Gāvzabān

Gāvzabān is a medicinal plant known as Lesan-al-thor in traditional literatures and used as antidepressant, anxiolytic, general tonic especially cardiotonic, and antitussive. It is also administered for treatment of melancholic disorders in traditional Persian medicine. Different botanical descriptions are available for this medicinal plant in traditional manuscripts which implied to this fact that different plant species used as Gāvzabān in different ages. In this paper, four species from the family Boraginaceae which have more similarities to descriptions in traditional literatures including Echium amoenum, Anchusa azurea, Buglossoides arvensis, and Borago officinalis have been described and their pharmacological and toxicological data according to traditional literatures and modern phytotherapy have been considered.