South Asian medicinal plants and chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease remains as one of the serious health issues in South Asia. The paucity of effective pharmacotherapy targeting the management of chronic kidney disease has led to a search for alternative pharmacologic therapies. The traditional knowledge of medicinal plants plays a key role in the discovery of novel nephroprotective agents. This review aims to present the use of such South Asian ethnomedicinal plants that have sufficient therapeutic potency for the management of kidney diseases. Medicinal plants are rich sources of bioactive compounds that have been reported to exert nephroprotective mechanisms, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammation, diuretic, and immunomodulation. Many South Asian medicinal plants have been detailed in traditional medicinal pharmacopoeias for the management of kidney-related diseases. Some have shown promising effects to address nephropathy in animal models and in vitro research. This information can be beneficial in the development of novel pharmaceutical agents targeting the management of kidney diseases and improvement of quality of life for chronic kidney disease patients by fulfilling the requirements for disease management unmet by modern allopathic medicine.