Favania

Background and As a type of choripetalae in dictyledons, favania belongs to a species called favania which is closest to rosaceae. It is a grass with fleshy stems lying on the ground and white or yellow flowers. Nearly 130 types of this plant, which often grow in moderate zones, have already been detected. In traditional medicine, the plant has been termed narmashk, oodo-l-reih, hajaro-l-zaib, xarchakuk, shirza, abuzeidan, vardolhamir, roman-e mesri, vardolhemar, and ood-e salib, of which ood-e salib is the most frequent one. According to the studies in traditional medicine, favania is useful in treating a number of diseases, particularly children diseases (also called om-e sebian). The present research aims at reviewing the studies related to this plant and examining its medicinal properties in medical and literary texts in order to realize when and how to apply it in traditional and modern medicines.
Methods and Materials: The study represents a library research for which the data was collected from original resources in literature and traditional medicine and was compared with the present resources to detect if the products of this plant can be potentially used in treating diseases.
It seems that traditional and new studies support each other and confirm that careful analysis of the past studies and complementing their findings with recent developments will lead to useful medicinal products for treating many diseases.
In the past, favania was characterized by two general properties: (1) as a normal treatment similar to other medicinal plants and (2) as a metaphysical and supernatural treatment as a result of perceived magical powers. Moreover, the studies have revealed that favania is useful for treating convulsion and epilepsy and for easing parturition, among other properties.