23/04/2021
Unlocking the Power of Nature and its Plants!
According to World Health Organization (WHO), 80 % of the population in developing countries depends on traditional plants for health remedies. Natural products such as herbal plant extracts, plant derived compounds, extracts of specific plant parts (roots, stem, bark, flowers, fruits, and seeds), dietary supplements and nutraceuticals find wide application in treating ailments ranging from common to rare infectious and non-infectious diseases.
Herbal plants, plant preparations and phytoconstituents have proved useful in attenuating infectious conditions and were the only remedies available, till the arrival of antibiotics (many being of plant origin themselves). A variety of phytoconstituents derived from medicinal herbs have been extensively studied for antiviral activity.
Ethno-medicinal literature documents several such herbal plants claiming broad-spectrum antiviral activity. In the light of the advancing technologies, exploration of potential antiviral activity of numerous medicinal plants has acquired a phenomenal pace. A classic example is Quinine, an important drug of plant origin derived from the bark of Cinchona tree with a long history of use. Also, drugs such as aspirin, morphine, and taxol have been developed from molecules, originally isolated from plant sources.
Could herbal plants be the key solution to our health problems?