Phytotherapy in Anorexia: Effective Medicinal Plants on Appetite Based on Iranian Ethnobotanical Sources

Abstract

Appetite is defined based on the regulators of the food-related variables that predict eating behaviors. It influences on energy homeostasis. Gastro-intestinal track is of the components of food intake and appetite control system. Environmental signals, including insulin, ghrelin, leptin, and centeral neuropeptides in the hypothalamus specify an individual's appetite. Medicinal plants are a natural and useful medicinal source in the treatment of diseases. Many native medicinal plants of Iran have effective properties on appetite. Thus, in this review, the effective medicinal plants of Iranian ethnobotanical resources on appetite were reported. In this review study, a search for articles by the keywords colic, ethnobotanical, and medicinal plants was done. A search on the databases, such as Scopus, ISI C, S ID, Mega Iran, and a number of other databases was performed. 26 herbs from different parts of Iran are traditionally used to treat anorexia. Such medicinal plants as sweet fennel, artichoke, rhubarb, chamomile, chicory, turnip, wild plum, pennyroyal, thistle, fumitory, salsify, etc. are of the most important medicinal plants affecting appetite.