A review on Citrullus colocynthis Schrad.: from traditional Iranian medicine to modern phytotherapy.

Roja Rahimi, Gholamreza Amin, Mohammad Reza Shams Ardekani

Department of Traditional Pharmacy, Faculty of Traditional Iranian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. rojarahimi@gmail.com

Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) 2012 Jun

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Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. is an annual plant that grows in the south, center, and east areas of Iran. It is recognized by different pharmacologic activities in traditional Iranian medicine (TIM) (i.e., purgative, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, analgesic, hair growth-promoting, abortifacient, and antiepileptic. Some of these activities were confirmed in modern phytotherapy. Adverse events such as colic, diarrhea, hematochezia, nephrosis, and vomiting and narrow therapeutic index cause herbalists to use this plant cautiously. If some points about this plant in TIM are considered, it may be possible to produce more tolerable preparations from this plant. In this article, all aspects of this plant in TIM are reviewed; also, the medicinal properties declared for this plant in TIM are compared with those showed in modern phytotherapy. In addition, opinions of TIM and modern phytotherapy about safety and acceptable dosage of this plant are discussed.)

Citation

Roja Rahimi, Gholamreza Amin, Mohammad Reza Shams Ardekani. A review on Citrullus colocynthis Schrad.: from traditional Iranian medicine to modern phytotherapy. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.). 2012 Jun;18(6):551-4