Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of this literature review is to gain knowledge of the long history, wide variety and extensive applications of camphor, both in traditional and modern medicine. Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) is obtained from the wood of camphor tree. It has been used for centuries, throughout the world as a remedy for treating variety of symptoms such as inflammation, infection, congestion, pain, irritation, etc. The studies have shown that some of the components of Cinnamomum camphora have suppressive and antimutagenic effect in number of human cancer cells without harming the healthy cells. In this paper our focus is on the use of camphor as a remedy for daily minor problems as well as reporting some information about the new applications of this traditional medicine to treat or prevent some serious lifethreatening diseases sucha as cancer and diabetes. We hope to get the attention of researchers for conducting more studies on the effects of camphor on patients with memory and brain disorders as well.
Highlights
The purpose of this literature review is to gain knowledge of the long history, wide variety and extensive applications of camphor, both in traditional and modern medicine
Camphor tree is native to China, India, Mongolia, Japan and Taiwan and a variety of this fragrant evergreen tree is grown in Southern United States; especially in Florida [1, 2]
A cancer study says that the use of camphor odor as a conditioning agent for the cancer cells of YC8 lymphoma in mice could have a suppressive effect on the growth of YC8 tumor, when it is combined with immunotherapy treatment [13]
Summary
Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) is a white, crystalline substance with a strong odor and pungent taste, derived from the wood of camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) and other related trees of laurel family. A cancer study says that the use of camphor odor as a conditioning agent for the cancer cells of YC8 lymphoma in mice could have a suppressive effect on the growth of YC8 tumor, when it is combined with immunotherapy treatment [13]. The study on some species in the Lauraceae family, shows that a number of extracts have significant antioxidant, antiinflammation and antitumor activities [7, 21, 22] These studies indicate that Lauraceae tree species and other camphor containing plants could have very important potential nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications in the future [22], taking medicine just another step forward
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