Dengue is one of the highest occurring vector-borne diseases. It is caused by dengue viruses 1-4. Currently, the disease is classified into dengue with or without warning signs and severe dengue based on WHO 2009 dengue classification. As of today, neither specific drugs nor commercial vaccine exist for dengue. The best treatment yet would be support, management and proper medical care. With no pathognomonic features that could differentiate it from other febrile illnesses, clinical diagnosis alone is insufficient. Yet, despite the current advances and existence of various laboratory diagnostic methods of dengue, a consensus singular method has not been established. There are several hypotheses or theories regarding the vaguely understood immunopathogenesis of dengue. Amongst these are the viral factors, host-immune factors and host-genetic factors. In addition to these, the occurrence of asymptomatic dengue has further complicated the disease. However, these individuals provide opportunities in the search for protective factors against dengue.

Dengue disease, a rapidly spreading arthropod-borne viral illness is a major public health problem as its clinical symptoms can vary from mild self-limiting dengue fever to severe dengue. In addition treatment is limited to rehydration therapy as there are no antivirals. Dengue viruses (DENV 1-4) belong to the complex family of closely knitted Flaviviridae and are transmitted primarily by Aedesa egypti. There are more than 125 dengue endemic countries with global incidences from 200 to 400 million cases per year. Incidences are still on the rise due to various intractable factors mainly climate change, unplanned urbanization, international travel, viral evolution and many areas still exist where dengue is under-reported due to either inadequate provision of diagnostic resources or clinical misdiagnosis as dengue signs can be similar to other acute tropical viral diseases. Recent advances in technology have helped individuals from various platforms such as science, medicine, pharmacy, and policy making bodies to bring the dengue incidences under control in some endemic areas.

The plants of the genus Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae) are distributed in most tropical and subtropical regions of world. This plant has been long used as a traditional medicine to treat problems such as stomach, intestinal infections, kidney and urinary bladder disturbances, diabetes, and hepatitis B. There has been considerable interest in these plants in recent years. This review discusses the antiviral and anticancer aspects of Phyllanthus species. Scientific studies have demonstrated that extracts and purified isolated compounds (flavonoids, lignans, phenols, and terpenes) obtained from these plants possess antiviral effects against herpes simplex (HSV) and dengue virus infections (DENV). These observations are associated with the disruption of essential proteins needed during viral cycle, thus halting the viral replication. In addition, the Phyllanthus species have also been shown to exert inhibitory effects against selected cancers types. In these studies anti-proliferative, anti-metastatic, anti-angiogenic effects and induced apoptosis of human cancers cell lines were observed. These may be explained by the disruption of multiple survival pathways and differential protein expression. CONLCUSION:As a conclusion, tThe Phyllanthus plant possesses multiple medicinal properties, including antiviral and anticancer activities which may potentially be used as a medicinal source for many disease locally.