Journal of Medicinal Plants
Volume:21 Issue: 84, Dec 2022

Dandruff is a common and important scalp disorder affecting almost half of the population at the pre-pubertal age. Various studies have shown that using herbs can be a good option for improving dandruff. There is a way to search for effective herbal and natural remedies that, in addition to being scientifically valid, is a quick path in the process of discovering, designing, and obtaining natural remedies. This method is based on the knowledge of traditional medicine. Persian medicine contains vast knowledge in diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases, including valuable information from the experiences of scientists.

This article introduces materia medica mentioned in Persian medicine used for dandruff.

The present study is a review based on the study of traditional Persian medicine books. Hereon, effective drugs for improving dandruff mentioned in the second volume of Ibn Sina's book (Al Qanun-fi al-Tibb) have been listed, and then four reference books of traditional medicine (al-Abnieh an Haghayegh al-advieh, Tazkare Ulul Al-bab, Tohfat al-Momenin, and Makhzan al-Advieh) are reviewed.

Twenty-one materia medica were found as anti-dandruff remedies. Based on the scores, Trigonella foenum-graecum L. and Beta vulgaris L. earned the best points respectively, and Prunus amygdalus Batsch, Sesamum indicum L., Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf., and sodium tetraborate decahydrate got the next orders with equal scores.

The list of drugs collected in this study can be considered as a basis for further studies to design and make new effective drugs for treating dandruff.

Post-market surveillance (PMS) is an integral part of ongoing safety evaluation, for natural health products. Matricaria chamomilla (chamomile) and Thymus vulgaris (thyme) are the most widely used plants in herbal medicinal products. Thymus species contain phenolic compounds such as thymol, carvacrol and terpenoids, flavonoids, and saponins. T. vulgaris is an antiseptic and antitussive, so it is very effective in treating dry coughs, colds, and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Matricaria chamomilla (chamomile) products containing apigenin-7-glycoside, some flavonoids and chamazulene in its essential oil that have anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial therapeutic properties.

In this study, various dosage forms containing thyme (8 products) and chamomile (9 products) separately, (which are available in the form of drops, syrups, ointments, and creams) were provided. Then, physicochemical controls were performed based on the reference methods of herbal pharmacopeias and in-house validated methods to ensure quality and stability of these products.

Since many of these products have no special monograph in pharmacopeias, so validated extraction and analysis methods were developed to quantify the apigenin-7-glycoside by high performance liquid chromatography, and chamazulene by gas chromatography in the chamomile products and thymol and carvacrol by gas chromatography in thyme products in different complex dosage forms.

In some products that formulated by thyme and chamomile products, the amount reported for standardization does not match the values obtained.

It’s recommended more control of herbal medicines for appropriate and effective consumption of them.

Cytochrome P450s have essential roles in oxidative reactions during the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids.

This research was aimed to identify the gene CYP72A154 as a gene involved in the glycyrrhizin biosynthesis pathway in Iranian licorice.

CYP72A154 gene was isolated from Iranian licorice and cloned it into the PTG19-T vector. After confirmation of fragment length, the recombination plasmid was sent for sequencing. NCBI BLAST was used to analyze the nucleotide/ protein sequence homology between Glycyrrhiza glabra and other plants. The characterization of predicted amino acid sequences such as sequence homology, protein domains and functional sites, was performed using InterProscan. RT-PCR was performed to improve the relative expression this gene in the licorice root.

The query length was 314 aa, which after blasting in NCBI had about 78 to 80 % identity to the cytochrome P450 72A154 and 11-oxo-beta-amyrin 30-oxidase in species of G. glabra, G. uralensis and G. pallidiflora, as well as about 64 to 67 % with other species of the Fabaceae family. TMHMM analysis indicated the Exp number of AAs in TMHs was 22.11931, Exp number and first 60 AAs was 20.013. The results of RT-PCR revealed that the expression of this gene was comparable to the β-AS gene and CYP88D6, both being involved in the glycyrrhizin biosynthesis pathway.

According to bioinformatics analysis and RT-PCR, it can be stated that the desired fragment belongs to the CYP72A154 gene and is also involved in the biosynthesis of glycyrrhizin.

The pathophysiology of the upper respiratory diseases involves inflammatory reactions, both immunological and non-immunological inflammation.

This study aimed to evaluate the activity of an Indonesian polyherbal product that combines the extracts of Curcuma zanthorrhiza Roxb. rhizome and Vitex trifolia L. leaves, as the main ingredients, and other medicinal plants for the anti-inflammatory effects in respiratory disorders.

The effects of the polyherbal product at different doses (167.5, 335 and 670 mg/kg, p.o) on the right hind paw edema were measured by plethysmometer after induction by subplantar injection of either histamine (100 µl, 2 %) or carrageenan (100 µl, 0.1 %), to represent two types of inflammation. Rat paw edema volume as baseline (Vo) was measured at 30 min before oral administration of the polyherbal and every 30 min for 0-6 h after injection of histamine or carrageenan (Vt). Anti-inflammatory activity was calculated as the percent inhibition of paw edema relative to the negative control, CMC-Na.

The polyherbal formula significantly decreased paw edema compared with the negative control(P < 0.05). Inflammatory inhibition rates of 167.5, 335 and 670 mg/kg doses were 25.19, 32.77 and 47.03 %, respectively, in histamine-induced edema, and 20.12, 56.62 and 68.87 %, respectively, in carrageenan-induced edema.

