Traditional medicine
comprises important knowledge, skills and practices from different cultures to
maintain health, or to treat physical and mental diseases. In some continents, still a high percentage of the
population (~80%) relies on traditional medicine only. It is estimated that in
many developed countries over 70% of the population has used some form of
traditional medicine nowadays. Traditional medicine covers a wide variety of
therapies and practices which vary from country to country, and was created
over generations before the era of modern medicine. Herbal medicine is the most
popular form of traditional medicine and comprises known herbs, their preparations
and products containing active ingredients for healing purposes. Herbs used in
traditional medicine for treatment of respiratory diseases represent relatively
a small group. Their currative effects in traditional medicine were evaluated
only on the basis of the empirical practice. Pharmacological techniques were
applied to measure, quantified and evaluate parameters of antitussive and
bronchodilatory effects of herbs used in herbal medicine in order to confirm or
disprove their effects. Tests
were focused on the verification of pharmacological effects and efficiency of active compounds
(mucilages/glycoconjugates) isolated from herbs:
Althaea officinalis L.,
Lythrum
salicaria L., Solidago canadensis
L., Opilia celtidifolia, Trichilia emetica Vahl.,
and Crossopteryx
febrifuga Benth.
Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the VEGA Grant No.
2/0017/11, the APVV Grant No. 0125-11 and this contribution is the result of
the project implementation: Centre of Excellence for White-green Biotechnology,
and Glycomics, ITMS 26220120054 and
ITMS
26240120031, supported by the Research
& Development Operational Programme funded by the ERDF.
