Murraya koenigii (sweet neem)- An Antidiabetic Herb: A Review

By DR.RAJESH MD (Medicine), PGDTC,  Medical Officer, SUMC Himmatganj Allahabad (UP)

Murraya koenigii is a small tree; the tree is an aromatic deciduous one, about five meters in height, 15-40 cm in diameter. It is cultivated mainly in homesteads but to a certain extent on a plantation scale. The leaves are pinnate, with 11-21 leaflets, each leaflet 2–4 cm long and 1–2 cm broad. They are highly aromatic. The flowers are small, white, and fragrant. The small black shiny berries are edible, but their seeds are poisonous.
Curry leaf is found almost throughout India up to an altitude of 1500 mtrs. It is much cultivated for its aromatic leaves.

Scientific classification:

Kingdom:           Plantae

Division:            Angiosperms

Class:                  Eudicots

Order:                 Sapindales

Family:               rutaceae

Genus:                Murraya

Species:              M. Koinigii

Vernacular names

Hindi:                 Kathnim, Mitha neem, Curry patta, Gandhela

Assamese:           Narsinghs, Bisharhari

Bangali:              Baesanga, Kariphulli

Gujarati:             Goranimb, Kadhilimbdo

Kannada:            Karibevu

Malayalam:        Karriveppilei

Marathi:             Karhinimb,Poospala, Gandla, Jhirang

Oriya:                Barsan, Basango

Punjabi:             Curry patta

Sanskrit:            Krishna nimbi

Tamil:               Karivempu

Telugu:             Karepaku

French:             Feuilles de cari

German:           Curryblatter

English:           Curry leaves

Chinese:          Ga lei yihp

Duych:             Kerriebladeren

Spanish:           Hoia

Uses:

The leaves of Murraya koenigii are used as a herb in Unani Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine. Curry leaf has many medicinal properties  as an anti-diabetic, antioxidant,  antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-hypercholesterolemic etc.

It stimulates digestive enzymes and helps break down food more easily. Have a glass of buttermilk mixed with a little hing (asafoetida) with a few curry leaves thrown after meal for good digestion.

The leaves are highly valued as seasoning in southern and west-coast Indian cooking, and Sri Lankan cooking, especially in curries, usually fried along with the chopped onion in the first stage of the preparation. They are also used to make thoran, vada, rasam and kadhi.

Chemical constituents

Recently Syam et al. 2011 reported that girinimbine, a carbazole alkaloid isolated from this plant, inhibited the growth and induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma, HepG2 cells in vitro. It is good source of vitamin A and calcium. They also contain vitamins B, amino acids, alkaloids, iron and other rich minereals.