Phyto-therapeutic Approaches in Dermatology: The Role of Medicinal Plants in Psoriasis and Skin Cancer

Dermatological conditions such as psoriasis and skin cancer pose a great burden to the global healthcare and substitutes to these treatments are highly demanded based on their safety and accessibility. The chapter explores the evolving role of medicinal plants and the bioactive phytochemicals in treating psoriasis and cutaneous malignancies with specific reference to mechanistic insights and preclinical and translational research possibilities. Potential therapy targets of phyto-transplantation are psoriasis mediated by dysregulated immune responses, i.e., IL-23/Th17 axis and oxidative stress, and skin cancer, which is mainly mediated by UV-induced DNA damage and inflammatory signaling. These diseases are manifested by the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antiproliferative, and pro-apoptotic effects of most plant-derived compounds such as curcumin, indirubin, EGCG, resveratrol, thymoquinone, glycyrrhizin, proanthocyanidins, allicin and rosmarinic acid. The traditional medical systems like Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Unani provide good ethnomedical leads, which are proving to be true under modern research by the use of molecular, cellular and animal studies. Additional enhancement of the stability and bioavailability of phytochemicals is through employing formulations such as nanoemulsions, liposomes and phytosomes. Despite these prospects, clinical translation has encountered issues of standardization, bioavailability and paucity of quality trials. The author uses this chapter to focus on the promise of integrative dermatology, in which phytotherapy is applied alongside conventional interventions in order to improve patient outcomes and inform the evidence-based application of plant-based interventions to manage psoriasis and skin cancer.