A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area

Multipurpose herbal teas with numerous ingredients, in which flowers are the main component, are common in the traditional medicine and pharmacy of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean countries. In this study, we combine ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology field work techniques and botany and pharmac...

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Authors: Obon, Concepcion, Rivera, Diego, Fonollá, Elena, Alcaraz, Francisco, Attieh, Latifa
Format: article
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Repository:REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMH
OAI Identifier:oai:dspace.umh.es:11000/38325
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11000/38325
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:ethnobotany
ethnopharmacology
pharmacognosy
unani
traditional medicine
phytotherapy
pharmacy
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spelling A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean AreaObon, ConcepcionRivera, DiegoFonollá, ElenaAlcaraz, FranciscoAttieh, Latifaethnobotanyethnopharmacologypharmacognosyunanitraditional medicinephytotherapypharmacyMultipurpose herbal teas with numerous ingredients, in which flowers are the main component, are common in the traditional medicine and pharmacy of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean countries. In this study, we combine ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology field work techniques and botany and pharmacognosy laboratory methods for the study of traditional herbal mixtures with flowers, we identify their botanical ingredients and record the local medicinal uses of these mixtures, in Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Turkey. These, and their industrial versions, are analyzed, using morphological and multivariate analysis techniques in order to determine marker species, relevant patterns of combination and local styles. The medicinal properties attributed to the different flowers are discussed in relation with their role in the mixtures. These blends are consumed for their relaxing, digestive, and anti-infective properties. These mixtures are not consumed as a treatment when one is sick but rather to avoid getting sick, as a preventive measure. The formulations can reach forty ingredients (sarantha in Greek, arbain in Arabic language of Palestine), usually entire or coarsely chopped in the more traditional formulations, leading to extreme variability of individual doses. We ask what biological signification this randomness can have. To give an answer requires new and more comprehensive pharmacological approaches. The flowers of Rosaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae and Fabaceae species characterize these mixtures in which other materials (roots, leaves, and fruits) and other species are present as well. Flowers of some species, particularly of Fabaceae, are exclusively used in mixtures, and their use in monospecific herbal teas is not yet recorded. We draw attention on the urgent need in exhaustively recording in Greece and the Near East, the formulation and use of traditional herbal mixtures and their numerous local variants. To consider these mixtures and the contribution of flowers (most mixtures receive the general name of tea of flowers) merits further extensive study.Frontiers MediaDepartamentos de la UMH::Biología Aplicada202520252021info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdf18application/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/11000/38325reponame:REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMHinstname:Universidad Miguel Hernández de ElcheIngléshttps://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.632692info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/oai:dspace.umh.es:11000/383252026-05-27T13:36:21Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
title A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
spellingShingle A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
Obon, Concepcion
ethnobotany
ethnopharmacology
pharmacognosy
unani
traditional medicine
phytotherapy
pharmacy
title_short A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
title_full A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
title_fullStr A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
title_full_unstemmed A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
title_sort A Comparison Study on Traditional Mixtures of Herbal Teas Used in Eastern Mediterranean Area
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Obon, Concepcion
Rivera, Diego
Fonollá, Elena
Alcaraz, Francisco
Attieh, Latifa
author Obon, Concepcion
author_facet Obon, Concepcion
Rivera, Diego
Fonollá, Elena
Alcaraz, Francisco
Attieh, Latifa
author_role author
author2 Rivera, Diego
Fonollá, Elena
Alcaraz, Francisco
Attieh, Latifa
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Departamentos de la UMH::Biología Aplicada
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv ethnobotany
ethnopharmacology
pharmacognosy
unani
traditional medicine
phytotherapy
pharmacy
topic ethnobotany
ethnopharmacology
pharmacognosy
unani
traditional medicine
phytotherapy
pharmacy
description Multipurpose herbal teas with numerous ingredients, in which flowers are the main component, are common in the traditional medicine and pharmacy of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean countries. In this study, we combine ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology field work techniques and botany and pharmacognosy laboratory methods for the study of traditional herbal mixtures with flowers, we identify their botanical ingredients and record the local medicinal uses of these mixtures, in Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Turkey. These, and their industrial versions, are analyzed, using morphological and multivariate analysis techniques in order to determine marker species, relevant patterns of combination and local styles. The medicinal properties attributed to the different flowers are discussed in relation with their role in the mixtures. These blends are consumed for their relaxing, digestive, and anti-infective properties. These mixtures are not consumed as a treatment when one is sick but rather to avoid getting sick, as a preventive measure. The formulations can reach forty ingredients (sarantha in Greek, arbain in Arabic language of Palestine), usually entire or coarsely chopped in the more traditional formulations, leading to extreme variability of individual doses. We ask what biological signification this randomness can have. To give an answer requires new and more comprehensive pharmacological approaches. The flowers of Rosaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae and Fabaceae species characterize these mixtures in which other materials (roots, leaves, and fruits) and other species are present as well. Flowers of some species, particularly of Fabaceae, are exclusively used in mixtures, and their use in monospecific herbal teas is not yet recorded. We draw attention on the urgent need in exhaustively recording in Greece and the Near East, the formulation and use of traditional herbal mixtures and their numerous local variants. To consider these mixtures and the contribution of flowers (most mixtures receive the general name of tea of flowers) merits further extensive study.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/11000/38325
url https://hdl.handle.net/11000/38325
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.632692
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
18
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Frontiers Media
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Frontiers Media
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMH
instname:Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
instname_str Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
reponame_str REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMH
collection REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMH
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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