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Potential medicinal plants for CNS disorders: an overview
Author(s) -
Kumar Vikas
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.1970
Subject(s) - traditional medicine , valerian , rivastigmine , kava , medicine , galantamine , ginkgo biloba , medicinal plants , tacrine , pharmacology , dementia , disease , donepezil , biology , biochemistry , pathology , acetylcholinesterase , enzyme
Although very few drugs are currently approved by regulatory authorities for treating multi‐factorial ailments and disorders of cognition such as Alzheimer's disease, certain plant‐derived agents, including, for example, galantamine and rivastigmine (a semi‐synthetic derivative of physostigmine) are finding an application in modern medicine. However, in Ayurveda, the Indian traditional system of medicine which is more than 5000 years old, selected plants have long been classified as ‘medhya rasayanas’, from the Sanskrit words ‘medhya’, meaning intellect or cognition, and ‘rasayana’, meaning ‘rejuvenation’. These plants are used both in herbal and conventional medicine and offer benefits that pharmaceutical drugs lack. In the present article, an attempt has been made to review the most important medicinal plants, including Ginkgo biloba , St John's wort , Kava‐kava , Valerian , Bacopa monniera and Convolvulus pluricaulis , which are widely used for their reputed effectiveness in CNS disorders. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.