Medicinal Plants Used in Treatment of Rhematologic Diseases: a Systematic Review

The rheumatologic diseases like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lowback pain and fibromyalgia are very common. The synthetic drugs available for treatment of these diseases have low efficacy and considerable adverse effects. Numerous approaches are used as alternatives and complementary to synthetic drugs to treat these diseases. One of the approaches is use of herbal medications. Here, the effects of medicinal plants and herbal active constituents used in treatment of these diseases including gammalinolenic acid, glucosamine, devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), Ocimum species, Salix species, feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), Tripterygium wilfordii, Uncaria species, nettle (Urtica dioica), ginger (Zingiber officinale), turmeric (Curcuma longa), chicory (Cichorium intybus), dog rose (Rosa canina) and avocado/soybean unsaponifiables obtained from search for english articles published in the databases PubMed and SCOPUS from 1966 to the end of 2011 using the keywords including the scientific, common and traditional names of plants are reviewed. Limited research has been conducted on the antirheumatic effects of these plants and active constituents so far. Thus it seems that further research to determine the mechanisms of action, drug interactions, efficacy and safety of medicinal plants and herbal active constituents potentially useful in treatment of these diseases are warranted.