Medicinal Plants against Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Ischemic stroke is one of the major causes of deaths around the world. Prominent changes, including emotional, cognitive, and behavioral, in the Central Nervous System (CNS) are observable during the recovery phase of a stroke. Brain ischemia affects a large portion of patients across the world with permanent disability or death. During the ischemic stroke onset, apart from inducing brain damage, existing microglial cells, immune cells, inflammatory factors such as chemokines and cytokines affect the process of brain repair. For the reduction of this damage, there is a need to understand the basic mechanisms involved in ischemic stroke and how to repair it with the help of efficient therapeutic strategies. At present, anti-inflammatory therapeutic measures are the most potent alternatives for its prevention. Due to the existence of various drawbacks in this therapy, newer remedial measures are required to overcome this situation. The most economically efficient treatment option, with lesser side effects, is the utilization of medicinal plants. Worldwide, plants are utilized for the treatment of various diseases such as bacterial infections, skin disorders, cancer, asthma, respiratory problems, etc. Various medicinal plants have been administered over a long period, and they have been proven to cure ischemic strokes. Therefore, in this review, an overview of various plants and their phytocompounds, which are responsible for the treatment of ischemic stroke, has been discussed.

Keywords: Ischemic stroke; brain; medicinal plants; pathophysiology; response; treatment..