Antimicrobial Potency of Some Traditional Medicinal Plants of North-Eastern India: An In-Depth Review

The hilly regions of Northeastern states of India are enriched with many medicinal plants. More than 50% of the total plant species present in this region are flowering plants, and majority of these flowering plants are gymnosperms. Various phytochemicals derived from these plants like terpenoids, tannins, saponins, polyphenols, and flavonoids have therapeutic properties against many human diseases. These phytochemicals need to be studied thoroughly to explore more about their therapeutic effects and develop targeted therapeutic strategies. Antibiotic resistance has posed serious threat to the treatment strategies against infectious diseases, as many microbes are becoming resistant to the existing antibiotics. In this context, the antimicrobial compounds derived from plants, can be an alternative to antibiotics and showing no resistance by the pathogenic microorganisms. Besides, the plants also play crucial role in sustainable agriculture, and nutrient cycling. The present review article discusses in details about the beneficial effects of these plants with their antimicrobial properties, presence of diverse bioactive compounds, and their therapeutic effects. This article provides substantial information on the medicinal plants of the Northeastern region of India, which will help the researchers working in this area to design their research work efficiently with more updated information available. However, more studies are required to make the best use of phytochemicals extracted from the plants, towards the development of targeted therapeutic strategies.