Review of the Neuroprotective and Anti-Neuroinflammatory Potential of Bergera koenigii (L.)

Author

Deepika V, Charumathi S, Eniyavan S, Vimalya S


Abstract

 Bergera koenigii (L.), commonly known as curry leaf, is an aromatic medicinal plant belonging to the family Rutaceae and is widely used as a culinary spice and traditional medicinal plant. The plant has attracted increasing scientific interest because of its diverse phytochemical composition and pharmacological properties, particularly antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. Different parts of the plant contain structurally diverse secondary metabolites, including carbazole alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, coumarins and volatile constituents. Among the different plant parts, leaves are the most extensively studied and represent the richest documented source of carbazole alkaloids such as mahanimbine, mahanine, koenimbine, girinimbine, murrayanol and related compounds. Seeds also possess considerable phytochemical diversity, including alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, coumarins, organic acids, lipids and amino acids, whereas stem and stem bark contain several carbazole alkaloids and other secondary metabolites. Flowers remain comparatively underexplored. Recent seed metabolomic profiling identified 102 compounds, demonstrating that phytochemical diversity is not restricted to leaves. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that B. koenigii may have therapeutic relevance in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions. In particular, the leaf-derived carbazole alkaloid mahanimbine has demonstrated antioxidant, cholinergic and anti-neuroinflammatory effects in experimental models. Mahanimbine improved spatial learning and memory and reduced oxidative stress, cyclooxygenase activity and COX-2 expression in aged mice. Other investigations have demonstrated that curry leaf alkaloidal extracts can enhance antioxidant defence and modulate cholinergic transmission. These findings indicate that B. koenigii may provide multi-target neuroprotection through modulation of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and cholinergic dysfunction. However, current evidence is predominantly preclinical, and important gaps remain regarding standardized extracts, compound-specific mechanisms, pharmacokinetics, blood–brain barrier penetration and clinical efficacy. Further systematic investigations are therefore required to establish B. koenigii as a scientifically validated therapeutic candidate for neuroinflammatory disorders.



Keywords

Bergera koenigii; curry leaf; neuroinflammation; neuroprotection; carbazole alkaloids; mahanimbine; oxidative stress; cognitive dysfunction.



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References


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