Advances in Ayurvedic medicinal plants and nanocarriers for arthritis treatment and management: A review

Arthritis is one among the most prevalent rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease reported in India. Traditionally, rural communities in India have been using various medicinal plants for many decades to treat arthritis based medical problems. Current medicines like Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are limited due to their side effects. So many patients look for complementary and alternative medicine. The most widely used alternative treatment is herbal therapies. The growing interest in alternative therapy indicates the need for safe and cost-effective drugs. Here, we consider the significance of available databases of medicinal plants and their important constituents like phytochemial compounds for arthritis treatment beyond the commercial use of modern medicines. This review highlights the importance of various medicinal plants like Withania somnifera, Boswellia serrata, Curcuma longa, Piper nigrum, Commiphora mukul, Zingiber officinale, Pongamia pinnata, Betula platyphylla and its therapeutic applications. This review also summarizes the findings on active compounds present in medicinal plants used for treating arthritis, its mode of action on cells and proteins and the role of nanocarriers for delivery of these active phyto compounds into the target site.