Medicinal plants: a repository of antiviral metabolites

The global disease burden caused by viral infection has persuaded scientists to develop novel and more effective antiviral drugs. Synthetic antiviral drugs contain substances other than viruses, which have the ability to offer defensive or therapeutic effects in favor of virus-infected host. Medicinal plants, on the other hand, have proven to be potent sources of antiviral agents with some major advantages over conventional drug therapy due to their broad therapeutic potency and limited side effects. Medicinal plants synthesize and preserve a variety of biochemical products possessing potential therapeutic index, aiding elimination/inhibition of viruses. This mini-review provides an insight into medicinal plants and their metabolites explaining their potential role as major alternatives in the treatment of viral infections.