Abstract Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, high-yielding tree species rich in bioactive compounds, holding significant potential for production and application across various fields. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the development, hotspots, and future trends in its study over the past 25 years, aiming to provide strategic insights for future research and applications. Using bibliometric tools including VOS-viewer, Cite-Space, and Biblio-Metrix R-package, we analyzed publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (2000–2024). The analysis of the 2,704 publications ultimately collected, with 426 from India and 292 from China, indicates that the research has experienced rapid development over the past five years. The extensive participation of various actors has fostered a complex global collaboration network, where countries/regions leverage their unique resources and expertise to create a complementary research landscape. Research on M. oleifera is interdisciplinary. Burst detection, clustering analysis, and thematic evolution analysis revealed that “leaves” and “extraction” will continue to be keywords. Nutritional components, medicinal uses, and water purification have become mature and stable areas. Growth promotion and quality improvement are gradually emerging as core themes. Biofuels and emissions may become new fields of interest. Overall, M. oleifera holds great promise for sustainable agriculture, health food, and environmental remediation.
Wu et al. (2026) studied this question.