A Comprehensive Review on Synergistic Polyherbal Strategies for Parkinson’s Disease: Advances in Formulation, Standardization, and Artificial Intelligence-integrated Phytopharmaceutical Development

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by dopaminergic neuronal loss, α-synuclein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and chronic neuroinflammation. Despite significant advances in symptomatic management, including levodopa-based pharmacotherapy and device-assisted interventions, no currently approved treatment effectively halts or reverses disease progression. The multifactorial nature of PD underscores the need for multi-target therapeutic strategies capable of modulating interconnected pathogenic pathways. Medicinal plants and polyherbal formulations offer a promising complementary approach
due to their diverse phytochemical profiles and pleiotropic biological activities. Botanicals such as Mucuna pruriens, Withania somnifera, Curcuma longa, Ginkgo biloba, and Bacopa monnieri demonstrate antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, mitochondrial-stabilizing, and neuroprotective properties relevant to PD pathology. However,
challenges related to phytochemical variability, bioavailability limitations, lack of standardization, and insufficient clinical validation hinder translational advancement. This review critically examines the formulation strategies, standardization requirements, preclinical and clinical evaluation models, and regulatory considerations necessary for developing synergistic anti-Parkinsonian herbal therapies. Furthermore, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in accelerating phytopharmaceutical discovery is highlighted, including network pharmacology modeling, phytochemical-target prediction, synergy optimization, quality control analytics, and precision phytotherapy. The integration of computational intelligence with evidence-based herbal medicine represents a transformative paradigm
for developing standardized, safe, and mechanistically validated polyherbal formulations for PD management.