Phyto-Derived Therapeutic Analogs for Neurological Disorders with Prevalence Insights into Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Regions of India: A Review

Abstract

The field of neurological disorders is a growing public health issue, and India has shown this trend in a very uneven distribution between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Air pollution, chronic stress, sedentary lifestyles, and the availability of better diagnosis have become the causes of reported increasing incidence of stroke, migraine, dementia, and Parkinson's disease among metropolitan population. In contrast, non-metropolitan regions have to experience more prevalence of epilepsy, neuroinfections, neurotrauma, and neurological impairment secondary to malnutrition due to late diagnosis and limited specialist care. The current pharmacological treatments are mostly symptomatic with common side effects and potential lack of disease-modifying effects. Neurotherapeutics derived from plants provide a potential, less expensive and culturally rooted alternative. Established medicinal species, including Withania somnifera, Bacopa monnier have multi-target effects, which are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and neuromodulatory. Because of their extensive use in treatments, their analogs having similar activities must be found, to extend the spectrum of potential neuroprotective agents and reliance on ecologically endangered species is minimized. Further, this review summarises the metropolitan and non-metropolitan neurological disease incidence in India, where the inducers of neurological disorders might be similar but effects may vary due to availability of diagnosis, treatment and various other environmental and societal conditions. The review points out the therapeutic potential of already known plant compounds and their less-studied structural analogs. Through a combination of phytochemical research and a region-specific medical requirement, plant-based molecules may assist in filling diagnostic gaps and offer more accessible and sustainable treatment for neurological conditions in India.