Inflammation: The Plant Kingdom

The major signs of inflammation are pain, swelling, redness, and heat. The main reason for these signs in the presence of inflammation are (i) Pain is due to chemicals released by the nerve endings, provoking the area to be more sensitive. (ii) Swelling is caused by fluid buildup around the blood vessels of the affected area. (iii) Redness occurs because the capillaries in the affected area are filled with more blood than usual. (iv) Heat is the result of more blood flow in the affected area, that makes it feel warm to the touch.

The use of natural products as medicine has initiated the isolation of active compounds. The first commercial pure natural product introduced for therapeutic use is generally considered to be

“Traditional pharmacologic therapies although widely used must be assessed for a favorable risk-benefit ratio. One such plant that has

While inflammation is often viewed in a negative connotation, inflammation is actually an essential component of the healing process. Inflammation is commonly associated with pain, swelling, and redness; however, these effects are the body’s natural response to injury as blood and white blood cells move into the tissue and stimulate the repair process.2, 29 Therefore it is important to understand that even though certain molecular signals are traditionally identified as pro-inflammatory molecules, they are also critical molecules to support tissue regeneration through stimulation of reparative cells. Only when inflammation persists, as in chronic wounds, can it lead to tissue damage and prevent progression through the healing process. Therefore,

Bodily inflammation can be caused by an injury, such as a bad fall or a car accident. However, it can also have its cause in the foods we eat. If you find that you are suddenly experiencing symptoms like joint pain, body aches, or even skin conditions, check your diet. You may be eating foods that cause inflammation.

Some modern herbal medical practices are also using pharmacognosy to develop their medications, despite many herbalists strong advice to use the plants as a whole. Herbal veterinarian Chris Day claims that, “A natural combination of ingredients of the whole plant tend to act in synergy and to balance each other in nature.”

What is Inflammation? There are two types of inflammation, acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation is a good inflammation, it helps the body heal after the immune cells and nutrients destroy the bacteria and repair the damage tissue. Chronic inflammation is the bad inflammation, it comes when the body is not able to heal itself properly. It is also brought on by our immune system being overstressed or over exposure to the unhealed wound. A lot of foods like white bread, French fries, red meat and margarine are another

 definition- inflammation has been in several ways. but the basic underlying principle of these definitions is that inflammation occurs following the presence if any foreign irritating matter in the body in an attempt to remove or resist this foreign material.

Although there is no record to establish when plants were first used for medicinal purposes, the use of plants as healing agents as well as clays and soils is ancient. Dioscourides, a Greek physician of the Roman army, prescribed extracts of willow bark for joint pain. First, willow bark was confirmed to be effective, and then the natural ester of salicylic acid (salicin) was isolated as the willow’s active ingredient by Johannes Buchner in Germany (Rainsford,1984). It was then derivatized by Rafaela Pirea to yield salicylic acid, and later (1899) by the Bayer company, to yield acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin.

Inflammation is a kind of protective immune response of body towards the hazardous stimulants like pathogens, irritants or even dead cells. The components of this protective immune response include blood vessels, mast cells , tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), tryptase, chemokines, reactive oxygen species (ROS), histamine, bradykinin, prostaglandin and leukotrines, interleukin-1. The inflammatory process is associated with stoppage of harmful stimuli, clearance of damaged tissues and repairing of injury. Inflammation is strictly regulated by the body. The extent of this response determines its positive or negative effect on body. Extremely low level of inflammation can’t stop tissue damage where as chronic inflammation frequently becomes the cause of disease itself.

Inflammation is the localized immune response to tissue damage, injury, or infection. It is characterized by warmth, redness, swelling, pain, and loss of function. There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation usually lasts a few hours to a few days while chronic inflammation lasts weeks or even months. There are a string of diseases and cancers that are possibly linked to inflammation. The inflammation can initially be acute, but if unresolved can lead to chronic inflammation which could ultimately progress to serious diseases, carcinogenesis, or tumorigenesis. Research has been conducted to figure out and understand totally the role of inflammation, inflammatory cells, and inflammatory mediators in certain diseases and cancers.

Inflammation can be the first response of living tissues to injury, infection or irritation (Saima Jalil, 2003) and could appear due to microbial infections, physical factors such as trauma, radiation and temperature, irritant and corrosive chemical substances, as well as tissue necrosis and hypersensitivity reactions. It is the most primitive protective response of the body to noxious stimulation and also a common pathophysiology of many different diseases (Yu, 2012). It is characterized by the following clinical signs of inflammation: redness, heat, swelling, pain and dysfunction of the organs involved (Stankov, 2012). The can also act to lessen the activation threshold of nociceptors so that the stimulation needed to cause activation is

Inflammatory response Diseased organisms trigger the inflammatory response off in the affected tissues. It is a non-specific defence which attacks invading organisms. Blood flow increases and neutrophil cells ingest and destroy organisms. The invading organisms damage the tissues so they release prostaglandins and histamine.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines are those which – among several other negative consequences – promote inflammation and tissue destruction

Modern medicine and healthcare system have categorized herbal medicine as a natural remedy used when people can’t afford to purchase conventional drugs. They are perceived inferior because they cost less but the health benefits are endless. However, there have been various situations and instances that prove that herbal medicine is good for health.