Herbal drugs to combat viruses

Mortality from emergent diseases escalated drastically with the 2019 pandemic of COVID-19. History hails the discovery of antibiotics as the key event that reduced death rate from infectious diseases. The myriads of antibiotics currently available saved the human race from becoming extinct to a large extent. Antibiotic resistance is the negative impact to improper use of antimicrobials. Resistant strains have created several epidemics specifically emanating from hospitals. Newer, stronger, and better antibiotics have replaced the ones to which organisms gained resistance. The genetic mechanism of resistance is now well understood. The cluster of genes, highly conserved through several species have provided the evolutionary advantage to the microbes to overcome antibiotic threats. This is true with bacteria and viruses alike. In case of viral infections, the scenario is entirely different as the effective antiviral agents are relatively newer. Resistance to antiviral agents is also reported widely in literature. Viruses, having the capability to mutate frequently, pose a newer threat to the treatment as many antiviral agents become ineffective. To make the conditions even worse, the emergence of newer viruses have created a new hurdle. Considering these facts, it is evident that conventional antiviral agents alone is sufficient to control viral infections. For this, ancillary help is solicited from other areas like boosting the immunity of the host and natural antiviral agents. Phytochemicals derived from medicinal plants and nutraceuticals provide ample opportunity to this notion and the current evidence available regarding their antiviral activity provides a promising hope.