Medicinal plants used for musculoskeletal disorders in Navarra and their pharmacological validation

This paper provides important ethnopharmacological information on plants used in musculoskeletal disorders in Navarra.

Information was collected using semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews. In order to confirm the pharmacological validation of the uses, monographs from Official International Agencies (ESCOP, Commission E, WHO and EMA) were reviewed. A literature review was conducted focusing on the plants that were widely used but had no published monograph.

A total of 199 pharmaceutical uses were reported, for 38 plants and 24 families, mainly represented by Asteraceae and Lamiaceae (11%, each), Rosaceae (8%) and Boraginaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Equisetaceae, Malvaceae, Oleaceae and Urticaceae (5%, each). The most frequently used parts were the aerial parts, roots, followed by inflorescences and leaves. Nine out of 38 plants (24%) and 123 uses (62%), had already been pharmacologically validated.

The authors propose to validate four species for their use in musculoskeletal disorders: Verbena officinalis, Symphytum tuberosum, Hypericum perforatum and Equisetum ssp.