Spices and Herbs in the Treatment of Neurobiological Disorders

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<div&gt;Spices and herbs have been used for centuries for treating and preventing&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;many ailments. They have been popularised over the commercial and new drugs due to&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;their purported therapeutic efficacy with lesser side effects, easy availability, and costefficiency.</div&gt;<div&gt;Herbal extracts contain mixtures of phytochemicals, mainly secondary&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;metabolites, which include fatty acids, sterols, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides,</div&gt;<div&gt;saponins, tannins, terpenes, and many others. Phytochemicals play a vital role in&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;maintaining chemical balance in the brain and, therefore, can be targeted to treat neural&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;disorders. In recent years, many herbs and spices have gained attention in the treatment&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;of neurological disorders. Although the precise mechanisms of action of herbal&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;medicines have not yet been defined, some of them have been shown to exert antiinflammatory&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;and antioxidant activities. Several herbs and spices have also shown&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;neuroprotective activity, and their extracts have been found to be effective in learning&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;and memory improvement, depression, anxiety, pain, Alzheimer's disease and other&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;neurodegenerative conditions. Based on the investigations on herbal plants and&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;neurological substrates in disease conditions, herbal medicines can be effectively used&lt;/div&gt;<div&gt;in the treatment of various neurological disorders.</div&gt;