Journal of Medicinal Plants
Volume:4 Issue: 13, 2005

Articholce (Cynara Scolymus L.) is one of non- native plants being cultivated in Iran. This plant is mostly used in foods, so that it is probably harmless. In this Article we are going to coucentrate on different stages of its cultivation and the clinical uses of it in relation with some clinical studies.

Coccidiosis is an infection of the intestinal tract caused by protozoan coccidial parasites of the genus Eimeria. A wide rang of vertebrates, can be infected and it is especially prevalent when animals or birds are grouped together in significant numbers. The development of the broiler industry in the 1940s required the urgent availability of Anticoccidial compounds. Intensive screening activities by several companies soon produced a range of medicines that were effective in the control of coccidia. Increasing resistance of coccidia to anticoccidial drugs currently used by the poultry industry has stimulated the search for new method of control. As part of this effort have investigated medicinal plants as a potential source of compounds with anticoccidial activity. This paper reviews about 35 types of anticoccidial medicinal plant and herbal drugs from 1940 until now.These studies indicate that a Larg number of herbal preparations with anticoccidiol proprieties and futher more with stimulation of the imniune system or production of mucus fajer in intestines are very effective in control of coccidiosis.

fibrinolytic agents like streptokinase (SK) and urokinase (UK) are urgent treatment of thromboembolism. Besides thrombolysis, these medications have side effect like: generalized lytic state, serum fibrinogen decrease, effect on body hemostasis and life threatening bleedings, allergic reaction and urticaria.Studies have shown that some patients don’t response to SK, for example patients that have used SK one or two times or patients with streptococcal disease. In this study, we studied the fibrinolytic activity of Amirkabiria odoratissima mozaffarian to find the natural compounds that can be used in treatment of thromboembolism. Polyphenolic extract and the essential oil were prepared. Then essential oil was analyzed by G C. Mass. Fibrinolytic effects of SK (as positive control and comparison), extract and essential oil of Amirkabiria odoratissima mozaffarian was studied by flourimetric method. At first fibrinogen was labeled with FITC (Flourescein Isothiocyanate) and then labeled thrombus was produced in plasma with calcium ion.Then SK (100-1000 unit/ml) and essential oil at V/V dilutions of (1/1, 1/10, 1/100, 1/1000) and extract (1/1, 1/10, 1/100, 1/1000) was added and after 15, 30, 60 min, fluorescence was measured. Results showed linear relationship between fluorescence and SK concentration between 300-700 unit/μl. Essential oil of Amirkabiria odoratissima mozaffarian was effective in thrombolytic agent. Results has shown that Amirkabiria odoratissima mozaffarian extract has considerable fibrinolytic effects. So, study of different fractions of this plant extract and isolation and purification of the active fibrinolytic component is recommended.

Shallot (Allium hirtifolium Bosis) belongs to genus Liliaceae There is more than 500 species in this genus. Shallot produces a cluster of bulbs from a single planted bulb. This plant has been used as an additive in foods for many years, but there is little study about antibacterial activity of Shallot The aim of this study was to determine antibacterial activity of Shallot against clinical isolated bacteria. Crude juice of shallot (Allium hirtifolium) was tested for it''s growth inhibitory effect on 4 Gram-negative and 2Gram-positive species Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using dilution method. All test organisms were inhibited by shallot juice. The MIC for Gram-negative enteric rods including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis ranged between 78-624 µ /ml. while the MIC for pseudomonas aeruginosa was 20-80mg/ml.The MIC for Gram -positive bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus strains and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains were 156-312µ/ml and 19.5-78µ /ml respectively. It is concluded that Crude juice of shallot has antibacterial activity against both gram positive cocci and Gram-negate rods. It is believed that antibacterial activity of shallot depends on its thiosulfinate components.

Since use of synthetic drugs for relief of pain has many side effects, today medical plants are becoming more prominent as substitute therapeutic agents. Previous findings indicate that Coriandrum sativum (CS) modulates pain in both animal and human. The present work investigated the effects of CS seed on acute pain using hot plate and tail flick models. Albino mice (25-30 g) were used for this study. Aqueous extract of CS seed was injected in doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg 30 min before test. The analgesic effect of the drug on acute pain was evaluated using Hot plate and Tail flick models. Results indicated that CS has analgesic effect in both doses in both models and higher dose of the drug was more effective (p<0.01). The findings above showed that CS could modulate acute pain. Further research is required to determine the mechanisms by which CS has an inhibitory effect on pain sensation.

