, as well as assessing the toxicity of the final products. This chapter covers
the phytochemical analysis of Murraya koenigii, its everyday practical uses for people,
recent research applications, and potential future directions to enhance its accessibility
and benefits for the general public.
Keywords: Culinary applications, Morphological characteristics, Pharmacological properties, Phytochemical composition, Traditional medicine.
