ITM was established by the four-humor theory (sanguine, phlegm, bile, and melancholy) and disease is based on an imbalance in humors.

Common cold or upper respiratory tract infection is an acute, minor, self-limiting, and viral infection and a worldwide health problem that affects sleep, social life, and school and work efficiency.

Medieval Persian physicians used plants with various therapeutic actions, such as anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial, to treat catarrh. In the medical texts of medieval Persia, such as The Canon by Ebn-e-Sina, the physicians classified catarrh as warm and cold. Each type of catarrh has a special clinical manifestation. Clinical manifestation of warm catarrh are redness of eye and face, warmth, sharpness, dilution and yellowness of discharges, burning sensation in nose and throat and in cold catarrh tension and heaviness in head, face, and forehead, thick whitish or livid discharge, roughness of tongue, discharges with cold and unsavory nature, heaviness of senses, malaise, feeling better after consuming foods of warm nature, nasal stuffiness, and losing the sense of smell.

we searched PubMed and Google Scholar and found 10 herbal medicines that have the ability to treat the catarrh.

4.1. Jujube

Jujube (Ziziphus Jujuba Mill.; 乾棗 gān zǎo) has a long history of usage as a fruit and remedy in ITM. It is used in the treatment of diseases such as warm catarrh, cough, asthma, and other inflammatory diseases of the lung, inflammatory diseases of eye, and inflammation and rash. The principal biologically active components are vitamin C, flavonoids, triterpenic acids, phenolics, and polysaccharides. New phytochemical studies of jujube fruit have indicated some clear biological effects, such as the antiinflammatory, anticancer, antiobesity, immunostimulating, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and gastrointestinal protective activities and inhibition of foam cell formation in macrophages.

4.2. Assyrian plum

Assyrian plum (Cordia myxa L.) is another drug in ITM that is used to treat warm catarrh, cough, and inflammatory diseases of the pharynx, gastrointestinal system, and lung. Recent studies on certain species of Cordia indicate that they have anti-inflammatory properties. One of the studies tested the effects of Assyrian plum fruit on experimentally induced colitis in rats and proved the anti-inflammatory effect of Cordia myxa.

4.3. Opium poppy

Opium poppy (Popaver somnifrum L.; 罌粟 yīng sù) has been often used in ITM to treat warm catarrh, inflammatory lung diseases, and inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases, and for anesthesia.

4.4. Hollyhock

Hollyhock (Althea officinalis L. (Marshmallow); 蜀葵 shǔ kuí) is one of the most famous and important drugs in ITM. It is used to treat warm catarrh, inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system, gastrointestinal, urinary tract, nervous system, joints, and breast, and inflammations of the neck and eye.

Hollyhock contains flavonoids, polysaccharides, quercetin, volatile oil, glycosides and organic acids. Pharmacological studies on hollyhock confirm anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Listeria monocytogene.

4.5. Violet

Violet (Viola odorata L.) is another therapeutic drug used for warm catarrh, inflammatory lung and gastrointestinal diseases, inflammations of the neck and head, headache, and insomnia in ITM. It is also an important medicinal plant that is used to treat bronchitis, common cold, and gastrointestinal diseases. In an in vitro study, the antimicrobial effect of violet was evaluated on three microbial species (S. aureus, E. coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa); the maximum antimicrobial effect was on S. aureus and the least effect on P. aeruginosa. The antimicrobial effect is low in the leaves and roots of the violet high in the flowers. Violet also has anti-inflammatory properties, so it is useful in the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases.

4.6. Purging cassia

Purging cassia (Cassia fistula L.) is a well-known compound used as a laxative in ITM, and for warm catarrh, lung diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and joint diseases. It is also used as an antipyretic.

In vivo and in vitro studies on purging cassia show that it has hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiulcer, antifungal, and antioxidant activities. Antimicrobial properties are against E. coli, Bacillus mycides, Bacillus subtilis, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Klebsiella aerogenes, P. aeruginosa, and Proteus vulgaris, and antifungal effects are against Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Epidermophyton floccosum.

4.7. Chamomile

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) has been used for warm and cold catarrh, inflammatory diseases in different parts of the body such as the lungs, gastrointestinal, and brain and also used for infectious fever in ITM. According to research, the basic constituents of chamomile include several phenolic compounds, primarily the flavonoids apigenin, patuletin, quercetin, glucoside, and luteolin. Based on in vitro studies, chamomile has moderate antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, and significant antiplatelet effect. According to animal model studies, chamomile has potent anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, cholesterol-lowering, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, and antispasmotic effects.

4.8. Hyssop

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) is a well-known compound in ITM that is used for cold catarrh, pneumonia, cough, asthma, and other inflammatory lung diseases. The studies on hyssop have proved antimicrobial and antifungal effects against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, Staphylococcus pyogenes, and Candida albicans and also anti-inflammatory effects.

4.9. Galangal

Galangal (Alpinia galangal; 高良薑 gāo liáng jiāng) has been used for cold catarrh, asthma, chronic cough, and other diseases of lung, joint pain, ear pain, urinary tract diseases, nervous system diseases, and amnesia in ITM.

New research on galangal shows that its components include 1′-acetoxychavicol acetate (galangal acetate) and it also has antibacterial effects, especially against S. aureus.

4.10. Aloeswood

Aloeswood (Aquilaria agallocha Roxb; 沉香 chén xiāng) has been one of the most important drugs in the ITM. It is used to treat cold catarrh, inflammatory lung diseases, heart disease, gastrointestinal and genitourinary diseases, and toothache. The research on Aquilaria agallocha has shown in-vivo (by carrageenan-induced paw edema in a rat model) and in-vitro (by human red blood cell membrane stabilization method) anti-inflammatory effects of aloeswood. Aquilaria agallocha exerts its anti-inflammatory properties via two mechanisms: (1) erythrocyte membrane stability—this causes lysosomal membrane stability and as a result limits the inflammatory response; and (2) inhibition of serotonin, histamine, or prostaglandins synthesis. It is reported as a treatment for anaphylactic reactions and also has an antihistamine effect. The plant is used to treat inflammation, arthritis, vomiting, cardiac disorders, cough, asthma, leprosy, and anorexia traditionally and is used to treat headache, inflammation, gout, and arthritis in folk medicine.

by Rasool Choopani, Saeed Sadr, Shahpar Kaveh, Narges Kaveh, Sohrab Dehghan