An Evidence-Based Review of Medicinal Plants in the Overall Management of Chronic Fatigue

Abstract

Background: Fatigue is generally a normal response to physical exertion or any stressful situation. Its prevalence rates have reached the level of 1.5-3% among the general population. Due to the unclear etiology, diagnostic ambiguity, and resultant heterogeneousness among the population, there is a lack of a solid treatment regimen for fatigue. As the absolute treatment option is vague, patients are moving towards complementary and alternative medicines. Hence it is mandatory to review the efficiency of complementary and alternative therapies along with herbal medicines. Objective: The purpose of this review is to carry out an evidence-based exploration of the potentiality of medicinal plants in the treatment and management of fatigue. Methods: This evidence-based review was performed by conducting a literature review of the available studies from the PubMed database. Results: The study was based on 23 pre-clinical and clinical studies. It showed that medicinal herbs including Andrographis paniculata, Angelina sinensis, Astralagus membranaceus, Cordyceps sinensis, Panax ginseng, Gymnostemma pentaphyllum, Holy Basil, Lepidium meyenii, Rhodiola rosea, and Withania somnifera that belong to various traditional medicinal systems such as Ayurveda and Chinese Traditional Medicines can be a promising strategy to manage the various forms of fatigue. Conclusion: On the basis of these studies, it was concluded that the medicinal herbs and the phytochemicals within have a possible role in improving the symptoms associated with fatigue which can be further validated to produce targeted therapy for fatigue.