Kavita Gulati
University of Delhi, India
Title: Translational research and herbal drug development: An experience with bronchial asthma
Biography
Biography: Kavita Gulati
Abstract
Herbal drugs are emerging as viable alternatives for complex disease states and modern scientific methodology are being adopted to validate the effects of such agents used in the traditional systems of medicine. Translational research in medicine is a two-way street and aims at breaking down barriers between clinical and basic medical sciences to promote rapid transfer of knowledge from bench to bedside and vice versa. In pharmacological sciences and drug development, this concept is being utilized for accelerating the conversion of basic and/or clinical research findings to sustainable health care solutions. Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disorder with steroid dependent pharmacotherapy and the use of herbal agents is being explored in search of viable alternatives. UNIM-352 is a poly-herbal formulation, used in traditional medicine for bronchial asthma, and clinical and experimental studies were conducted to validate their observed effects. In the clinical study, UNIM-352 significantly enhanced the therapeutic effect of standard anti-asthma therapy as assessed lung function tests and symptomatology, as compared to the placebo group, indicating its efficacy as an adjunct therapy. In the experimental study, UNIM-352 demonstrated differential degrees of anti-inflammatory, immune-modulatory, broncho-relaxant, anti-remodeling, and antioxidant effects in rats, by using well established biomarkers for the above pathophysiological states. The results indicate that this poly-herbal agent could be used as an alternative/adjunct in the treatment of bronchial asthma. This study also highlights the importance of a translational approach in herbal drug research which could rationalize drug therapy of complex diseases.