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Herbal medicinal oils in traditional Persian medicine
source:tandfonline.com 2020-06-05 [Health]
Azadeh Hamedi,Mohammad M. Zarshenas,Maryam Sohrabpour &Arman Zargaran

Abstract

Context: In Iran, conventional production methods of herbal oils are widely used by local practitioners. Administration of oils is rooted in traditional knowledge with a history of more than 3000 years. Scientific evaluation of these historical documents can be valuable for finding new potential use in current medicine.

Objective: The current study (i) compiled an inventory of herbal oils used in ancient and medieval Persia and (ii) compared the preparation methods and therapeutic applications of ancient times to current findings of medicinal properties in the same plant species.

Materials and methods: Information on oils, preparation methods and related clinical administration was obtained from ancient Persian documents and selected manuscripts describing traditional Persian medicine. Moreover, we investigated the efficacy of medicinal plant species used for herbal oils through a search of the PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases.

Results: In Iran, the application of medicinal oils date back to ancient times. In medieval Persian documents, 51 medicinal oils produced from 31 plant species, along with specific preparation methods, were identified. Flowers, fruits and leaves were most often used. Herbal oils have been traditionally administered via oral, topical and nasal routes for gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and neural diseases, respectively. According to current investigations, most of the cited medicinal plant species were used for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.

Conclusions: Medicinal oils are currently available in Iranian medicinal plant markets and are prepared using traditional procedures for desirable clinical outcomes. Other than historical clarification, the present study provides data on clinical applications of the oils that should lead to future opportunities to investigate their potential medicinal use.

Keywords:Ancient timehistory of medicinemedieval periodpersia

Introduction

Oils are one of the most ancient forms of natural herbal medicines (Kasthuri et al., 2010). Since the beginning of civilization, herbal, animal and mineral medicaments have been used to treat illnesses (Rezaeizadeh et al., 2009), however, most remedies in traditional medical systems have focused on medicinal herbs (Gurav et al., 2011). These medicaments have been historically administered either individually or in combinations in the form of pills, powders, extractions, etc. (Kiyohara et al., 2004; Wadud et al., 2007). Medical and pharmaceutical manuscripts authored by medieval Persian practitioners present not only an accumulation of traditional medical systems, but also contain a collection of ingenious studies (Khaleghi Ghadiri & Gorji, 2004) that provide valuable information in the field of medicinal herb formulation. In fact, pioneering medieval practitioners, namely Rhazes (865–925 AD) and Avicenna (980–1037 AD), are credited as the founders of the golden age of Persian medical sciences which occurred from the eighth to seventeenth centuries (West, 2008; Zargaran et al., 2012a). Most current ethnopharmacological knowledge in Iran has been derived from historical manuscripts. An Attār is a traditional Iranian herbalist who dispenses medicinal plants and practices traditional methods. Mostly, being an Attār is a familial position, in which knowledge has been handed-down across many generations and continues to be widely used in the current era (Naghibi et al., 2005; Yesilada, 2005). In this regard, traditional knowledge of natural medicine recorded in historical manuscripts can help to unravel the ethnopharmacological roots of traditional Iranian concepts and herbal classifications.

Historical medical and pharmacological manuscripts describe various pharmaceutical applications of medieval Persian medicine. One of the known forms of application for therapeutic purposes via topical or systemic administration is medicinal oils prepared from numerous medicinal herbs (Avicenna, 1988; Heravi, 1765). The formulation and preparation of herbal oils are known as “Dohn” or the plural term “Adhaan” and described in a series of historical Persian pharmaceutical manuscripts, namely “Qarabadin” (pharmacopeia), which consists of medical texts on drug compounds, formulas and indications (Levey, 1966).

Medicinal oils are largely ignored and rarely investigated in contemporary medical research. However, the application of herbal oils and extracts for medical purposes originated and continues in traditional Chinese, Indian and Egyptian medicine (Shikov et al., 2009). Massage therapy using herbal oils continues to be practiced in several East Asian countries (Mullany et al., 2005). Moreover, aromatherapy with volatile oils has been shown to improve immunological and physiological conditions (Kuriyama et al., 2005).

Several herbal oils are easily prepared and continue to be used as practical therapeutic interventions in Iranian folk medicine. However, no acceptable relevant investigations have been performed on the efficacy, safety or toxicity of such pharmaceutical products. All traditional drugs and therapeutic approaches for using in current medicine should to be evaluated and standardized with current standards of pharmaceutics and medical approaches. To reach this aim, we should first have a clear view on traditional knowledge compared to current concepts. Therefore, the present review investigated common medicinal oils used in traditional Persian medicine (TPM) to derive the preparation methods, dosages and reported therapeutic approaches.