Evolving herbal formulations in management of dengue fever

Dengue is endemic in more than 100 countries and it is estimated that annually above 390 million infections occur globally. During the period between 1996-2015, a massive increase of more than 500 per cent has been recorded in number of dengue cases reported in India. Till date, there are no specific globally accepted treatments for dengue fever in any system of medicine. Dengue does not cause very high mortality if properly handled and is currently being managed by clinicians through various adjuvant and alternative therapeutic options. Various plant based preparations have been used in different parts of India for combating dengue and are simultaneously also being scientifically validated by researchers. However, number of such scientific validation studies on phytomedicines are very less in India. Out of twenty-two plants reported against dengue, only four have been studied scientifically. Azadirachta indica, Carica papaya, Hippophae rhamnoides and Cissampelos pareira extracts were found effective and demonstrated improvement in clinical symptoms and direct inhibitory effect on dengue virus. C. papaya clinical trial showed increase in platelet count and faster recovery. These plants may be explored further as probable candidates for drug discovery against dengue. There is a need to search more such herbal formulations, which are being practiced at local level, document properly and validate them scientifically to confirm efficacy, mechanistic action and safety, before use. The herbal formulations being used by communities are the low hanging fruits which may provide alternative or adjuvant therapy if proper validation, value addition and product development steps are followed. This paper aims to review the recent status of dengue cases, deaths and evolving curative herbal solutions adapted and reported from India to combat the disease.