Borago officinalis L. (Boraginaceae)

Abstract

An annual herbaceous and hairy herb, native to the Mediterranean region, but naturalized in other parts of the world, North Africa and Asia Minor; cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal plant, and very widely introduced in most of Europe. In Iranian traditional medicine, the flowers are known to possess sedative property, the leaves are used for their anticonvulsant, bronchodilator, vasodilator, and cardiodepressant properties, and borage seed oil is used for treatment of diseases such as, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis and eczema. In many parts of Italy, wild plants are consumed as vegetables, and borage is one of the most commonly used plants in both southern and northern Italy, and also used in local traditional medicine to treat inflammatory diseases. In Mexico, it is also regarded to have nutritional value, and is used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, and respiratory diseases. It is used in Danish folk medicine to treat depression and anxiety, and borage oil is promoted in the United States as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, diabetic neuropathy, and menopause-related symptoms. Leaves contain small amount of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, rosmarinic acid, officinalioside, actinidioionoside, roseoside, crotalionoside C and kaempferol 3-O-b-D-galacto-pyranoside, essential oil, fatty acids, and a significant amount of manganese. Mice fed with borage diet ad lib for 12-months showed reversal of age-related inflammatory and senile osteoporosis. Ethanol extract of aerial parts possesses MAO-A inhibitory activity, showed affinity to serotonin transporter, and potential as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Daily administration of hydroethanol extract to patients with moderate asthma, significantly ameliorated cough, dyspnea, wheezing, nocturnal symptoms, and airway hyperresponsiveness, and significantly reduced exacerbation attacks per month.