Uses of citral-containing plants in ancient and medieval herbology
Ancient/medieval herbal and medical literature was reviewed to (a) examine historical records regarding the use of citral-containing plants in the treatment of cancer; (b) determine which kinds of cancer were addressed; and (c) identify other common uses of citral-containing plants, and potential novel pharmacotherapeutic applications for citral. An adapted version of the Informant Consensus Model was used to gather data, and for each of the property complexes a “fidelity level” was calculated to rank the properties by priority based on their claimed relative probability.
Cymbopogon was described by 19 authors, with 543 use-reports, Melissa was described by 18 authors with 541 use-reports, while Verbena had 19 authors and 739 use-reports. Among the numerous references to the three plants as anti-tumor drugs, tumors or swellings in uterus, liver or spleen, and hard or inflamed tumors in general were specifically indicated.
Most of the medical uses attributed to all three plants had a strong ethnopharmacological backing, and all were supported with modern biomedical data on citral-containing plants. The effects claimed by the ancient authors, but not yet correlated with the results of modern research on citral, could become potential sources for new and unique uses of the plants.
מאת: h. M. Paavilainen, A. Heilig, R. Ofir1
מילות מפתח: Ancient medicine, Cancer chemoprevention, Ethnopharmacology, Therapeutic use, Citral, Cymbopogon, Melissa, Verbena
תאריך פרסום: דצמבר, 2019
מהדורה: 11 (4)
עמודים: 38-57
סוג מאמר: מאמר סקירה
קישור להורדה: journal11-4-1.pdf