multi-ingredient herbal topical preparations for the management of pain in osteoarthritis: a perspective from persian medicine

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common diseases worldwide today. inflammation and pain caused by osteoarthritis greatly interfere with daily activities for those affected. although many painkillers and medications are available in the pharmaceutical market for this condition, they often only offer temporary relief from joint pain and inflammation. they can also come with systemic side effects and pose challenges for long-term use in many patients. accordingly, most patients prefer to use topical treatments that target specific areas of discomfort. in addition to pharmaceutical options, various topical herbal formulations for alleviating osteoarthritis symptoms can be found in traditional pharmacological literature. persian medicine, as a school with a thousand years of experience, is a significant source for drug discovery and the extraction of many medicinal formulations. in this regard, the current study aims to compile a collection of topical herbal formulations in the form of multi-ingredient herbal topical preparations from traditional pharmaceutical textbooks, such as qarābādin salehi, azam, and kabir. the selected preparations can be reformulated for evaluation in the management of osteoarthritis.