Background: Sumac (Rhus coriaria L. epicarp) is an Iranian traditional spice which is widely used in the country. Following the recent efforts to look for healthy herbal remedies with antimicrobial potential, the effect of total extract of sumac was investigated on some clinical isolates of skin bacteria. Methods: Hydroalcholic extract of Sumac prepared from Tehran botanicals drug market was extracted by maceration method using 80% ethanol. The antimicrobial activity of the extract was studied and compared with the commercial antibiotic of Gentamycin as positive control. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of the extract were determined against the skin bacteria of Corynebacterium xerosis and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The skin bacteria used included ten axilla isolates of C. xerosis, seven skin isolates of S. epidermidis and also a standard strain of S. epidermidis ATCC 12229. Results: The results obtained in this study indicate considerable antimicrobial effect of Sumac on skin bacteria. Sumac showed bactericidal effect on all of the tested strains. The MIC obtained against most of the microorganisms was 1.56 mg/ml. Discussion: The antimicrobial effect of Sumac on skin bacteria looks promising. Further studies should be conducted on identification and purification of the potential antimicrobial compound of Sumac which could be used in the antiseptic products.

Sumac is a shrub with a long history of application in traditional medicine and Iranian cuisine. It grows wild in the region from the Canary Islands over the Mediterranean area to Iran and Afghanistan. The word “sumac” is derived from Aramaic word “sumaqa” which means red. Aside from some studies on sumac as an antioxidant, an anti hyperglycemic, and an anti hyperuricemic agent, many articles have been recently published on antimicrobial activities of sumac because of the advent of new microbial resistances and the need to find new antimicrobial agents. Reviewing the articles suggests that total extracts of sumac fruit have antibacterial activity against both Gram- positive and Gram- negative bacteria but it also shows that sumac fruit has no effect on fungi and anaerobics. More investigation should be conducted on: 1) Fractionization of total extracts and purification of their components to recognize safety use of and ability of sumac as an antimicrobial 2) Effects of sumac on resistant bacteria and its potential capability as an antimicrobial agent.

“Hidayat al-Muta’allimin fit-Tib” (A Guide to Students of Medicine) is one of the oldest Persian medical books written in Persian by Akhawayni around 11th century in Bukhara. In this book, each disease is described as a separate monograph including signs and symptoms as well as treatment orders. Two of the well explained monographs are concerned to inflammation of uterus and kidney. The purpose of this study was to compare the signs, symptoms, and treatment procedures written in the above mentioned book with what written in modern medical texts for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) and kidney abscess. For this purpose, a comparative study on signs, symptoms, and treatment procedures of these diseases with modern medicine was done. According to this study, the inflammation of uterus in primary stage showed some similarities with PID and in final stage with tubo- ovarian abscess. The inflammation of kidney at its first stage had a lot of resemblance with pyelonephritis, in advanced stage with interarenal or perinephric abscess, and in final stage with renal failure. The treatment procedures in the old traditional medicine were originally based on herbal treatments that are completely different with modern antibiotic therapy. However, the anti-inflammatory and anti-infective herbal drugs used in this book are in support of the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory data reported for the most of these herbs in scientific literatures. The results point out that the ancient Iranian physicians had a reasonable concept of the infective diseases. The herbs used by traditional physicians have ethnopharmacological potential for further research to develop new antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agents from these plants.

Background: Senile dementia is the most common kind of dementia with considerable social and economic costs. Since the nature of disease is multi-pathological, current treatments cannot cover all aspects of the disease. Recently, scientific considerations have focused on the role of natural products, especially those with traditional backgrounds. Objective: to review natural treatments of dementia in ancient Greek, traditional Chinese, Ayurveda, and Iranian traditional medicines with concentration on common herbs concurrently mentioned in two or more than two of them. Methods: Scopus database and primary sources were thoroughly searched for selective keywords. The common herbs concurrently mentioned in two or more than two of the aforementioned traditional medicines were selected to deeply investigate for their active ingredients as well as their mechanisms of actions. Results: The results showed that Acorus calamus, Nardostachys jatamansi, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Phyllanthus emblica, Semencarpus anacardium, Terminalia chebula, and Zingiber officinale had been commonly prescribed for dementia in mentioned traditional systems. According to pharmacological studies, these herbs act their anti-dementia effects via cholinergic, anti-NMDA, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-β amyloid activities. Furthermore, 16 active principles of these herbs were identified, including α- and β-asarone, desoxo-narchinol A, narchinol B, glabridin, liquiritigenin, emblicanins A and B, 3, 5, 6, 3', 5', 6'-hexahydroxybiphenyl-2, 2'-dicarboxylic acid, 1',2'-dihydroxy-3'-pentadec-8-enylbenzene, 1',2'-dihydroxy-3'-pentadeca-8,11-dienylbenzene, chebulagic acid, and 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose, Zingipain, 6-gingerol, and 6-shogaol. Conclusion: Chinese, Indian, and Iranian traditional medicine can play a complementary and alternative role in preventing and treating senile dementia. The scientific evidence supports their traditional anti-dementia claims.