A recent update on Ayurvedic anti-asthmatic formulations: Highlighting the role of major anti-asthmatic plants

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic heterogeneous airway obstruction disorder defined by a complex cascade of pathophysiological conditions that lead to recurring bronchial hyper-responsiveness and underlying inflammation, lowering the patient’s quality of life. Despite the availability of various synthetic medications for the management of asthma, it has become one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Furthermore, the present allopathic treatment possesses severe long-term negative effects, which make people more attracted to the safer and easily available indigenous traditional and Ayurvedic system of medicine. Ayurveda is regarded as the “Mother of all healing” and “Science of Life,” which treats all the ailments, including asthma, by restoring a balance between three main components of the body- Vata, Pitta, and Dosha. Various clinically effective and less toxic anti-asthmatic Ayurvedic herbal preparations are available for the management of asthma and related complications which act by causing mast cell deactivation, inhibition of Th1, Th2, Th7 response, T-cell suppression, etc., therefore, efforts have been made to compile all the relevant literature related to the ayurvedic anti-asthmatic formulations and scrutinize the efficacy of selected plants present in the majority in those formulations in asthma along with the structure and mode of action of phytoconstituent responsible for designing novel molecules with better efficacy. Research on these selected plants can also have economic significance as various constituents isolated from these plants for their anti-asthmatic effect can further be explored to discover their potential in medicinal, diagnostic and cosmetic field.