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Greater Plantain (Plantago major) and Sore throat: evidence and sources
inferred from demulcent action
For educational purposes only, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using medicinal plants, especially alongside prescribed medication, during pregnancy, or for a serious condition.
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2 sources supporting Greater Plantain for Sore throat. Includes scientific publications, books, monographs and traditional-use references.
Mechanistic basis
This use is associated with the plant's demulcent (soothing mucilage) action. Further evidence for that pharmacology:
Purpose Oral mucositis is one of the most common adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of Plantago major extract versus chlorhexidine 0.12% versus sodium bicarbonate 5% in the symptomatic treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis in solid tumour cancer patients. Method Multicentre randomised controlled trial estimated sample of 45 solid tumour patients with grade II-III mucositis. The participants were randomised to one of three treatments, consisting of sodium bicarbonate 5% aqueous solution together with: an additional dose of sodium bicarbonate 5% aqueous solution, Plantago major extract, or chlorhexidine 0.12%. The primary outcomes were severity of mucositis, pain intensity, oral intake capacity and quality of life. The independent variable was treatment group, and confounders included sociodemographic data, neutrophil count, chemotherapy drug and dose received. Results Of the 50 patients enrolled, 68% (n = 34) achieved grade 0 mucositis (none), with those using the double sodium bicarbonate rinse healing in five days on average (95% CI 3.9, 6.5) versus seven days (95% CI 5.3, 9,0) for the chlorhexidine group and seven days (95% CI 5.3, 8.5) for the Plantago major group. The pain experienced by the participants lessened over the 14 days of treatment, but differences in pain intensity between the three groups did not show statistical significance (p = 0.762). Conclusions Healing time was shorter with the double sodium bicarbonate solution compared to the other two rinses, but the differences were not significant. Our results suggest it may be time to reconsider the use of Plantago major extract in the management of oral mucositis.
The effect of different extraction procedures on functional properties of mucilage extracted from Plantago major seed were investigated using response surface methodology. Extraction at 75°C, using 1:60 water:seed ratio at pH 6.8 was the best condition for maximum yield (15.18%), emulsion stability (67.4%), foam stability (88.4%), solubility (97.36%) and water absorption capacity (39.74g/g) of mucilage. At this optimum point, PMSM had, on average 82.85% carbohydrate, 76.79 mgGAE/g dry total phenol content, 97.8mgg -1 total flavonoid content and 915.54μgml -1 antioxidant activity. The results indicated that PMSM had average molecular weight of 1.2×10 6 Da. FTIR analysis demonstrated the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and methyl groups and glycoside bonds. The chain flexibility parameter, activation energy, ζ-potential and droplet size for PMSM were determined as 946.09, 0.78×10 7 J/kgmol, 15.23mV (at neutral pH) and 448.56nm, respectively. Intrinsic viscosity for PMSM in deionized water was 14.24dlg -1 .