MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: USING HERBAL INFORMATICS TO IDENTIFY THE POTENTIAL NUTRACEUTICALS

Introduction: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, neurodegenerative disease, which is characterized by selective demyelination of neurons and chronic inflammation in the Central Nervous System (CNS) white matter. Genetic and environmental factors are the major risk contributors of MS. The factors that mediate the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis include TNFα, CD8+T cells, CCL11, iNOS, etc. Despite advancement in medicine still, there is a high rising number of MS patients, thus there’s a need for an effective drug for its treatment with no side effects. Due to the unavailability of medicine without side effects, there is an urgent need for alternative medicine. Herbals have potent antioxidant; anti-inflammatory, rejuvenating, and immune-modulatory properties with negligible side effects. Due to all these aspects, herbal-based medicines are becoming more popular and are serving as a better alternative to the pre-existing drugs, proving to be efficient in treating MS.

Methods: An in silico approach was utilized for the selection of the herbals for targeting the key factors involved in the pathogenesis of MS. In total, 10 factors and pathways were identified as targets for MS; their % relevance and weightage matrix scores were calculated. The binary matrix analysis of the considered MS factors in herbals was calculated and the herbals with the potential for treating MS were identified.

Results: The binary matrix analysis of the considered MS factors of 50 herbals has revealed that 20 herbals are showing an acceptable score. Weightage matrix and the fuzzy set membership analysis of the selected 20 herbals were performed and a database of 17 herbals was obtained.

Conclusion: In total, we have identified 17 herbals, which have shown remarkable potential for treating Multiple Sclerosis.