Natural Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Allergy Agents: Herbs and Botanical Ingredients

Abstract

Allergies have known to be an abnormally vigorous immune response in which the immune system fights off an allergen or antigen initiating mast cells to release histamine into the blood. Substances which prevent mast cells from releasing histamine are considered as antiallergic agents. The drugs utilized for the treatment of allergy are mast cell stabilizers, steroids, anti-histamine, leukotriene receptor antagonists, and decongestants. Anti-histamine drugs have side effects such as drowsiness, confusion, constipation, difficulty urinating, blurred vision, etc. The use of medicinal plants for effective and safe management of diseases has recently received much attention. Various herbs are utilized for their antiallergic and anti-histaminic properties. Some of the herbs useful in the management of allergic diseases of the respiratory tract like Piper longum, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Solanum xanthocarpum have been discussed. Ample scientific evidence is available for the anti-histaminic and antiallergic activity of Azadirachta indica, Aloe vera, Tinospora cordifolia, and a number of other such herbs which are safer to use as antiallergic agents have been reported. The review summarizes a wide variety of herbs and botanical ingredients with their common scientific names and distribution for their easy identification and usage as safe antiallergic agents, also discussing their molecular mechanisms involved in combating allergic reactions.