Therapeutic Potential of Cardioprotective Fruits: An Ayurvedic Perspective

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Plants have always been exploited for medicinal purposes since time immemorial. Even animals have an instinct to use selective plant parts for cure. Highly evolved and intellectual Homo sapiens have explored and taken the knowledge of the plant kingdom to a new dimension in the field of therapeutics for prevention and cure. Even though therapeutic plants have been extensively studied, humans have not used them appropriately. This is because of advancements in the field of drug development synthetically. Terminally sick candidates have been seen to benefitfrom this development. However, this has led to serious and adverse drug reactions in vital organs. Drugs such as doxorubicin are popularly used in cancer, but there is compelling documented evidence of its cardiotoxicity. Authors from classical Ayurvedic texts have given an exhaustive list of therapeutic plants that counter this toxicity. Exploring the concept of Ayurvedic pharmacology, along with the knowledge of Aushadhi Dravya (AD) as cardioprotective therapeutic plants, especially their fruits, will be the focus of this chapter. Furthermore, a review of their innate properties from an Ayurveda perspective and their inclusion in polyherbal formulation, along with some functional food recipes, will be the objective of this chapter.