The Scientific Name of Zoufa, a Traditional Persian Medicinal Plant: Is it Hyssopus officinalis L. or Nepeta bracteata Benth.?

Zoufa is one of the most consumed herbs in the Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) that has been used to treat many diseases including bronchitis, chronic cough, asthma and colic [1], [2]. The botanical description of these medicinal plants exists in some ITM literatures; however in the herbal market of Iran, two different plants have been sold as Zoufa, one is Hyssopus officinalis and another is Nepeta bracteata. The aim of the present study is to determine the exact scientific name of Zoufa according to its botanical description in ITM literatures. For this purpose, major traditional Iranian herbal literatures were searched to find information about the habitat, appearance, and botanical characteristics as well as pharmacological activities and indications of “Zoufa.” The modern botanical books were also searched for the mentioned items about H. officinalis and N. bracteata. The results obtained from TIM literatures were compared with the findings from modern resources. The comparison of botanical description, habitat and pharmacological activity of H. officinalis and N. bracteata with those of Zoufa in ITM showed that Zoufa in ITM is approximately equivalent to H. officinalis; however, the most of samples sold as Zoufa in herbal shops of Iran is N. bracteata.