Strychnos nux vomica, a traditional phytomedicine for nervine & joint disorders: A short review

Authors

  • Syed Faisal Zaidi Faculty of Eastern Medicine, Hamdard University Islamabad Campus, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan.
  • Muhammad Matee-Ur-Rehman Faculty of Eastern Medicine, Hamdard University Islamabad Campus, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan.
  • Fakhri Ahmad Faculty of Eastern Medicine, Hamdard University Islamabad Campus, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan.
  • Muhammad Danial Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Cancer Institute, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA

Abstract

Strychnos nux-vomica L. (Strychnine tree) is from the genus Strychnos of the family Loganiaceae. It is a medium sized tree with white flowers and 3 nerved leaves. Traditionally, Unani/Eastern Medicine (EM) physicians have used it for hundreds of years. According to the philosophy of EM, it is used in phlegmatic diseases like paralysis, facial palsy, ptosis, gout, joint pain, sciatica etc. It is used as a single medicine as well as in compound formulations. This article is focused to elaborate its uses in nervine and joint disorders. Scientific databases including, PubMed, Elsevier and Google scholar were explored for the research. Articles were included from 2008 to 2023 in the above-mentioned search engine. Different key words used were “Azaraqi”, “Strychnos nux vomica”, “Sciatica”, “arthritis”, “nervine disorders”, and “joints disorders”. Strychnos nux vomica as an individual drug and its combination with other drugs as a compound medicine can be used in treatment of facial palsy, epilepsy, gout, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cervical spondylosis, and sciatica. It was also found that the species has promising anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsant, anti-arthritic, anti-epileptogenic, and anti-oxidant activities. Additionally, it can also help in the regeneration of damaged nerve. From this study, it can be concluded that Strychnine tree can be a leading candidate in treating different nervine and specially, joint disorders which is supported by case studies. However, more mechanistic evidence and research through in-vitro, in-vivo, and clinical studies are required particularly for joint disorders

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Published

2024-06-30

How to Cite

Zaidi, S. F., Matee-Ur-Rehman, M., Ahmad, F., & Danial, M. (2024). Strychnos nux vomica, a traditional phytomedicine for nervine & joint disorders: A short review . International Journal of Natural Medicine and Health Sciences, 3(3), 22–30. Retrieved from https://journals.iub.edu.pk/index.php/ijnms/article/view/2746

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2024): International Journal of Natural Medicine and Health Sciences

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2024 Syed Faisal Zaidi, Muhammad Matee-Ur-Rehman, Fakhri Ahmad, Muhammad Danial

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