Insight into Therapeutic Role of Plant-derived Medicines in Thyroid Dysfunction |Biomedgrid

Endocrine disorders are very common in Asia of which the thyroid dysfunction (TD) represents a major subset. The prevalence of TD is rising to an alarming rate. The thyroid gland (TG) is morphologically a butterfly-shaped organ, located anterior to the trachea, just inferior to the larynx and flanked by wing-shaped left and right lobes with the medial region called isthmus. TG produces thyroid hormones (TH), mainly triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). TH action is mediated by multiple TH receptors belonging to a nuclear receptor superfamily that also includes receptors for other small lipophilic hormones. TH receptors function by binding to specific TH-responsive sequences in promoters of target genes and by regulating transcription. Regulation of TH is followed by the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis.