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Table 1 Medicinal properties and chemical structures of the plant derived substances frequently found in traditional herbal cough and cold remedies [22, 96, 97, 104, 114, 146,147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160]

From: Modulation of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels by plant derived substances used in over-the-counter cough and cold remedies

 

Menthol

Camphor

Eucalyptus oil

Turpentine oil

Thymol

Cedarleaf oil

Nutmeg oil

Plant

Mentha x piperita (Peppermint) and other members of the mint family

Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor Laurel)

Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum) and other members of the eucalyptus family

Pinus Pinaster (Maritime pine) and other members of the pine family

Thymus vulgaris

Thuja orientalis (Arbor vitae) and other members of the Cupressaceae family

Myristica fragrans (Fragrant nutmeg)

Chemical Structure of Main Pharmacologically Compound

Medicinal properties described

Antibacterial

Analgesic

Anti-inflammatory

Antioxidant

Antiviral

Antimicrobial

Antitussive

Antipyretic

Expectorant

Sedative

Cooling effect

Counter irritant

Antipruritic

*

*

Antifungal

*

*

*

*

Antiseptic

*

*

*

Antispasmodic

*

*

H1 receptor antagonist

*

Antiparasitic

*

*

Astringent

*

Disinfectant

*

  1. denotes medicinal properties most relevant to the management of cold symptoms
  2. *denotes additional medicinal properties not specifically related to cold symptoms