ABSTRACT

Sobhani et al. explained that Peganum harmala is the most important and common medicinal herb used in the treatment of cancer by contemporary Iranian folk healers. Sobhani et al. note, as have other authors that the harmal in TIM is typically used in concert with another Iranian medicinal herb, Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss. Harmal has enjoyed substantial ethnographic employment as an anticancer medicament in China, where P. harmala established itself after migrating from the Middle Eastern lands of its likely origin. A preparation from Xinjiang containing a total alkaloid extract of P. harmala seed, used for tumors of esophagus and stomach in 21 cases, was reported. Awareness of the anticancer effects of P. harmala in China increased with preclinical reports in the 1980s. Synonyms included camel artemisia, bitter vegetables, smelly grass, and stinky peony. Mention is made of its occurrence in the Avicenna's "Medical Code".