ABSTRACT
Influenza virus or other viruses continuously pose a threat to the health of human beings and farmed animals resulting in various pandemics. Medicinal plants have been widely used in the treatment of variety of infections. While we are living in a modern era with advanced technologies that enable us to combat various infectious ailments, the overgrowing human population faces the challenge of numerous emerging infectious diseases, which becomes a major concern. Traditional medicine, harnessing the power of bioactive compounds in various herbs and medicinal plants, has demonstrated promising results when compared to modern drug therapy. We are all aware of COVID-19, which remains a significant global concern. Further, following its initial wave, there is typically a second wave accompanied by the seasonal influenza’s spread in the fall. The simultaneous spread of COVID-19 and influenza has increased the workload on public health systems and caused considerable uncertainty among researchers. The presence of the most essential antiviral herbs for cold and flu can be identified using several databases, including PubMed, Science Direct, the ISI web of knowledge, and Google Scholar. The genetic characteristics of these viruses and the inadequacy of present prevention and control methods are still the subject of intense discussion. In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of outbreaks, the polyphenol content of herbal extracts also helps alleviate the symptoms of the disease. Most herbs already contain their own built-in mechanisms for boosting the immune system and reducing inflammation. There is a pressing need to implement vector-based methodologies for antiviral screening, and progress in separation technologies holds great potential for the future of drug development with medicinal plants. This chapter presents an elaborated view of the influenza virus, influenza infections, the reasons for influenza to be considered as a threat, and potentials of some plants and herbs as a strong candidate against influenza.
