Abstract 

The history of headache, as a common neurological complication, goes back to almost 9000 years ago. Many ancient civilizations present references to headaches and the coherent treatment strategies. Accordingly, several documents comprising headache complications embodying precise medical information stem from Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) that can provide useful opportunities for more comprehensive treatment. We conducted a survey on headache through original important pharmacopeias and other important medical manuscripts of TPM which were written during 9(th) to 19(th) centuries and have derived all headache categories and herbal remedies. An extensive search of scientific data banks, such as Medline and Scopus, has also been exercised to find results relating to the anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, and analgesic effects of denoted medicinal herbs. The concept of headache and treatments in TPM covers over 20 various types of headache and more than 160 different medicinal plants administered for oral, topical, and nasal application according to 1000 years of the subject documents. Nearly, 60% of remarked medicinal herbs have related anti-inflammatory or analgesic effects and some current headache types have similarities and conformities to those of traditional types. Beside historical approaches, there are many possible and available strategies that can lead to development of new and effective headache treatment from medicinal plants so that this study can provide beneficial information on clinical remedies based on centuries of experience in the field of headache which can stand as a new candidate for further investigations.

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(DOI): 10.4103/0973-7847.112835