anesthetic herbs: a review of the most important anesthetic medicinal plants in traditional medicine

Objective: anesthesia has long been a critical component of medical and surgical procedures, holding a significant place not only in modern clinical practice but also in traditional systems of medicine. the use of herbal agents for inducing anesthesia has gained attention due to their sedative properties, higher safety margins, and accessibility. in this context, identifying medicinal plants with anesthetic potential in traditional persian medicine may offer promising directions for integrative and complementary approaches.methods: this review was conducted to identify and document the most prominent medicinal plants traditionally used for anesthesia in iranian traditional medicine. a comprehensive search of scientific literature was carried out using the keywords “medicinal plants,” “anesthesia,” and “traditional iranian medicine” in reputable databases including pubmed, scopus, google scholar, and web of science.results: the findings revealed a wide array of medicinal plants referenced in traditional texts for their anesthetic or sedative properties. these include papaver rhoeas (corn poppy), papaver somniferum (opium poppy), melissa officinalis (lemon balm), valeriana officinalis (valerian), hyoscyamus niger (henbane), datura stramonium, syzygium aromaticum (clove), tilia spp. (linden), nicotiana tabacum (tobacco), mentha piperita (peppermint), ephedra spp., cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), echinacea purpurea, allium sativum (garlic), borassus flabellifer (palmyra palm), boswellia serrata (frankincense), salix aegyptiaca (persian willow), passiflora incarnata (passionflower), lavandula angustifolia (lavender), matricaria chamomilla (chamomile), ocimum basilicum (basil), echium amoenum (iranian borage), and piper methysticum (kava).conclusion: this review highlights the diversity of herbal agents historically used for anesthesia within traditional persian medicine. further research into their mechanisms of action, bioactive compounds, and pharmacological safety could contribute to the development of safer, plant-based anesthetic alternatives.