Role of Herbal Medicine in the Management of Urolithiasis— A Review for Future Perspectives

BACKGROUND: Urolithiasis is the most common renal system pathology; it affects the health of a many people. Because urolithiasis leads to severe pain, it influences the patient in many aspects. The management of urolithiasis is essential. Herein, we discuss the limitations of the management of urolithiasis with conventional drugs and the possibilities of using natural or herbal pharmacologically active agents beyond conventional drugs. PURPOSE: The drugs presently used for the treatment of urolithiasis have many adverse side effects; therefore, alternatives are needed. Traditional literature suggests that many herbal or natural medicines can be easily made available for the management of urolithiasis and its consequences. METHOD: The data used for this study were collected from various research /review articles, Internet sources, and text books. Literature regarding epidemiology and pharmacological studies performed by various researchers were taken into consideration in this review. The data from the last few decades, reported in different formats, were analyzed. CONCLUSION: The present review reveals the severity of the progression of the occurrence of urolithiasis worldwide. The epidemiology gave in this review clearly indicates that stress-related factors and dietary complications, the key factors in the development of urolithiasis. are increasing. In this review, we acknowledge the limitations of conventional therapy. Many natural drug options are abundantly available throughout the world and can be useful for the management of urolithiasis. Future Perspectives: The development of a suitable formulation of bioactive components obtained from natural sources is being widely researched. However, traditional remedies that are very helpful in the management of urolithiasis and its related complications require scientific support and appropriate standardization for the assessment of their quality and dosage.