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Plantago major L. (Plantaginaceae)

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Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants

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Abstract

A perennial herb, native to Europe, Asia, India (temperate regions), and Persia, but with pantropic distribution. Dioscorides described two varieties of Plantago, the greater and the lesser, and stated that the first is the best and most generally used. The plants were known to the Romans as Plantago and were considered to be very effective in arresting the fluxes known by the Greeks as “rheumatismi” or “griping pains in the bowels.” Galen described leaves and roots as astringent and febrifuge, and beneficial for intestinal inflammation, intestinal ulcers, piles and as a styptic. In Unani medicine, green leaves and seeds are considered astringent, styptic and analgesic, and used to treat nosebleed , bloody piles, excessive menstrual bleeding, and hemoptysis. Seeds are demulcent and their cold infusion is used in urinary disorders, dysentery and in arresting fluxes and griping pain in the bowels. In Iranian traditional medicine, it has been used for the treatment of IBD. Biologically active constituents include alkaloids, flavonoids, iridoid glycosides, terpenoids, polysaccharides, lipids, caffeic acid derivatives, and some organic acids. Seeds contain fixed oil, planterolic acid, plantasan, proteins, succinic acid, adenine, choline, catalpol, and fatty acids (palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, linolenic acid and lenoleic acid). Hydroalcohol leaf extract to citric acid-induced asthmatic rats for four-weeks restored lung histopathology to near normal. Methanol extracts of leaves and seeds produced significant analgesic effect against various noxious stimuli in mice. Methanol seed extract also exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity against carrageenan-induced edema and hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-hepatotoxicity in rats. A rapid favorable effect of P. major treatment on subjective complaints and objective findings was reported in Bulgarian patients with chronic bronchitis, with or without spastic character and with light or moderately severe deviations in ventilation indices.

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  1. Stockton, CA, USA

    Shahid Akbar

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Akbar, S. (2020). Plantago major L. (Plantaginaceae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_150

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