Comprehensive review on polyherbal formulations

Abstract

A key element of traditional medical systems like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Traditional Chinese Medicine are polyherbal formulations (PHFs). PHFs combine two or more herbs in an effort to improve therapeutic efficacy, lower toxicity, and target various biochemical pathways in a synergistic manner. The historical context, justification, phytochemical basis, pharmacological activities, formulation science, quality control, toxicity assessment, clinical studies, difficulties, regulatory strategies, and potential future developments of polyherbal formulations are all thoroughly examined in this review. To ensure better comprehension, tables summarising phytoconstituents, commercially available PHFs, analytical techniques, and figure-based diagrams showing synergistic mechanisms and formulation steps are included. Students, researchers, and professionals involved in phytomedicine and herbal pharmaceutics can use this article as a comprehensive academic resource. Advances in analytical chemistry and systems biology, which enable researchers to better understand the complex interactions between plant metabolites, are another factor contributing to the growing scientific interest in polyherbal formulations. The ways in which synergistic networks within PHFs may modulate intricate physiological pathways are starting to become clear thanks to contemporary techniques like metabolomics, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and high-resolution chromatography. In addition to validating conventional therapeutic claims, these tools assist in identifying lead compounds and combinational principles that may guide the development of next-generation herbal drugs.In order to guarantee quality, consistency, and patient safety, harmonised regulatory frameworks, standardised manufacturing procedures, and strong pharmacovigilance systems are all necessary as herbal markets grow internationally. Despite these developments, a number of issues still exist, such as raw material variability, a dearth of large-scale clinical trials, and the difficulty of demonstrating synergy using traditional reductionist models. Interdisciplinary cooperation between botanists, pharmacognosists, clinicians, chemists, and regulatory scientists will be necessary to close these gaps. All things considered, PHFs continue to be an important area of research in both traditional and integrative medicine, providing insightful information about multi-target therapeutic approaches while highlighting the significance of evidence-based standardisation and responsible clinical application