Identifying effective medicinal plants for cold in Lorestan province, West of Iran.

Cold is a kind of mild and self-limiting viral illness that is considered as a prevalent disease with global occurrence and is caused by more than 200 types of viruses. Ethnobotanical studies and the use traditional experiences have increased the probability of detecting effective medicinal substances for cold by 40%. This study aimed to identify effective medicinal plants for cold in Lorestan province. Traditional medical information of this work was obtained from information from indigenous people in 8 cities of Lorestan province. A previously prepared questionnaire was given to trained health liaisons to record the people's beliefs about the plants. The results showed that 23 medicinal plants were used in Lorestan province for treating cold and its symptoms (cough, sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, etc). Plants studied in this article contained bioactive substances that are recommended as the most popular traditional treatments. More research studies should be done on the efficacy and the potential harms of medicinal plants used by people, and in the case of their positive pharmacological impacts, they can be used to produce natural and effective drugs for cold.
(© The Author(s) 2015.)