Heart-tonic (Mofarreh-e-ghalb) Medicines and Their Mechanism of Action in Persian Medicine

From the perspective of Persian medicine, heart is one of the key organs in determining the state of human health and disease. This medical school has introduced many medicines to maintain the health of the heart or to treat its diseases, including heart-tonic (Mofarreh-e-ghalb) medicines. In this study, Mofarreh-e-ghalb medicines and their function are described from the perspective of Persian medicine.

In this simple review article, six books from the main sources of Persian Medicine, including Al-Shamel, Makhzan ol Advieh, Qarabadin-e-Kabir, Advieh Ghalbieh, Canon of Medicine and Kholaseh-al-Hekamah were reviewed and Mofarreh-e-ghalb medicines 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 Mofarreh was searched in databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, SID, IranMedex.

Approximately, 30 commonly used Mofarreh 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. Echium amoenum is a plant that has a hot temperament and enhances the heart due to its aroma and specific effects. Its antidepressant effects due to its antioxidant activity and inhibition of free radical has been proven in recent studies.

Targeted use of Mofarreh-e-ghalb medicines, many of which are part of regular diets, could pave the way for future clinical trials to develop new and effective drugs of natural origin in the treatment of heart and mental illnesses.