Patented herbal formulations and their therapeutic applications

Recently, there is a greater global interest in non synthetic, natural medicines derived from plant sources due to better tolerance and minimum adverse drug reactions as compared to synthetic medicines. Herbal products are also commonly used by the patients with certain chronic medical conditions, including breast cancer, liver disease, human immunodeficiency, asthma and rheumatological disorders. WHO estimates that about three-quarters of the world's population currently uses herbs and other forms of traditional medicines for the treatment of various diseases. The herbs are formulated in different modern dosage forms, such as Tablets, Capsules, Topical cream, Gel, Ointment and even some novel drug delivery forms, like extended release, sustained release, and microencapsules dosage forms. Patenting of herbal formulations has increased over the past few years and scientific evidence of therapeutic activity has been reported by performing various in vitro and in vivo experiments. This manuscript deals with various patented herbal formulations with their therapeutic application against various diseases.