Chapter 24 - Phytomedicine: A Potential Alternative Medicine in Controlling Neurological Disorders

Abstract

The ever increasing epidemiological burden of severe life-threatening diseases on human population across the globe has compelled the researchers and clinicians to develop stringent therapeutic strategies against them. The current spate of increased incidence of fatal neurodegenerative disorders too demands effective therapeutic interventions. However, the existing conventional therapies against them are marred by adverse side effects associated with their administration. Their exorbitant prices are another factor that restricts their use. To overcome these shortcomings of synthetic drugs, the age old practice of traditional herbal medicines has gained popularity as the most sought after alternative to conventional drugs. Nature is the most effective source of naturally occurring herbs that are a reservoir of pharmacologically active phytochemicals and phytomedicine. Their easy accessibility, affordability, and most of all their safety and efficacy have immensely contributed toward their success against some of the most severe forms of neurological diseases and reliability among the consumers. Clinically obtained data and laboratory studies strongly point toward their therapeutic efficacy against stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, etc. Their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential is supposed to be responsible for their neuroprotective effects, although their exact action mechanism still needs to be deciphered completely. The present chapter focuses on the impact of various phytochemicals and herbal drugs over the now common fatal neurodegenerative disorders and why they are being employed as the primary health-care option by the clinicians and the suffering population.