Traditional and modern aspects of hemorrhoid treatment in Iran: a review

Abstract Hemorrhoidal disease is a prevalent anorectal condition which is generally not managed well with current pharmacologic interventions. However, in Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) there are numerous plants with hemorrhoid-healing properties. The present research assembled plants with hemorrhoid-healing properties in ITM; their related pharmacological effects, phytochemical constituents and mechanisms of action in the modern medicine were also gathered. For this purpose, leading ITM textbooks were searched for plants with hemorrhoid-healing effects. Further, in vitro , in vivo and clinical studies on the most cited species were considered using scientific databases. Studying ITM textbooks revealed 37 medicinal plants with hemorrhoid-healing effects. Among the mentioned herbal medicines, six species, including Allium ampeloprasum , Phyllanthus emblica , Aloe vera , Terminalia chebula , Vitis vinifera and Commiphora mukul , had the largest number of related pharmacological effects documented in scientific databases. These herbs from ITM should be considered as important resources for producing novel drugs for hemorrhoid treatment.