The anti-inflammatory properties of a polyherbal containing C. zanthorriza and V. trifolia as the main ingredients showed a dose-dependent manner. The other herbal components i.e. Zingiber officinale rhizome, Citrus bioflavonoid complex, and Echinacea purpurea herb may contribute to overall anti-inflammatory activity.

Datura innoxia Mill. is one of the medicinal plant which can produce tropan alkaloids such as hyoscyamine and scopolamine with analgesic and antiasthmatic activities.

In this research, the effect of various factors such as culture media and bacteria strain were studied on hairy roots induction and secondary metabolites production in Datura innoxia.

Strains A4, A13, R1000, MSU, 15834, 2656 and 11325 of Agrobacterium rhizogenes with two different concentrations (OD = 0.5, 1) used for co-cultivation of leaf and stem explants prepared from 1-3-month-old and 5-7-month-old plants to optimize the production of hairy roots and then 6 different media were used for establishment and growth of hairy roots.

The results of data analysis showed that A4 strain with 86.6 % hairy root production was the best strain than others. Also, dark conditions, younger explants and higher concentration of bacteria caused the highest amount of induction of hairy roots. ½ MS medium was recognized as the best medium for the growth of hairy roots. The results of HPLC analysis also showed that the level of hyoscyamine in hairy roots was lower than that of normal roots which, of course, can be compensated by the higher growth of hairy roots.  

The appearance and growth of hairy roots depends on various factors such as bacterial strain, culture medium, explant and its age and other factors that need to be optimized at the beginning of any research.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) is a well-known commercial medicinal plant with wide usage.

During our ongoing aims for the selection and breeding programs of Iranian licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) populations, in the present study, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and biological activities of the leaf extract of eight selected plant populations cultivated in the north of Tehran were investigated.

The TPC and TFC were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride reagents, respectively. The antioxidant potential of the leaf extracts was measured through the evaluation of their power to reduce the Fe3+-TPTZ complex to Fe2+-TPTZ. The antibacterial activity was also assessed according to the broth micro-dilution method to determine minimum inhibitory concentration.

The results indicated that TPC varied from 6.18 ± 0.33 (mg GAE/g DW) in Bajgah population to 14.91 ± 1.17 (mg GAE/g DW) in Ilam population. The highest TFC was observed in Ilam (17.04 ± 1.25 mg rutin/g DW) and Marvest (15.06 ± 1.77 mg rutin/g DW) populations, respectively, without statistically significant differences. The maximum antioxidant activity was associated with the Ilam (532.18 ± 12.61 µmol Fe/g DW) population, confirming the antioxidant potential of phenolic and flavonoids compounds. The leaf extracts of Eghlid, Marvest, Ilam, and Bojnourd populations were exhibited outstanding antibacterial activity against S. aureus.

The licorice leaf extracts showed more inhibitory effect against Staphylococcus aureus than Escherichia coli.

Zingiber officinale (Zingiberaceae), is a tropical plant with knotted rhizomes.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of using mineral and biological fertilizers based on algae on the quantitative and qualitative traits of the ginger plant and to choose the best cultivation medium.

The experimental treatments included cultivation media in four levels and fertilizers in three levels. Hydrodistilled essential oil of the Z. officinale was analyzed by GC and GC-MS.

The largest amount of biological yield and yield per hectare was observed in the cultivation medium of vermicompost: perlite (70: 30) without fertilizers. The maximum harvest index with an average of 0.9 was estimated in the cultivation media of manure: soil (70: 30) combined with biofertilizer, vermicompost: perlite (70: 30) combined with biofertilizer, and manure: perlite (70: 30) combined with biofertilizer, respectively. The cultivation medium of animal manure: perlite (70: 30) combined with NPK chemical fertilizer produced the largest amount of essential oil. The highest proportion of geranial was observed in the cultivation medium of vermicompost: perlite (70: 30) combined with biofertilizer. The highest percentage of α-zingiberene was observed in the cultivation medium of vermicompost: perlite (70: 30) combined with NPK chemical fertilizer. The highest percentage of neral was obtained in the main treatments of animal manure: soil (70: 30) combined with biofertilizer.

The use of chemical and biological fertilizers combined with organic cultivation media was fruitful and productive to meet the nutritional needs for the production of effective substances in ginger.

Satureja khuzestanica is an endemic medicinal plant that widely distributed in the northern Khuzestan and southern Lorestan provinces of Iran.

In this study, simultaneous effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salinity on morpho-physiological parameters and minerals contents in S. khuzistanica were studied.

Different salt levels (0, 3, 6 and 9 dS/m) were applied during growth period for one month. MeJA spraying at 0, 60 and 120 µM concentrations performed three times for one week. Samples were taken during flowering stage.

The results showed that MeJA × salt interaction had significant effects on all morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters of S. khuzestanica (P < 0.01). The highest stem length, root length, fresh and dry weights were observed at 60 and 120 µM MeJA without salt. The amounts of chlorophyll, N, P, K+, K+/Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ had significant reductions with increasing salt levels. The highest amounts of these parameters were observed at 60 µM MeJA without salt. There were significant enhancements in total phenol, antioxidant activity, proline, sugar and Na amounts with increasing salt levels. The highest content of total phenol and antioxidant activity was induced at 60 µM MeJA × 6 dS/m salt (2.22 and 50.23 %, respectively). The 9 dS/m salt treatment at 60 µM MeJA had the highest sugar (1.69 mg/g) and proline (0.29 mg/g) contents.

Totally, 60µM MeJA concentration caused the best performance of savory under salt stress. Therefore, MeJA application can be helpful to alleviate negative effects of salt in S. khuzistanica.