Perspectives of Medical Use of Herbal Origin Adaptogens

Abstract

Relevance. Currently, scientists are paying increasing attention to the search and in-depth study of the pharmacological activity of representatives of the adaptogen class. At the same time, special preference is given to substances obtained from medicinal plant raw materials. They are, from the point of view of economic and therapeutic effectiveness, sometimes very profitable. The advantages of medicinal plants are their relatively low toxicity, rare side effects and, accordingly, the possibility of long-term use. In addition, one should not forget about the natural, natural origin of the raw material base, which, even with special cultivation, still requires less material and financial costs than in chemical production. Phytoadaptogens are a unique group of drugs. It is characterized by multifaceted pharmacodynamic effects. Thanks to such properties, wide prospects for their practical application in various fields of medicine open up. But, of course, the key direction of the biological action of phytoadaptogens is their stress-protective and geroprotective activity. Over the last century, the mechanisms of action of adaptogens have been very actively studied. Knowing them opens even wider possibilities for using them. The article analyzes modern scientific publications characterizing the pharmacodynamics of phytoadaptogens. More than 1000 publications have been analyzed, of which the most significant ones have been identified. Special attention is paid to important aspects of the combined use of adaptogens of plant origin with other classes (using the example of antidepressants) in the aspect of drug interaction. So, despite the numerous positive qualities, adaptogens can provoke undesirable phenomena in a certain number of cases. An attempt to reveal the mechanism of action of phytoadaptogens, a description of the organ effects of this class, opens real prospects for non-trivial approaches to the medical use of adaptogens of plant origin.