Terapia Botánica – Herbal Therapy
Here you will find links to recently published peer reviewed research papers in the fields of phytotherapy, phytochemistry and ethnomedicine, as well as my own articles and videos about herbal therapeutics.
My focus is on plants of the Mediterranean basin and Near East.
Photo: Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) growing from a rock on the clifftop at Cap des Mossons, Ibiza. Photo by the author.
Milos is an island in the Cyclades group of islands in Greece. Perouli and Bareka (2022) have carried out an ethnobotanical survey of the the traditional uses of medicinal plants there. They write:
Milos is a volcanic island in Greece, isolated from the mainland since its birth 480.000 years ago. The present study provides information on plant species used for medicinal purposes by indigenous people during 16th to 21st centuries. The aim of the study was to collect, preserve and analyse data on pharmaceutical plants used by Milos’ inhabitants, to find new plants used in traditional medicine or new uses of the already known ones and to reveal and explain changes of medicinal plants that were used through 16th to 21st centuries. The research was based on interviews of inhabitants, concerning medicinal plant species used in 20th and 21st centuries, on local, folk literature on pharmaceutical plant species used during 16th and 19th centuries, including an unpublished manuscript. Data on 76 native and cultivated plant taxa belonging to 40 families were collected, 68 of them are used mostly for medicinal or other purposes. The interviews’ data were statistically analysed. Three taxa were not matched with any other study regarding medical indication the inhabitants of Milos use them for. A clear restriction on the use of native plants was observed*, and evidence about the influence of refugees on the change of medicinal plants use is pointed out.
[* The authors mean that the use of medicinal plants is more restricted in modern times than in the past.]
The main interest of this study for me are the appendices, in which detailed information is given about the local uses of many species of plants typical to Mediterranean island environments.
Citation: Perouli M., Bareka P. Ethnobotanical survey on medicinal and other useful plants from Milos Ιsland (Kiklades Ιslands, Greece). Mediterranean Botany 43, e75357, 2022.
The full article is available here (open access): https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/MBOT/article/view/75357/4564456560095.
The genus Nigella (Ranunculaceae) is distributed throughout the Mediterranean basin. Badalamenti et al. (2022)[1] have published a systematic review on the medicinal and traditional use, chemical composition, toxicology and phytotherapy of Nigella damascena L., also known as “love-in-a-mist” and “devil in a bush”. This beautiful plant is It is native to southern Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia, where it is found on neglected, damp patches of land.
From the abstract (with some slight changes in wording):
Nigella damanscena L. is traditionally used as an ingredient in food, for example, as flavouring agents in bread and cheese, but is also known in folk medicine, used to regulate menstruation; for catarrhal affections and amenorrhea; as a diuretic and sternutatory; as an analgesic, anti-oedematous, and antipyretic; as a disinfectant and vermifuge. This paper reviews the most dated to the latest scientific research on this species, highlighting the single isolated metabolites and exploring their biological activity.
Fifty-seven natural compounds have been isolated and characterised from the seeds, roots, and aerial parts of the plant. Among these constituents, alkaloids, flavonoids, diterpenes, triterpenes, and aromatic compounds are the main constituents. The isolated compounds and the various extracts obtained with solvents of different polarities presented a diverse spectrum of biological activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, antitumour, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anti-oedema, and antiviral activities. Various in vitro and in vivo tests have demonstrated the pharmacological potential of β-elemene and the alkaloid damascenin. Unfortunately, the largest number of biological studies on this species and its metabolites have been conducted in vitro. Further investigation is necessary to evaluate the toxicological aspects, mechanisms of action and real therapeutic potential of extracts of N. damascena.
[1] Badalamenti N., Modica A., Bazan G., Marino P., Bruno M.
The ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and biological properties of Nigella damascena – A review. Phytochemistry, Volume 198, 2022,
113165. ISSN 0031-9422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2022.113165.
Azin and Khazali (2021) of Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran, carried out a literature review of studies concerning the potential role of herbs in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a frequently encountered female complaint.
The 31 studies reviewed collectively covered 25 different herbs, two Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and one Ayurvedic formulae, and four isolates from herbs (berberine, curcumin, soy isoflavone and quercetin).
Of the 25 herbs in the studies, 9 are native to the area of interest of this blog, the Mediterranean and Near East: aloe vera (Aloe
barbadensis), anise (Pimpinella anisum), fennel (Foeniculum
vulgare), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), flax seed (Linum usitatissimum), hazelnut (Corylus avellana), liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), nettle and pomegranate (Punica granatum).
Of the studies done with these herbs, three were done with human subjects, the other with animal models. Two were done with women with PCOS. Some of the studies showed clinical benefits for PCOS, others showed improved hormone profiles consistent with better potential PCOS outcomes, others still improved secondary complications of PCOS such as metabolic syndrome.
The table below summarises in very basic form some data from the review.
| Herb | Clinical benefits for PCOS | Improved hormone profile | Improved complications of PCOS | Human/ Animal |
| Aloe vera | * | * | A | |
| Anise | * | * | A | |
| Fennel | * | A | ||
| Fenugreek | * | * | H | |
| Flax seed | * | * | H | |
| Hazlenut | * | * | A | |
| Liquorice | * | * | A, H | |
| Nettle | * | A | ||
| Pomegranate | * | * | A |
Citation: Azin F. & Khazali H. (2021). Phytotherapy of polycystic ovary syndrome: A review. International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine Volume 20, Issue no. 1, https://doi.org/10.18502/ijrm.v20i1.10404
This open access 2018 review by Paolo Governa and co-workers from the University of Siena and the Italian Society of Phytotherapy provides an overview of the use of medicinal plants in the management of diabetes, with particular regard to evidence of clinical effectiveness of medicinal plants in controlling diabetes-related symptoms.
The authors emphasise the following species enlisted in WHO monographs with indication of use for diabetes:
Many of these are used of diabetes in traditional medical systems or described in pharmacopoeias for this use. The authors consider that for the first two, holy basil and fenugreek, their use in diabetes is supported by clinical data.
The authors also discuss some other species which are attracting the interest of the scientific community for their promise in treating diabetes.
The authors comment that there is a crucial need for stronger evidence-based data.
Citation Governa P, Baini G, Borgonetti V, Cettolin G, Giachetti D, Magnano AR, Miraldi E, Biagi M. Phytotherapy in the Management of Diabetes: A Review. Molecules. 2018; 23(1):105. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23010105
This intriguing double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial appears to indicate that propolis as an adjunct to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a type of antidepressant medication, improves depressive symptoms over and above SSRIs alone.
Caveat: I have only been able to access the abstract of this study, so have not been able to assess the methodology. The abstract may be accessed here.
Varzaghani, V., Sharifi, M., Hajiaghaee, R., Bagheri, S., Momtaz, S., Tarassoli, Z., & Razmi, A. (2022). Propolis add-on therapy alleviates depressive symptoms; A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. Phytotherapy Research, 1– 10. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7380.
botanic bob