Biological Properties of Polyherbal Formulations: A Review of their Antimicrobial, Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Toxicological Activities

The use of traditional and folklore systems of medicine has been an important part of healthcare worldwide, and polyherbal formulations, which are combinations of different herbs, are gaining recognition for their medicinal and therapeutic potential. These formulations can be optimized to have stronger therapeutic effects with lower toxicity. The aim of this study was to review research on the antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antioxidant and toxicological properties of polyherbal formulations around the world, with a view to promoting their use and identifying areas where further research is needed. The author analyzed 99 articles published between 2010 and 2022, using scientific search engines such as Elsevier, BioMed Central, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus, to assess the use of polyherbal formulations in different countries. This article enlists some commercial and non-commercial polyherbal formulations all around the world with India leading in the number of publications on polyherbal formulations, followed by Nigeria, and Pakistan. The various pharmacological studies conducted have shown that polyherbal medicines possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and toxicological properties, hence, validating their traditional use. However, further clinical work is required to fully understand the therapeutic potential of polyherbal formulations. The growing interest in the therapeutic use of non-toxic conventional medicinal plants as low-cost alternatives for disease prevention and treatment has made natural products valuable tools for creating new lead compounds and scaffolds. Plants will continue to play a pivotal role in the discovery of drugs for human diseases, and the development of potent cures derived from plants would represent significant progress in the treatment of diseases.