A Review of medicinal plants used for snakebites and scorpion stings in Iran: A systematic review

Abstract

Poisonous snakebites and scorpion stings are among the health issues in most of the countries causing irritation and many other complications, including death. Given that there are different customs and methods for the use of medicinal plants in different cultures and regions and ethnobotany offers valuable ways to discover new medicinal plants and herbal remedies, the lack of useful and effective medicines for the treatment of bites has led to the expansion of research into effective and natural remedies for the affected people. The main objectives of this study were to produce natural and effective herbal remedies for bites. For this systematic review, databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar were searched for articles on snakebites and scorpion stings as well as the role of medicinal plants in treatment of snakebites and scorpion stings without any limitation for publication time. Words or keywords used to retrieve relevant articles were medicinal plants, traditional medicine, natural medicine, herbal drug or herbal drugs and bites. This article reported 19 plant species in different regions of Iran used as antidote for snakebites and scorpion stings. This review of plant antidotes against bites is of great importance to society and for preparation of new drugs for snakebites and scorpion stings