Synergizing Siddha botanicals and medicinal mushrooms in nanoformulations for chronic disease management

Chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), neurodegenerative diseases, and chronic wounds are still major global health challenges, making it necessary to discover new, effective, and safe methods of treatment. Traditional systems of medicine like Siddha and Ayurveda have seen the use of medicinal mushrooms gain renewed interest because they have various biologically active compounds that are endowed with the capabilities of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer. Curcuma longa, Phyllanthus emblica, and Withania somnifera are among the Siddha medicinal plants that, when combined with medicinal mushrooms like Ganoderma lucidum, Cordyceps militaris, Lentinula edodes, Hericium erinaceus, and Trametes versicolor, have shown promising therapeutic effects in treating chronic diseases. Yet, their traditional applications are quite restricted because of their poorly solubilizing, unstable nature, low bioavailability, and low specificity for the target. Nanotechnology can provide means to overcome these restrictions by developing advanced drug delivery systems like nanocarriers and nano delivery systems, which help in delivering the drug at the targeted site with enhanced bioavailability and stability. This mini-review covers recent discoveries in the therapeutic use of Siddha plants and medicinal mushrooms, highlights the role of nanoformulations in enhancing their pharmacological characteristics, and discusses their possibilities in treating the diseases of cancer, diabetes, chronic wound healing, neurodegenerative disorders, and CVD. Besides that, the authors of the review have also brought to light the current challenges and limitations in the field of integrative therapies on a scientific, technological, and clinical level and have identified some ways of research that will lead the way in developing these therapeutic approaches into effective clinical treatments for the management of chronic diseases.