Traditional Herbal Drug Approach used in the Treatment of Asthma: A Review

Asthma is a persistent inflammatory disease of the lower respiratory airway where the tracheobronchial smooth muscles of the lungs become tremendously narrow due to various causative agents like virus, allergens, exercise and become extremely responsive which leads to increase in secretions, mucosal oedema and mucus plugging. This results in repeating episodes of dyspnoea, wheezing, chest tightness, breathlessness, and coughing which might limit a person’s ability to work and function depending on the time and intensity of the episode. WHO’s assessment suggests that more than 339 million individuals had Asthma internationally and there were 417,918 deaths because of asthma worldwide in 2016. A review affirms that 1 out of every 10 Asthma patients are from India. Asthma can have various etiologies and types. The treatment involves Anticholinergics, corticosteroids, β2 agonists, Xanthine drugs. These oral administration drugs are effective but come with their own respective side effects to some extent. Since ancient times the mankind has always turned to natural substances to cure various diseases and ailments. In a similar manner, Asthma treatment is also seeing new advances with the use of traditional herbal drugs from various plant sources. They work in various complex mechanisms and have very minimal side effects. This review deals with Mangifera indica and Laurus nobilis as treatment options for Asthma and the mechanism with which they work.