Asaaga, Festus A. and Tomude, Emmanuel S. and Rahman, Mujeeb and Shakeer, Irfan and Ghotge, Nitya S. and Burthe, Sarah J. and Schäfer, Stefanie M. and Vanak, Abi Tamim and Purse, Bethan V. and Hoti, Subhash L. (2024) What is the state of the art on traditional medicine interventions for zoonotic diseases in the Indian subcontinent? A scoping review of the peer‑reviewed evidence base. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 24.

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Abstract

Background Traditional medicine (TM) interventions are plausible therapeutic alternatives to conventional medical interventions against emerging and endemic zoonotic diseases, particularly in low-and middle-income countries that may lack resources and infrastructure. Despite the growing popularity in the usage of TM interventions, their clinical safety and effectiveness are still contested within conventional healthcare in many countries. Methods We conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature that synthesises and maps the evidence on TM interventions for the treatment and prevention of zoonoses on the Indian subcontinent. The region, a global hotspot of biodiversity and emerging infections, is characterised by high prevalence of TM use. Based on the scientific literature (mostly case study research, n=l06 studies), our review (1) maps the scope of the literature, (2) synthesises the evidence on the application of TM interventions for zoonoses, and (3) critically reflects on the state of TM and identifies areas for future research focus. Results The evidence synthesis confirmed widespread usage of TM interventions for zoonoses on the subcontinent, with the majority of research reported from India (n=99 studies, 93.4%), followed by Pakistan (n=3 studies, 2.8%), Bangladesh (n=2 studies, 1.9%), and Sri Lanka (n=1, 0.9%). Most of the reviewed studies reported on ethno-medicinal uses of plant species, primarily for treating dengue (n=20 studies), tuberculosis(n=18 studies), Escherichia coli infection (n=16 studies), lymphatic filariasis and cholera (n=9 apiece). However, the evidence on the safety and effectiveness of these reported TM interventions is limited, indicating that these data are rarely collected and/or shared within the peer-reviewed literature. Conclusion This review thus highlights that, whilst TMs are already being used and could offer more widely accessible interventions against emerging and endemic zoonoses and ectoparasites, there is an urgent need for rigorous clinical testing and validation of the safety and effectiveness of these interventions.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Copyright of this article belongs to The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Traditional medicine, Traditional medicine interventions, Zoonotic diseases, Scoping review, Indian subcontinent
Subjects: A ATREE Publications > G Journal Papers
Divisions: SM Sehgal Foundation Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation
Depositing User: Ms Suchithra R
Date Deposited: 25 Nov 2025 11:11
Last Modified: 25 Nov 2025 11:11
URI: http://archives.atree.org/id/eprint/655

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