Mesoporous carbon from Murraya koenigii: A promising anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic agent

Murraya koenigii (curry leaves), a member of the Rutaceae family, is a well-known aromatic plant with culinary and medicinal properties. This study aimed to produce a mesoporous carbon-based material (MCM) from Murraya koenigii ( M. koenigii ) leaves and evaluate its potential as an anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic agent. Leaves contain essential chemical components, including carboxylic alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, metal ions, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Despite the effectiveness of plants as a source of bioactive agents, their leaves are considered solid waste. To manage and utilize this waste effectively, the leaves were processed to produce MCM. The material was characterized using various techniques, and its antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties were assessed in vitro. The results demonstrated that MCM exhibited significant antioxidant activity, inhibited key enzymes involved in diabetes, reduced the expression of inflammatory markers, and displayed cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines while remaining nontoxic to normal cells. These findings suggest that MCM derived from M koenigii leaves is a promising natural remedy for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, and inflammation, offering a sustainable approach to managing these chronic health issues while effectively utilizing agricultural waste. • First inexpensive effort to derive biomedical carbon compounds from curry leaves. • Lowest IC 50 achieved for MCF-7 cells as compared to all other previous research work. • Sharper anticancer, antidiabetic & antiinflammation activity without alcohol.