title: Nasal drug delivery in traditional persian medicine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Over one hundred different pharmaceutical dosage forms have been recorded in literatures of Traditional Persian Medicine among which nasal forms are considerable.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study designed to derive the most often applied nasal dosage forms together with those brief clinical administrations.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the current study remaining pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persia during 9th to 18th century AD have been studied and different dosage forms related to nasal application of herbal medicines and their therapeutic effects were derived.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By searching through pharmaceutical manuscripts of medieval Persia, different nasal dosage forms involving eleven types related to three main groups are found. These types could be derived from powder, solution or liquid and gaseous forms. Gaseous form were classified into fumigation (Bakhoor), vapor bath (Enkebab), inhalation (Lakhlakheh), aroma agents (Ghalieh) and olfaction or smell (Shomoom). Nasal solutions were as drops (Ghatoor), nasal snuffing drops (Saoot) and liquid snuff formulations (Noshoogh). Powders were as nasal insufflation or snorting agents (Nofookh) and errhine or sternutator medicine (Otoos). Nasal forms were not applied only for local purposes. Rather systemic disorders and specially CNS complications were said to be a target for these dosage forms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While this novel type of drug delivery is known as a suitable substitute for oral and parenteral administration, it was well accepted and extensively mentioned in Persian medical and pharmaceutical manuscripts and other traditional systems of medicine as well. Accordingly, medieval pharmaceutical standpoints on nasal dosage forms could still be an interesting subject of study. Therefore, the current work can briefly show the pharmaceutical knowledge on nasal formulations in medieval Persia and clarify a part of history of traditional Persian pharmacy.
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran ; Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mehdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Zarshenas
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran ; Research Office for the History of Persian Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Arman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zargaran
authors.affiliation: University of Marburg, Institute for the History of Pharmacy, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran ; Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Abdolali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohagheghzadeh
keywords: Dosage Form; Herbal Medicine; Medicine, Traditional