Herbal Appetizer for Children with Failure to Thrive (FTT) in View of Traditional Persian Medicine: A Review

Background failure to thrive (ftt) is a condition of poor weight gain in early childhood. low appetite which is associated with ftt interacts with increasing caloric intake as the main treatment for ftt. phytochemicals in herbal remedies could alter appetite more than the expected effects of other nutrients. this review aimed to assess the effective and safe herbal appetizer for children with ftt according to traditional persian medicine (tpm). materials and methods by searching through major pharmaceutical books of persian medicine during 8th -18th centuries (a.d.), herbal remedies as appetizer were determined. we searched the phytochemical and pharmacological activities of these herbs in pubmed, scopus, web of sciences and google scholar databases, from 1950 to 15 december 2016. results overall, 42 herbs were found. among these herbs, only 11 herbs were prescription for children. improvement of feed intake, growth performance, weight gain and gastro-esophageal protection were the most reported activities. conclusion natural remedies prepared from these herbs may be useful for enhancing appetite especially for ftt in children. additional well-designed studies are required to investigate the safety and efficacy of these herbs.