Anti-malarial treatment: Herbal medicine a ray of hope

Abstract

For years, conventional medicines have been broadly used for treatment of malaria. As malaria is a widespread disease, resistance of Plasmodium species towards conventional treatments has driven our attention towards the cons of this therapy. Another factor that has encouraged us to review use of these conventional medicines is their toxicity and after drug adverse effects. A large repository of herbal medicines can be seen as a solution to all these problems. The review is focussed on the current scenario of malaria, its causative agents and its treatment available by conventional medicine. It also illustrates the drawbacks of conventional medicines which have led to emergence of herbal medicines to treat malaria. Recent studies have emphasised on the anti-malarial activity of herbal medicinal plants that are effective against Plasmodium species and have become as a potential alternative malarial drug. However, should be deduction of efficacy and toxicity of herbal anti-malarial agents should be done so that they can be used efficiently to combat malaria.