Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Anti Allergy Agents

Medicinal plants are rich in bioactive compounds derived from the secondary metabolism that characterizes these plants. These secondary metabolites showed several in vitro and in vivo pharmacological properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Several studies have focused on anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds. These substances have enormous immunomodulatory anti-inflammatory effects; they can suppress inflammatory factors, potentiate the immune response and regulate the differentiation of immune cells. The mechanistic insights of these molecules are very diverse and include the targeting of immune system receptors, the interference with signaling pathways and deregulation of genes expression. Secondary metabolites activate the expression of several cytokines such as IL-2 and IL-12 to modulate immune response, and decrease the expression of some transcriptional factors such as Nf-KB to suppress inflammatory process.

The reduced prevalence of allergic disorders in patients infected with helminths and in experimental animal models has prompted the concept of helminth therapy (HT). It was the successful outcome of cooperation between parasitologists, immunologists and epidemiologists, based on the host-parasite immune regulatory interactions. This new approach aims at helping allergic patients especially those with unmet medical needs such as treating severe steroid-resistant asthmatic patients. Although HT is successful in regulating the proinflammatory responses in the host, it may predispose to possible risk of side effects of live worm infections. Thus, it would be more practical to isolate and characterize specific helminth-derived products. Epidemiological and experimental studies of HT in allergic diseases were very promising. However, there are some considerations that should be taken in account for further clinical trials. This chapter highlights the interaction between helminth infection and allergic diseases, the current status of HT, its challenges and future perspectives.

The incidence of allergic conditions which include asthma, allergic rhinitis, food allergy, urticaria, atopic eczema anaphylaxis and food allergy, is increasing around the world and these are considered to be some of the important causes for morbidity in paediatric population that may also lead to mortality. The link between genetic and environmental factors influencing the allergic disease development is complex. The strategy to treat allergic diseases includes avoidance of allergen, pharmacotherapy, immunotherapy and patient education. Pharmacotherapy is the basis of treatment options because it helps reduce the symptoms and also improves the quality of life. Medications used to treat allergic diseases include H1 antihistamines, Leukotriene inhibitors, corticosteroids, Th2 cytokine blockers, bronchodilators, decongestants, mast cell stabilizers and anti-IgE drugs. Pharmacological therapy should take into account the safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness, disease co-morbidities and patient satisfaction during management. For sensitized children, exposure to allergens should be avoided to prevent the probability of the onset of diseases. This article provides an overview of drugs and anti-allergic pharmacotherapeutic agents recommended in the paediatric population for allergic conditions based on the available scientific evidences.

The process of drug discovery is a long back episode appearing from the ancient times. The therapeutic applications of plants, mineral were recorded in ancient civilizations like Chinese, Hindus, and European. The development of the new drug from lead/hit molecules is a very expensive event considering money, manpower as well as time. The traditional approach includes the synthesis of compounds in laboratory which is a time-consuming process and their testing in in-vivo biological assays. The in silico approaches are often known as high throughput screening methods (HTS)/ virtual screening mainly applied in the early phases of drug discovery.It helps the researchers to go deep into in silico simulation prior to wet laboratory experiments. The statistics highlighted that there is a shift from 10% to 20% by the pharmaceutical industries in pharmaceutical R&D on computer modeling and simulations. In late 1990s FDA identified that poor pharmacokinetic parameters (ADME/Tox) were one of the major cause of late stage failure of drug candidates for clinical trials. In the past decade, there was a remarkable growth of computational approach in bridging the chemical and biological process in drug discovery pipeline.The advent of the arena of in silico approaches was made possible by the advancement of software and hardware computational ability and afurther increase in precision and accuracy. The incidents of allergic diseases like bronchial asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic dermatitis are increasing. Drugs in this categories act through different targets like inhibitors of histaminic receptors, leukotrienes,thromboxinase-A2 inhibitors, mast cell stabilizer. In this context, the chapter tries to give emphasis on different recent targets for antiallergic agents and abrief overview on in silico methods as well as computational studies carried out for the targets in accelerating the drug discovery for the antiallergic agents for controlling the above-mentioned disease.

Allergic diseases, primarily respiratory, cutaneous, and various food-related allergies, are on the rise. Recently gut, skin, and lung microbiota have been shown to have a potential role in allergic reactions primarily because of their impact on the immune system. At the same time, various factors, including age, food, drugs, and lifestyle, may modulate the microbiota, thus influencing allergy. In this chapter, we discuss the role of the microbiota in the immune system and its subsequent effects on allergic reactions. We also discuss the various possible interventions, including the use of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics as potential anti-allergic agents.