Microbiome-Mediated Pharmacognosy: A New Paradigm to Drug Discovery

The science of life which is more than 3000 years old – ‘Ayurveda’, is vital for maintaining holistic health by balancing body, mind and soul through personalised and natural preventive care methods. Ayurveda emphases in identifying the root cause of illness rather than just treating the symptoms, for promoting long-term wellness. Ancient, fermented formulations like Asava, Arishta, Takra, and Kanji can convert plant glycosides into aglycones and generate postbiotic molecules which can enhance preservation and drug delivery under alcoholic media. The present article is the amalgamation of classical Ayurvedic knowledge with the modern techniques like Pharmacometagenomics, metabolomics, and functional bioassays, highlighting the importance of microbiome mediated pharmacognosy. There are research gaps in quantity, fermentation, microbiome, mapping, postbiotic molecular characterisation and clinical relation of fermented formulation effects on human gut ecology. However, by bridging the gap between the modern science and the traditional wisdom, a fermentation model can be created, which can be treated as a model system for developing the next generation, therapeutics for enhanced bioavailability, targeted gut modulation, and novel antimicrobial strategies