RESUMO
Aims: Ethnopharmacological and ethnobotanical information have been known as an effective tool for drug discovery. Iran is a location with long medical history. Darab is one of the cities in Iran that can be studied regarding ethnopharmacological aspects
Methods: current paper documented the folk medical information by Darab inhabitants. Therefore, field studies on this area were conducted from March to July 2012 and May to July 2013 under supervision of one local people. A questionnaire was utilized in this study and was filled by local inhabitants
Results: in total, 58 species belonging to 27 plant families were documented in management of 53 ailments. The most cited plant family was Asteraceae which was followed by Apiaceae, Lamiaceae and Papilionaceae. Herbs were applied for gynecologic and genitourinary, respiratory, central nervous system, infectious and cardiovascular ailments as well as musculoskeletal and skin disorders, respectively
Conclusion: this study can indicate the folk knowledge of a region in south of Iran, the knowledge that can easily disappeared during transition from old to new generations. Moreover, the effectiveness of unexamined plants can be evaluated according to informants' claims. Therefore, such investigations may be in deed, a useful way to search for drug discovery as well as keeping ethnopharmacological information alive
RESUMO
Despite the well-known history of hypertension research in the modern era, like many other cardiovascular concepts, main points in the medieval concept of this disease and its early management methods remain obscure. This article attempts to make a brief review on the medieval origin of the concept of this disease from the Hidayat of Al-Akhawayni [?-983 AD]. This article has reviewed the chapter of "Fi al-Imtela" [About the Fullness] from the Hid?yat al-Muta'allimin fi al-Tibb [The Students' Handbook of Medicine] of Al-Akhawayni. The definition, symptoms and treatments presented for the Imtela are compared with the current knowledge on hypertension. Akhawayni believed that Imtela could result from the excessive amount of blood within the blood vessels. It can manifest with symptoms including the presence of a pulsus magnus, sleepiness, weakness, dyspnea, facial blushing, engorgement of the vessels, thick urine, vascular rupture, and hemorrhagic stroke. He also suggested some ways to manage al-Imtela'. These include recommendations of changes in lifestyle [staying away from anger and sexual intercourse] and dietary program for patients [avoiding the consumption of wine, meat, and pastries, reducing the volume of food in a meal, maintaining a low-energy diet and the dietary usage of spinach and vinegar]. Al-Akhawayni's description of "Imtela," despite of its numerous differences with current knowledge of hypertension, can be considered as medieval origin of the concept of hypertension