Cardiotonic Medicines (Mofarrehs) and Their Mechanism of Action in Persian Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: According to Persian Medicine (PM), heart is one of the main organs that maintain the human health. This medical school has introduced several medicines to maintain the health of the heart or to treat its diseases, such as cardiotonic medicines (Mofarrehs). In this study, Mofarrehs and their function are described from the perspective of PM. METHODS: In this simple review article, six books from the main sources of PM, including Al-Shamel, Kitab al-Adviyt ol Qalbiye, Qarabadin-e-Kabir, Advieh Ghalbieh, Canon of Medicine and Kholaseh-al-Hekamah were reviewed and Mofarrehs and their function were analyzed. Qualitative content analysis was also performed, and then articles related to the mechanism of action of these drugs were extracted and the name of each Mofarrehs was searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, SID, and IranMedex databases. FINDINGS: Approximately, 30 commonly used Mofarrehs were identified and their characteristics including name, Persian and scientific names, temperament (Mizaj), origin and mode of effect on the heart were concluded and given as follows. In Persian medicine, some foods have been also regarded as Mofarrehs, and in this review, we discuss the mechanisms through which the tonic effects are exerted. Its antidepressant effects due to its antioxidant activity and inhibition of free radical has been proven in recent studies. CONCLUSION: Administration of Mofarrehs, could initiate the future clinical trials to develop a new and effective natural drugs in the treatment of cardiac and mental illnesses. However, its wide acceptance needs further investigation.

Keywords

• persian medicine
• traditional medicine
• mofarrehs
• mental disorders
• heart