Caraway as Important Medicinal Plants in Management of Diseases

Carum carvi or caraway is traditionally used for treatment of indigestion,pneumonia,and as appetizer,galactagogue,and carminative.Essential oil,fixed oil and many other valuable extractive compounds with industrial applications are prepared from caraway.This review article has new deep research on caraway as medicinal plant.For preparing the manuscript,the information was extracted from accessible international databases(Google scholar,PubMed,Science direct,Springer,and Wiley),electronic resources and traditional books by key word of caraway or Carum carvi.The results of traditional studies exhibited that the galactagogue and carminative effects of caraway fruits are superior to other effects.Although,the traditional scholars used it as appetizer,while caraway was the main ingredient of anti-obesity drugs in traditional medicine,which has been confirmed in two modern clinical trials of human studies.Caraway oil in combination with peppermint oil or menthol is used for treatment of functional dyspepsia in clinical studies.Caraway oil topically on abdomen relieves the IBS symptoms in patient.Although,the use of caraway oil is not recommended in adults under 18 years due to insufficient data,but it can topically use as anti-colic and carminative agent in children or infants.The antiaflatoxigenic,antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of caraway oil along with its reputation as spice help the industries to use it as natural preservatives and antioxidant agents.

Caraway extract alleviates atopic dermatitis by regulating oxidative stress,suppressing Th2 cells,and upregulating Th1 cells in mice

Objective:To explore the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of caraway on atopic dermatitis(AD)in mice.Methods:AD was induced in two stages,including sensitization and challenge with the application of 2,4 dinitrochlorobenzene 2% and 0.2%,respectively.Clinical symptoms and histological analysis of the skin were assessed.The effects of caraway on oxidant/antioxidant parameters as well as Th1-and Th2-related cytokines were also evaluated.Results:Caraway reduced the severity of dermatitis in AD-induced mice,as evidenced by significant inhibition of Th2-related cytokines(IL-4 and IL-13)and increased Th1-related cytokine(IFN-γ).Additionally,treatment with caraway significantly increased superoxide dismutase and catalase activity and decreased the malondialdehyde level in the serum of AD mice.Furthermore,caraway inhibited the differentiation of Th2 cells while favoring Th1 cell differentiation in the spleen via regulating their master transcription factors GATA3 and T-bet.Conclusions:Caraway could improve AD autoimmune responses and could be considered a potential candidate to treat AD disease.