Anti-dengue effects of medicinal plants: A review

Abstract

Dengue viral infections have shown to infect 390 million individuals annually, causing severe clinical disease in the form of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified dengue as one of the top ten global health threats in year 2019. There is currently no specific drug for treatment of this potentially fatal disease. Although a vaccine was recently licensed to prevent infection, it was found to have poor efficacy against some dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. Therefore, researchers are now seeking herbal treatments for the dengue based on ethno medical usage. This review provides information on herbal plants commonly found in tropical countries which documented for anti-dengue properties by enough scientific experimental details. We hope to encourage more studies on plants described in this review for the development of new therapeutic targets for the management of dengue fever.