Background: The fruit of genus Rosa, known as "rose hip", is frequently used in different traditional medicines. Rose hips have long been used to treat kidney stones, gastroenteric ailments, hypertension and respiratory problems such as bronchitis, cough and cold. Aim: This review is focused on the ethnopharmacological uses of rose hip as well as phytochemical and pharmacological aspects. Results: Ethno-medical uses of rose hip have been recorded in many countries since a long time. Approximately, 129 chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from rose hip. This fruit contains some major active components such as flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanin, phenolic compounds, fatty oil, organic acids and inorganic compounds. Scientific studies have suggested a wide range of pharmacological activities for rose hip including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, cardioprotective, antiaging, anti H. pylori, neuroprotective and antinociceptive activities. In particular, the rose hip powder and extract have been reported to exert therapeutic effects on arthritis. Conclusion: Some of the ethnomedical indications of rose hip, such as nephroprotective and gastroproetctive actions, have been confirmed by preclinical pharmacological studies. Additional investigations on the pharmacological effects of rose hip as well as evidence from randomized controlled trials are essential to assess the therapeutic value of this natural product.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The genus Curcuma, which is the most important source of curcumin, has been widely used in different traditional medicines. Various species of Curcuma have long been used for several purposes such as healing wounds, liver disorders, jaundice and also as a blood purifier. Aim of the study: This review focused on the ethnopharmacological uses and phytochemical aspects of Curcuma. Additionally, in this study, the different properties of two species of Curcuma in Islamic Traditional Medicine (ITM), C. longa and C. zedoaria, as well as their pharmacological aspects in modern medicine are reviewed. Materials and methods: ITM literatures were searched to find Curcuma’s applications. Also, electronic databases including PubMed and Scopus were searched to obtain studies giving any in vitro, in vivo or human evidence of the efficacy of C. longa and C. zedoaria in the treatment of different diseases. ChemOffice software was used to find chemical structures. Results: The analysis showed that ethno-medical uses of Curcuma have been recorded for centuries. Approximately, 427 chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from Curcuma spp. This genus is rich in flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanin, phenolic compounds, oil, organic acids and inorganic compounds. Curcumin is one of the main active ingredients in Curcuma which has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Besides, pharmacological studies have indicated wide range of Curcuma’s activities, such as hepato-protective, antifungal, antihypertensive and neuroprotective. Conclusions: In this study, we reviewed various studies conducted on ethno-medicinal, ITM properties and photochemistry of Curcuma spp. Also, pharmacological activities of two species, C. longa and C. zedoaria are summarized. Pre-clinical investigations have demonstrated some of the traditional aspects of Curcuma, such as wound healing, anti-arthritic, anti-tumor and liver protective activities. These could be related to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Curcuma which might be due to high amounts of phenolic compounds. Curcuma is mentioned to have neural tonic properties in ITM which have been confirmed by some animal studies. Considering various preclinical studies on C. longa and C. zedoaria and their active ingredient, curcumin, randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm their promise as a clinically effective hepato and neuro-protective agents.

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The factors which are very important in saffron are crocin (color), picrocrocin (flavor) and safranal (aroma). Higher amount of these compounds in saffron provide higher quality of saffron. ISO (the international organization for standardization) has set a classification of saffron based on minimum requirements of each quality. According to ISO picrocrocin, safranal and crocin are expressed as direct reading of the absorbance of 1 % aqueous solution of dried saffron at 257, 330 and 440 nm respectively. There was some doubt about the accuracy of the safranal result using ISO method. Therefore it was decided to evaluate the amounts of safranal and crocin in saffron according to ISO method and compare the results with the amounts of these compounds when using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In HPLC method in an isocratic run a 30 cm ODS column were used. Mobile phase was mixture of acetonitrile and water (76 % v/v). A UV detector at wavelengths of 308nm for safranal and 440 nm for crocin was also employed. Results indicated that standard crocin had significant absorption at 308nm. We concluded that present ISO method is not an accurate method to measure the amount of safranal in saffron. Therefore it is suggested to evaluate this method and meanwhile using a HPLC method to evaluate the amount of safranal and crocin in saffron samples.

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