Coalescence of Traditional Medicine Methods and System Biology Approaches Should Occur to Uncover the Molecular Basis of Remedies for Childhood Pneumonia

Abstract

The treatment decisions in children with pneumonia depend on the age, clinical status, and probable etiology of the infectious agent. There are several age-old practices for healing childhood pneumonia. Homeopathic remedies for pneumonia are also known. Several herbs and plant parts have usages in treating pneumonia. From the treasure trove of several dispersed-unsynchronized scientific studies and ethno-knowledge, it emerges that synergistic formulation based on plant and animal ingredients are highly effective in the treatment and prophylaxis of pneumonia among children. These practices have undergone several human trials as it bear centuries-old tradition. Hence, multi-component therapy may provide revived medication(s) to save millions of children dying every year due to pneumonia with the rider that it has to be validated and scientifically scrutinized for multiple perturbations of biological networks, in addition to multiple targets with system biology tools, now available, to establish the basis of multi-component therapy.