A review of medicinal plants effective on anemia in traditional Persian medicine sources

Background and purpose:

Anemia is one of the most common and a widespread disease in the world and about one third of the world’s population are affected. Today, despite the efforts made in conventional medicine, the treatment of some types of anemia has not been successful. In the sources of traditional Persian medicine many medicinal herbs have been introduced for the prevention and treatment of anemia due to the adaptation of the body with natural medicines and less severe side effects. The purpose of this research was to identify and introduce medicinal herbs known in traditional Persian medicine sources as hematopoietic or tonic drugs.

Methods and Materials:

This research was conducted by reviewing important books of traditional Persian medicine and comprehensive herbal monographs. Also, comparisons were made between chemical drugs and plant monomers in terms of influencing iron deficiency anemia, aplastic anemia, hemolytic anemia, anemia associated with chronic diseases, anemia due to abnormalities such as ionizing radiation, and pancytopenia.

Finally, 50 medicinal herbs were extracted and labeled as blood makers. These plants were classified according to the therapeutic characteristics. Among the most important herbs that have been considered in treating different types of anemia, mention could be made of grapes, coconuts, pomegranates, astragalus, and wheatgrass.

This study can be used as a basis for clinical trial studies using medicinal herbs or compound herbal drugs production for the treatment of various types of anemia.