Chapter 10 - Synergistic combination of phytotherapeutics for infectious diseases

Abstract

Infectious diseases are spreading at a very fast pace in the world, and around one-fifth of the population is affected every year. Though antibiotics are the first choice of drugs for the treatment of these diseases, but their use is limited because of the rapid increase in development of antibiotic resistance. This becomes a major challenge in the management of infections. New antibiotics that can combat the problem of resistance and provide effective treatment for curing the infectious diseases are the need of the day; however, the number of new antibiotics getting approvals is declining over the years. To overcome these problems, one of the strategies is the use of phytotherapeutics. Owing to their multimode of actions and various properties such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and antiinflammatory, phytocompounds, especially in combinations, offer an alternative over antibiotics. This chapter discusses the activity of phytocompounds, their synergistic behavior, mechanism of action with other drugs, and their nanocarrier-based formulations.