A review of the efficacy of traditional Iranian medicine for inflammatory bowel disease
Open Access
- 1 January 2010
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. in World Journal of Gastroenterology
- Vol. 16 (36), 4504-14
- https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v16.i36.4504
Abstract
The etiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not yet known, but many factors such as defects in the immune system, oxidative stress, microbial content in the gastrointestinal tract, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, nitric oxide (NO), cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2), and leukotriene B4 (LB4) are thought to play a role in its pathogenesis. In traditional Iranian medicine (TIM), several medicinal plants are thought to be effective for the treatment of IBD. In this study, information on all of these remedies were derived from all available old sources such as documents or notes and books and were added to the information derived from modern medical databases covering all in vitro, in vivo and clinical trials. For some of these plants, only one or two mechanisms of action have been found such as in Cassia fistula, Lepidium sativum, and Bunium persicum. However, for some plants various mechanisms of action are known. For example, Commiphora mukul is effective in IBD due to its immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties and it decreases NF-κB, NO and Cox-2. Another herb, Plantago ovata, has immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and wound healing activities and decreases NO and LB4. Considering the mechanisms of action of these plants, the combination of some of them may be useful because of their many mechanisms of action such as Pistacia lentiscus, Bunium persicum, Solanum nigrum, Plantago ovata, Boswellia, Solanum nigrum, Plantago ovata and Commiphora mukul. For some of the herbal products used in TIM such as oleogum resin from Commiphora myrrha, seeds of Ocimum basilicum, seeds of Linum usitatissimum, gum resin of Dracaena cinnabari, seeds of Plantago major, seeds of Lallementia royleana, and seeds of Allium porrum, there is no or not enough studies to confirm their benefits in IBD. It is suggested that an evaluation of the effects of these plants on different aspects of IBD should be performed.Keywords
This publication has 82 references indexed in Scilit:
- Antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of selected medicinal plants from YemenJournal of Ethnopharmacology, 2007
- Antimicrobial Activity of Tunisian Quince (Cydonia oblonga Miller) Pulp and Peel Polyphenolic ExtractsJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2007
- Beneficial effects ofFoeniculum vulgareon ethanol-induced acute gastric mucosal injury in ratsWorld Journal of Gastroenterology, 2007
- A meta-analysis of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy in patients with active Crohn's diseaseClinical Therapeutics, 2006
- Growth-Inhibiting Activity of Active Component Isolated from Terminalia chebula Fruits against Intestinal BacteriaJournal of Food Protection, 2006
- Activation of nuclear factor B in colonic mucosa from patients with collagenous and ulcerative colitisGut, 2005
- Targeting enteric bacteria in treatment of inflammatory bowel diseasesCurrent Opinion in Gastroenterology, 2003
- Safety of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors in inflammatory bowel diseaseThe American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2002
- Mucosal flora in inflammatory bowel diseaseGastroenterology, 2002
- Altered Ascorbic Acid Status in the Mucosa from Inflammatory Bowel Disease PatientsFree Radical Research, 1995