Holistic Approach to Functional Constipation: Perspective of Traditional Persian Medicine / 中国结合医学杂志

Traditional Persian medicine (TPM) proposes a different viewpoint to the chronic diseases. Diagnosis and implemented treatment are based on individual differences among patients. Constipation or Ea'teghal-e-batn is a condition in which the patient develops difficult or painful defecation. Based on TPM concepts, the fifirst digestion step starts from halq (oral cavity), and ends via defecation from the maq'ad (anus). Avicenna believed that four faculties, ha'zemeh (digestive), ja'zebeh (absorptive), ma'sekeh (retentive) and da'fe'eh (propulsive), are involved in the process of digestion and absorption of the ingested food and expelling the waste materials. The bowel movement and appearance of the stool is a measure for evaluating the gastrointestinal healthy function. Defecation should be with no pain and fecal material should have no burning and acuity. Low food intake or foods with dry temperament, dryness of gastrointestinal tract, diaphoresis and heavy exercise as well as intestine sensory loss were discussed as main causes of constipation. Management of constipation in TPM includes dietary schemes, oil massages and subsequently simple herbal medicines. According to TPM theories, the fifirst step in treating a disease is the elimination of disease causes (asbabe- maraz) and also providing the causes of health (asbab-e-sehhat). Health care providers should know the proper condition which the herbal medicines should be administered in and be able to guide the patients about the benefifits and hazards of herbal remedies, commonly used in their living origin.

A critical overview on Thymus daenensis Celak.: phytochemical and pharmacological investigations / 中西医结合学报

Thymus daenensis Celak. is an herb endemic to Iran belonging to the Lamiaceae family. Growing in many parts of Iran, the plant is extensively used in folk medicine. This review was performed to compile phytochemical and pharmacological data of T. daenensis. Databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scientific Information Database, Embase, IranMedex and Google Scholar were searched for the terms "Thymus daenensis" and "Avishan-e-denaii" up to 1st January 2014. Following reported ethnopharmacological uses, various T. daenensis preparations have been investigated for antimicrobial, antioxidant, insecticidal and immunomodulatory effects in recent studies. Moreover, numerous studies have been published on the composition of the herb's essential oil, focusing either on environmental parameters or preparation methods. Due to its high concentration of thymol, the plant's essential oil possesses high antimicrobial activities on human pathogenic strains. However, comprehensive studies on the toxicity and teratogenicity as well as clinical efficacy of Thymus daenensis are missing.

Natural remedies in the Canon of Medicine for dentistry and oral biology

Ibn Sina is one of the most well know scholars in middle ages. This Persian physician wrote different books in medical filed which his great encyclopedia remained as one the most successful medical encyclopedia during the history. Ibn Sina discussed diseases of oral cavity and dentistry in the 3rd book of The Canon of medicine. He discussed different conditions such as different types of trauma to the motor nerves, taste sensation, different limitations of tongue movements, Ranula, halitosis, tooth sensation, different types of tooth pain, Bruxism, attrition, loss of enamel, gingival bleeding, recession and hyperplasia. For management of these diseases he introduced more than 80 herbal remedies. Most of this plant species are from essential oil reach families. Generally, Ibn Sina has a deep view in case of dental diseases and his ideas and methods for treatment of this category of disease could be studied for finding new treatment in dental ailments

short introduction to a 19th century Persian book on Pulsology: Naiier Azam

Islamic Golden Age, 9-12 century AD, was the period through which Persian scientists and physicians were most influential in improving medical sciences including cardiovascular knowledge. Although post-Islamic Golden Age witnessed a number of great Persian scholars moving cardiovascular concepts forward, they failed to become as well known as their predecessors. One of these scholars was Hakim Mohammad Azam Khan belonging to the 19th century. He authored many books on medical sciences. He wrote all the books in Persian. Some of his most famous works are Eksir Azam [The Greatest Elixir; a comprehensive medical encyclopedia]; Romouz Azam [The Greatest Secrets; a general book on medicine] and Qarabadin Azam [Pharmacopeia]. In addition, he had a valuable treatise on pulsology, named Naiier Azam. Naiier Azam, one of the important works on cardiology in Persian medicine, which includes three parts: one introduction and two teaching chapters [Taelim]

Sphygmology of Ibn Sina, a message for future

Sphygmology is a 2000-year-old method that is still used in some traditional medicine systems, mainly Iranian, Chinese and Ayurveda. Ibn Sina is one of the most popular physicians in the history of Sphygmology, who had made great contributions to this method, but few meticulous studies have been made on his concepts. In this article, his standpoints on Pulsology are studied. Ibn Sina has mentioned 10 parameters for pulse palpation, and 13 compound pulses, as well. Besides, some pulse patterns applicable for differentiating similar diseases have been introduced. Nowadays some concepts on pulse patterns, such as pulse change in sleep and pregnancy have been studied; but unfortunately many of the ideas on Pulsology have not yet been examined. Sphygmology, as an accessible and inexpensive means, having a substantial diagnosis yield, has been accepted by the people since its rise, and its development over centuries ago. Although some new instruments have been innovated, which can measure different parameters of pulse, yet sphygmology can be one of the most commonly usable diagnostic methods in future, not only applicable by cardiologists but also by all the physicians.

Avicenna's concept of cardiovascular drug targeting in medicamenta cordialia

Avicenna [980 - 1037 AD] known as the prince of physicians in the west was one of the most prominent Persian thinkers, philosophers, and physicians. Owing to his interests in cardiology, he authored considerable works on different aspects of cardiology. "Resaley-e-Ragshenasi" [Book on Pulsology] and "Kitab al-Adviyt- ol-Qalbiye" [the book on drugs for cardiovascular diseases] are Avicenna's great dedication to the field of cardiology. In the field of drug therapy, an important concept which Avicenna touched on was the approach of drug achievement to the site of action in an easier and more efficient way. The mentioned concept is now recognized as "drug targeting" in current medicinal sciences and is an important challenge and field of research in pharmacy. Drug targeting has its starting point just a few decades ago. Whereas Avicenna considered the strategy 1000 year ago

Gout remedies in traditional Iranian medicine [TIM]

Practice and study of medicine in Iran has a long and prolific history. Iran has all characteristics of an indigenous culture which has so far discovered numerous natural products. Unfortunately, scant research has been conducted on this system of medicine and ethnopharmacology of Iran. Gout is a historical disease that is still widespread all around the world. As numerous remedies used to be administered for treating gout in TIM, we decided to investigate drugs used to target gout. To accomplish this, five of most important references of TIM form the 9th to the 18th century were investigated for gout remedies. For all herbal remedies, an extensive search of the scientific data banks, Medline and Scopus, was done to find recent possible results concerning the xanthine oxidase inhibitory, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities. One hundred and nine plant species, 31 animals, 14 minerals, and one mushroom were identified. Fourteen, twenty eight and three plant species have shown in vitro xanthine oxidase inhibitory, anti inflammatory and analgesic activities, respectively; also nine, forty and twenty two in vivo activities and two, seventeen and eight human studies were carried out for these three properties. Fifty-four drugs were cited in at least three references. TIM has the potential to be a very rewarding source of medical and medicinal knowledge. Then, a special focus should be put on drugs as well as the therapeutic method targeting the gout treatment. Owing to the limited attention so far paid to treating gout in TIM, it seems pertinent to conduct a systematic research on remedies which were used in TIM