A readily distinguishable and indigenous member of the plant kingdom in the Indian subcontinent is the ‘drumstick tree’, i.e. Moringa oleifera Lam. In addition to India, this drought-tolerant and rapidly evolving tree is currently extensively disseminated across the globe, including subtropical and tropical areas. The plant boasts a high nutritional, nutraceutical and therapeutic profile, mainly attributing to its significant repertoire of the biologically active components in different parts: protein, flavonoids, saponins, phenolic acids, tannin, isothiocyanate, lipids, minerals, vitamins, amongst others. M. oleifera seeds have been shown to elicit a myriad of pharmacological potential and health benefits, including: antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties. Additionally, the seed cakes obtained from post-extraction process are utilized for: coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation purposes, benefiting effluent management and the purification of water, mainly because of their capability in eliminating microbes and organic matter. Despite the extraordinary focus on other parts of the plant, especially the foliage, the beneficial aspects of the seeds have not been sufficiently highlighted. The health benefits of bioactive components in the seeds are promising and demonstrate enough potential to facilitate the development of functional foods. In this review, we present a critical account of the types, characteristics, production and isolation of bioactive components from M. oleifera seeds. Furthermore, we appraise the: pharmacological activities, cosmetic, biodiesel, lubricative, modern farming, nutritive and wastewater treatment applications of these functional ingredients. We infer that there is a need for further human/clinical studies and evaluation, despite their health benefits. Additionally, the safety issues need to be adequately clarified and assessed, in order to establish a conventional therapeutic profile. Graphical Abstract

Fusarium species are commonly found in soil, water, plants, and animals. A variety of secondary metabolites with multiple biological activities have been recently isolated from Fusarium species, making Fusarium fungi a treasure trove of bioactive compounds. This mini-review comprehensively highlights the newly isolated secondary metabolites produced by Fusarium species and their various biological activities reported from 2019 to October 2024. About 276 novel metabolites were revealed from at least 21 Fusarium species in this period. The main metabolites were nitrogen-containing compounds, polyketides, terpenoids, steroids, and phenolics. The Fusarium species mostly belonged to plant endophytic, plant pathogenic, soil-derived, and marine-derived fungi. The metabolites mainly displayed antibacterial, antifungal, phytotoxic, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activities, suggesting their medicinal and agricultural applications. This mini-review aims to increase the diversity of Fusarium metabolites and their biological activities in order to accelerate their development and applications.

Fusarium fungi are prolific producers of a wide array of structurally and functionally diverse secondary metabolites (SMs), ranging from harmful mycotoxins to beneficial phytohormones and medicines. Many of these compounds show significant promise for use as agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and food additives. The biosynthesis of these SMs in Fusarium fungi is strictly regulated by a complex network composed of various regulatory components. This review highlights recent advances in understanding how secondary metabolism in Fusarium fungi is regulated at various levels, particularly through the regulation of environmental factors (e.g., light, temperature, pH, carbon, and nitrogen sources), global and pathway-specific transcriptional factors (e.g., LaeA, LaeB, AreA, Tri6, and ZEB2), epigenetic modifications (e.g., histone acetylation and methylation, DNA and RNA modifications), and signal transduction pathways (e.g., cAMP, TOR, and MAPK pathways). Furthermore, the biological significances and potential applications of some metabolites (e.g., beauvericin, bikaverin, gibberellins, fumonisins, fusaric acid, and trichothecenes) produced by Fusarium fungi were discussed. Biosynthesis regulation on SM production offers a powerful approach to either unlock silent or cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for the discovery of new SMs, to boost the yiled of low-abundance beneficial metabolites, or suppress specific BGCs to eliminate the production of toxic compounds in Fusarium fungi.