Medicinal herbs useful in pediatric fever from the perspective of Persian medicine.

Abstract

Background Fever is the most important and common symptom of pediatric diseases. Fever can be a sign or symptom or complication of disease. Considering the development of complementary and alternative medicine worldwide and the prevalence of this symptom in children, we aimed to investigate their application based on Persian medical textbooks by searching herbs used in pediatric fever. Materials and Methods In this review study, materials were extracted by searching in reliable Persian medical textbooks of the10th -20th century using related Persian medicine keywords. Then the documentations for herbs extracted were searched in the databases based on the conventional medicine. The interpretation was made based on the results. Results Based on the Persian medical textbooks, seventeen herbs have been prescribed for decreasing pediatric fever. Among them, 16herbs have proven mechanisms of action for treatment of fever, classified into five categories (diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, immunomodulatory, anti-oxidant) based on literature review. On the other hand, according to Persian medicine, there were thirteen cold temperament herbs and only four hot temperament ones. They were administrated using various oral and topical methods. The maternal and neonatal treatment was emphasized. Conclusion According to this study and documentations of conventional medicine, many of these herbs can be effective in the treatment of pediatric fever, so further clinical studies are recommended for evaluating their efficacy.