Combating Antimicrobial Resistance through Medicinal Plants: Current Advances and Research Gaps

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a rapidly escalating global health threat driven by antimicrobial misuse, inadequate infection prevention, limited diagnostics and the evolutionary adaptability of microbes. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes AMR as a top global public health and development challenge, estimating that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for millions of deaths in last decades. In parallel with management and the development of new antibiotics, medicinal plants and their bioactive constituents are receiving renewed attention as sources of novel antimicrobials and as “antibiotic adjuvants” that restore the activity of existing drugs. Recent advances include improved characterization of plant secondary metabolites, identification of efflux pump inhibitors and biofilm disruptors, synergistic combinations with antibiotics and the integration of plant-derived compounds into nano formulations to enhance delivery and potency. However, despite extensive in vitro evidence, translation into clinically validated therapies remains limited by challenges in standardization, reproducibility, pharmacokinetics, safety evaluation, regulatory pathways and sustainable sourcing. Present works synthesizes current scientific advances in plant-based strategies against AMR, critically evaluates strengths and limitations of existing evidence and highlights priority research gaps that must be addressed to move from promising laboratory findings to safe, effective and scalable interventions.