An ethnopharmacologicalandhistoricalanalysisof “Dictamnus”, a Europeantraditionalherbalmedicine

Abstract

Ethnopharmacologicalrelevanceandbackground: “Dictamnus” wasapopularnameforagroupofmedicinal herbaceousplantspeciesoftheRutaceaeandLamiaceae,whichsincethe4thcenturyhavebeenusedfor gynaecologicalproblemsandotherillnessesBCEandstillappearinnumerousethnobotanicalrecords. Aims: Thisresearchhasasfouroverarchingaims: Determiningthehistoricalevolutionofmedicalpreparationslabelled “Dictamnus” andthedifferent factorsaffectingthislong-standingherbaltradition. Decipheringanddifferentiatingthosemedicinalusesof “Dictamnus” whichstrictlycorrespondto Dictamnus (Rutaceae), fromthoseof Origanumdictamnus andotherLamiaceaespecies. Quantitativelyassessingthedependencefromherbalbooks,andpharmaceuticaltradition,ofmodern Dictamnus ethnobotanicalrecords. DeterminingwhetherdifferencesbetweenWesternandEasternEuropeexistwithregardstothe Dictamnusalbus usesinethnopharmacologyandethnomedicine. Methods: An exhaustivereviewofherbals,classicalpharmacopoeias,ethnobotanicalandethnopharma- cologicalliteraturewasconducted.Systematicanalysisofusesreportedwhichwerestandardizedac- cordingtoInternationalClassificationofDiseases – 10andmultivariateanalysisusingfactorial,hierarchical andneighbourjoiningmethodswasundertaken. Resultsanddiscussion: Thepopularconcept “Dictamnus” includes Origanumdictamnus L., Ballotapseudo- dictamnus (L.)Benth.and B. acetabulosa (L.)Benth.(Lamiaceae),aswellas Dictamnusalbus L. and D. his- panicus WebbexWillk.(Rutaceae),with86differenttypesofuses.Between1000and1700CEnumerous complexpreparationswith “Dictamnus” wereusedinthetreatmentof35differentpathologies.Onbio- geographicalgroundsthewidespread D. albus is afarmorelikelyprototypical “Dictamnus” thantheCretan endemic Origanumdictamnus. Howeverbothformintegralpartsofthe “Dictamnus” complex. Evidenceexistsforasufficientlylongandcoherenttraditionfor D. albus and D. hispanicus, usetotreat 47differentcategoriesofdiseases. Conclusions: Thisapproachisamodelforunderstandingtheculturalhistoryofplantsandtheirroleas resourcesforhealthcare. “Dictamnus” showshowtransmissionoftraditionalknowledgeaboutmateria medica,over26centuries,representsremarkablelevelsofdevelopmentandinnovation.Allthisleadusto callattentionto D. albus and D. hispanicus whicharehighlypromisingaspotentialherbaldrugleads.The nextstepsofresearchshouldbetosystematicallyanalysephytochemical,pharmacologicalandclinical evidenceandtodevelopsafety,pharmacologyandtoxicologyprofilesofthetraditionalpreparations.