The most useful herbs of Iranian traditional medicine prescribed in xerosis

Abstract

Xerosis (dry skin) is an irritating skin condition affects almost everyone during lifespan. An abnormality of the moisture and oil balance of the dermis layers that caused by general dehydration, atopic dermatitis, Vitamin A deficiency, or diabetes is what happens in this condition. Xerosis is a well known disorder in Iranian traditional medicine (ITM). Avicenna and some other famous Iranian traditional physicians described this condition in their manuscripts precisely. Treatmens which were used by Iranian scholars included pharmacotherapy (herbal or animal), diet therapy, and changing lifestyle. Five Iranian ancient medical texts i.e. Canon of Medicine (Avicena 980–1037), alhavi (Razes 865–925AD)Tohfat ul- Mo'menin (Mo men tonekaboni), Makhzan ul- Advia (Aghili), and Ekhtiarat Badi'i (Ansari 1329–1404 AD) were studied for anti- xerosis herbal medicines (1–4). The main anti-xerosis herbal medicines used in ITM were scored based on the frequency of their prescriptibility. Sesamum indicum, Vicia ervilia, Urginea maritima, Ficus carica, and Olea europea were the most frequent herbs mentioned in ITM prescriptions. Due to the prevalence of xerosis, finding new and safe remedies for dry skin is favorable. Among the herbs ment ioned above, olive oil (olea europea) is now used in some moisturizing products (5) to cure xerosis. Based on our findings we intend to introduce new natural products of anti-xerosis by caring out evidence based researches on other herbs mentioned in ITM text book in close future.