 Plant-based compounds are increasingly being recognized as potential sources of novel antimicrobial agents due to their diverse chemical structures and mechanisms of action. This review discusses the importance of plants in the context of their medicinal applications and elaborates on their mechanism of antimicrobial action against human pathogens. It also highlights the role of phytochemicals in combating drug-resistant viral strains such as COVID-19, Ebola, and dengue. Finally, the synergistic effects of plant-derived compounds with conventional antibiotics are explored. This article was authored by Raggi Jadamurthy, Swami Jagadish, Siddhya Chandra Nayak and others.