From ancient times, medicinal plants have been usually utilized to treat many disorders,
but today, interest in these herbs is again aroused, because of their fewer side effects and low-cost.
In traditional medicine, for many diseases, various medicinal herbs have been suggested so far.
Drimia maritime, also named squill, is an important medicinal plant for the treatment of many diseases,
especially respiratory diseases. In the current evidence-based study, we conducted a review
of the general characteristics, ingredients, administration form, and side effects of squill in traditional
medicine. For this purpose, traditional Persian medicine literatures and electronic databases
were examined including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Many compounds are isolated
from D.maritima, including scillaren, scillirubroside, scillarenin, and bufadienolide glycosides.
Oxymel is the most commonly used form of squill for various diseases, especially respiratory diseases.
Besides, squill has been used in the treatment of cardiovascular, digestive, and dermatological
disorders, it is also used against various cancer cells for its antioxidant and cytotoxic
properties. Moreover, there is relatively reliable evidence of its benefits for bacterial and helminthic
infections, rheumatism, edema, gout, abortion induction, healing of wounds and urine induction.
It seems that supplementary studies are required to explore the bioactive agents and their effective
mechanisms.
Response to a commentary on the study entitled “Prevalence of intestinal helminthic infections and malnutrition among schoolchildren of the Zegie Peninsula, northwestern Ethiopia”