Multifaceted Molecular Targets of Anti-Inflammatory Agents from Ayurvedic Plants

The relationship between prolonged inflammation and the occurrence of different fatal diseases like cancer was first identified in the nineteenth century. These observations have been supported by extensive research carried out in the past decades, which have revealed the molecular causes of the majority of chronic diseases and the inflammation they cause. NF-κB, COX-2, 5-LOX, iNOS, PAFR, TNF-α, STAT-3, IL-1β, COX-1, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, MCP-1, MIG, IFN-γ, IL-12p70, and PGE2 are the main molecular mediators of inflammation. These mediators may be targets for molecules or substances with anti-inflammatory properties. This chapter aims to provide a description of significant medicinal plants utilized in the Ayurveda system of medicine, their current applications in treatment, the active chemical constituents they contain, and the inflammatory pathways they have been found to inhibit. It is quite intriguing to note that the extract from an ayurvedic plant contains various anti-inflammatory compounds and that the same compound has multiple molecular targets. This might be the reason why ayurvedic preparations are very potential anti-inflammatory medicines.