Recently, many researchers have been involved in finding means to prevent or delay deterioration by oxidative reactions in cosmetic preparations. More recently, research has focused on developing safer and more effective antioxidants from natural sources. In this research the antioxidant activity of Green tea extract in comparison with commercial antioxidants in 2% hydroquinone cream were evaluated. Green tea extract was tested for antioxidative activity in comparison with antioxidants (sodium metabisulfite and butilated hydroxy toluene BHT) at 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% w/w in 2% w/w hydroquinone cream. The systems were incubated in a dark room at 25°± 0.5°C and 45°± 0.5°C for three months. The physical stability and the percentages of hydroquinone remaining after two weeks and one, two, and three months were determined. The experiment revealed that oxidation degradation of hydroquinone was accelerated by heat even with existence of antioxidants. In the third month at 25°± 0.5°C and 45°± 0.5°C, the extract demonstrated more antioxidant activity from other two commercial antioxidants at all concentrations, with about 43-53% and 32-44%, respectively, more hydroquinone remaining than in the control system (P<0.001). In the third month, the preparation containing 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% extract gave good physical formulation stability with about 70%, 75%, 77% and 81% hydroquinone remaining at 25°± 0.5°C, and 50%, 54%, 58% and 62% hydroquinone remaining at 45°±0.5°C, respectively. This suggested the possibility of using a Green tea extract as an effective natural antioxidant for substances that are oxidation-susceptible.

Backgrond: Thymus daenensis Celak. subsp. daenensis is one of the endogenous Thymus species in Iran. The plant is traditionally used as carminative, digestive, antispasmodic, antitussive and expectorant in Iran. To study the Composition of the Volatile Oil of Thymus daenensis Celak. subsp. Daenensis. In this study, the hydrodistilled oil of the aerial parts of T. daenensis subsp. daenensis was analyzed using GC/FID and GC/MS. The result indicates that the oil contains over twenty-six components (99.7%). The main components were thymol (74.7%), p-cymene (6.5%), β-caryophyllene (3.8%) and methyl carvacrol (3.6%). This species has rich in phenolic substances specially thymol which might considered as a substitute for Thymus vulgaris.

Garlic is one of the medicinal plants, which is efficate in treatment of mild hypertension and lipid profiles. Along this study allicin content and botanical traits are evaluated in pre-planting stage. Bulb mean weight; clove mean weight and clove number per bulb were the evaluated morphological characters. Allicin content evaluation was done by HPLC. The correlation existed between evaluated characters were analyzed. We found that all samples were rich in allicin with values higher than pharmaceutical grade (4.5 mg/g). This study showed that ecological conditions had not detectable relation with allicin content. A cluster analysis of data was performed based on morphological characters and allicin content. In general we did not detect significant relationship between genetic diversity and geographical origins, which suggests that probably the genetic factors have more influence than ecology.

Herbal medicine is one of complementary medicine (CAM) approaches that refer to a group of therapeutic and diagnostic disciplines that exists largely outside the institutions where conventional health care is taught and provided for treating patients. Herbal medicine is discipline based on systems practiced thousands of years ago. World health organization reported that more than 60% of world’s population are using herbal components for their treatments. Herbal medicine is an increasing feature of healthcare practice, but considerable confusion remains what exactly it is and position the disciplines included under this term should hold in relation to conventional medicine. To study the Knowledge, attitude, and practice of complementary medicine (KAP Study). Design of this study was cross-sectional. Setting was Tehran city and study conducted on Oct 2003 – Oct 2004. Studied samples were 4123 subjects (more than 15 years old age) who were selected with cluster sampling. Data gathered with questionnaire. This survey showed that 75/6% of the studied population knew herbal therapy and 38.4% of total population and 50.8% of population who knew about herbal therapy, had used it once at least. More than 60% of population of different areas of Tehran city knew this therapy and 19-70% of this population had been used it. Most subjects have heard about this type of therapy from others. Most of subjects who used herbal therapy expressed that it was very effective. Most of them referred to non-physicians and most of their diseases were gastro-intestinal, respiratory and nervous system diseases. Female, married subjects and elderly were the most users of herbal therapy. Public knowledge and demand for herbal medicine is considerable. Demand for herbal medicine had growth therefore we need more attention in planning for treatments and academic approach to herbal medicine. Health system provision might go some way to ensure certain minimum standards such as proper regulation, standardized note keeping, effective channels of communication (patients also want to be protected from unqualified practitioners and inappropriate treatments) and participation in research.

Melissa officinalis is a traditional herbal medicine used widely as a mid sedative, spasmolytic and antibacterial agent. This paper focuses on the analysis of the chemical composition of essential oil from the upper parts of plant and calli of Melissa officinalis. Growing the calli of Melissa officinalis L. and production its secondary metabolites studied and compared with those in the whole plant.Melissa seeds were first surface sterilized by shaking in 0.3% (W/V) aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution containing 1 drop tween 80, then by shaking in 5% Na hypochlorite and 70% aqueous Ethanol solution then, under aseptic condition, strile petrydishes containing autoclaved agar (0.8%) and kept in the dark at a temprature of 25-27°C. Seedlings were developed in one week. Then they were transferred to strile Murashing and skoog (MS) culture media which were containing 2,4- D (1 mg/l), IAA (1 mg/l) and K (0.2 mg/l) as plant grow regulators. The amorph masses (calli) were produced and subcultvred every 20-25 days. The result obtained from GC/MS of essential oil if upper parts of plant indicated that the major compounds of the essential oil are Citronellal, Neral, Geranial and β- Caryophyllene. In contrast, calli lacked essential oil, this was indicated upon GC of its dichlorometanic extract, however phytochemical tests indicated that some tannins were produced by calli.