Preface

Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research - Anti Allergy Agents comprises five comprehensive chapters on various treatment strategies for allergic conditions. In chapter 1, Bouyahya and Bakri focus on the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of medicinal plant products. Research on these plants has allowed the discovery of bioactive molecules that have found a major role in the treatment of several diseases. In the second chapter, Dalia S. Ashour discusses helminth therapy (HT) as a new tool for the treatment of allergic diseases. This chapter also highlights the interaction between helminth infections and allergic diseases, the current status of HT, its challenges, and future prospects.

Dias and Dias present an overview of anti-allergic medications in the pediatric population in the next chapter of the book. Allergies in children are due to the interaction between environmental and genetic factors with the immune system. With the discovery of gene involvement and pathogenesis in allergic responses, the introduction of novel medications inhibiting allergic tissue responses should lead to improved treatments.

Roy et al., in chapter 4 discuss researches on different targets for anti-allergic agents. They present a brief overview on in silico methods as well as computational studies carried out on the targets. This can be helpful in accelerating the drug discovery for novel and more potent anti- allergic agents that can be useful for controlling diseases such as bronchial asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic dermatitis.

In the last chapter Banerjee et al discuss the role of the microbiota in the immune system and its subsequent effects on allergic reactions. They also discuss the various possible interventions, including the use of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics as potential anti-allergic agents.

I hope that this volume will be of great interest to the scientific community and it will contribute to the development of more effective therapeutic agents to combat various allergies and pulmonary ailments.

I would like to thank all the authors for their excellent contributions. I am also grateful to the excellent team of Bentham Science Publishers, particularly Mr. Mahmood Alam (Director Publications), Mr. Obaid Sadiq (Incharge Books Department), and Ms. Asma Ahmed (Senior Manager Publications) for their support and hard work.