Table 6.
Promising medicinal plants for treatment and prophylaxis of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases and for modulation of the immune system and inflammation
| Indication | Traditional applications in initial sources 1 (number of references recommending the plant for the indication)a | Peer-reviewed references (sum of points gathered in the scoring system2)b |
|---|---|---|
| Gastrointestinal tract | Matricaria recutita L. (7) | Allium sativum L. (41) |
| Foeniculum vulgare (L.) MILL. (6) | Mentha x piperita L. (30) | |
| Potentilla erecta (L.) RAEUSCH (5) | Salvia officinalis L. (27) | |
| Linum usitatissimum L. (5) | Origanum vulgare L. (24) | |
| Rubus fruticosus L. (5) | Camellia sinensis (L.) KUNTZE (18) | |
| Thymus vulgaris L. (4) | Matricaria recutita L. (15) | |
| Quercus robur L. (4) | Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (14) | |
| Mentha x piperita L. (4) | Thymus vulgaris L. (13) | |
| Urtica dioica L. (4) | Foeniculum vulgare (L.) MILL. (7) | |
| Vaccinium myrtillus L. (4) | Carum carvi L. (6) | |
| Salvia officinalis L. (4) | Pimpinella anisum L. (6) | |
| Carum carvi L. (4) | Rumex sp. L. (6) | |
| Camellia sinensis (L.) KUNTZE (4) | Urtica dioica L. (6) | |
| Achillea millefolium L. (4) | ||
| Respiratory tract | Thymus vulgaris L. (7) | Echinacea purpurea (L.) MOENCH (10) |
| Pimpinella anisum L. (6) | Thymus vulgaris L. (10) | |
| Althaea officinalis L. (5) | Althaea officinalis L. (8) | |
| Cetraria islandica (L.) ACH. (5) | Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (5) | |
| Primula veris L. (5) | Salvia officinalis L. (5) | |
| Foeniculum vulgare (L.) MILL. (4) | Tussilago farfara L. (5) | |
| Sambucus nigra L. (4) | Urtica dioica L. (5) | |
| Malva sylvestris L. (4) | Achillea millefolium L. (4) | |
| Allium sativum L. (4) | Camellia sinensis (L.) KUNTZE (4) | |
| Picea abies (L.) H.KARST. (4) | Sambucus nigra L. (4) | |
| Modulation of immune system and inflammation | Echinacea purpurea (L.) MOENCH (2) | Echinacea purpurea (L.) MOENCH (41) |
| Salix sp. L. (2) | Camellia sinensis (L.) KUNTZE (26) | |
| Thymus vulgaris L. (1) | Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (19) | |
| Sambucus nigra L. (1) | Origanum vulgare L. (19) | |
| Urtica dioica L. (1) | Allium sativum L. (18) | |
| Malva sylvestris L. (1) | Salvia officinalis L. (16) | |
| Plantago lanceolata L. (1) | Urtica dioica L. (15) | |
| Allium sativum L. (1) | Foeniculum vulgare (L.) MILL. (11) | |
| Tilia cordata MILL/Tilia platyphyllos SCOP. (1) | Matricaria recutita L. (11) | |
| Artemisia absynthum L. (1) | Malva sylvestris L . (9) | |
| Verbascum sp. L. (1) | Rumex sp. L. (9) | |
| Armoracia rusticana PH. GÄRTN.(1) |
1initial sources = standard literature, based on traditional empiric knowledge and historical literature of veterinary [42–45], and human phytotherapy [46], peer-reviewed publications of European [47] and Swiss ethnoveterinary medicine [36, 38] and a report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) [48] focusing on the use of plants as feed additives in animal production; 2Score = 3 x (number of proven effects in clinical studies – number disproof of effects in clinical studies) + 2 x (number of proven effects in in vivo studies - number of disproof of effects in in vivo studies) + 1 x (number of proven effects in in vitro studies - number of disproof of effects of in vitro studies) agastrointestinal tract: all plant species recommended for QA 4 times or more in the initial sources, ordered by incidence of recommendation by different authors as listed in detail in Additional file 2; arespiratory tract: all plant species recommended for QR 4 times or more in the initial sources, ordered by incidence of recommendation by different authors as listed in detail in Additional file 2; aModulation of immune system and inflammation: includes all plant species recommended for QL 1 time or more in the initial sources, ordered by incidence of recommendation by different authors as presented in file 2 in greater detail; bgastrointestinal tract: includes all plant species gathered for QA with a minimum score of 6 ordered by sum of points the plant species gathered; brespiratory tract: includes all plant species gathered for QR with a minimum score of 4, ordered by sum of points the plant species gathered; bModulation of immune system and inflammation: includes all plant species gathered for QL with a minimum score of 9, ordered by sum of points the plant species gathered; bold letters = plant species recommended in initial sources and in peer-reviewed references for same indication