Therapeutic Use of Some Romanian Medicinal Plants

Romanian traditional medicine has an extremely old history. The Dacian knowledge of the curative properties of medicinal plants was documented by Herodotus, Hippocrates, Galen, and Dioscorides. It must be emphasized that modern chemical screening has confirmed the therapeutic properties of the medicinal plants used by the Dacians. More interesting is that Dacians used many of these herbs for different dishes. Practically, for Dacians, food was medicine. Recent research on some Romanian medicinal plants has highlighted their pharmacognostical importance. It is known that currently, the importance and dynamics of the research on medicinal plants in the area of drug discovery continues to increase worldwide. The main reason is not only the high efficiency of secondary metabolites in case of serious diseases (cancer, viral infections, malaria, etc.) but also the minimization of the side effects of the synthetic drugs.


Introduction
Phytotherapy has always played an essential role in the development of humanity. Traditional medicine still continues to have major importance in many areas of the world, especially in low-income regions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].
Although in developed countries, alternative medicine has been outdated by modern medical techniques, at present, there is a growing trend toward natural remedies. The importance of medicinal plants emerges from the fact that worldwide, almost 50% of existing synthetic medicaments are derived from natural extracts [2][3][4][5][6][7].
Complementary to phytotherapy, various products of mineral origin were used, of which the most well known are: limestone powder (hemostatic effect), volcanic tuff (healing effect), etc.
Thermal springs are used as natural remedies for bone diseases or circulatory system disorders. In this respect, they were highly appreciated the waters of Geoagiu Bath, known by the Dacians as Germisara [11- 13,18].
Fumigations of cannabis were used as anesthetic and analgesic, mainly in labor and childbirth.
Also, Dacians paid special attention to medical preventive measures. Thus, they treated the clothing with extracts of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) [ Table 3.
In fact, modern studies have identified in these natural products different secondary metabolites with high biological activity [9,. The main bioactive compounds and their therapeutic effect are summarized in Table 1.
Another aspect to be mentioned is the fact that the Dacian medicinal plants are also found in other important traditional medicinal systems, such as Chinese or Hindu medicine (  Currently, some the Dacian healing herbs are appreciated worldwide for their nutritional values and even have found modern applications in several sectors of the industry ( Table 5).

Aristolochia clematitis: chemical screening of main phytoconstituients
Aristolochia clematitis is a highly regarded herb in traditional medicine and at the same time controversial due to the latest research that revealed the potential carcinogenic effect of aristolochic acid [73,74,76,77,85].
In an effort to identify the secondary metabolites from Aristolochia clematitis, the plant extract was analyzed in two different solvents (methanol and water). The plant material (Aristolochia clematitis leaves, young stems, and flowers) was obtained from a collection taken in 2017 in Timis, Romania. Plant sample was identified at Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara. The botanical material was dried and then finely ground in a ball mill. Separation of the main constituents from different parts of the botanical material was done using two different polar solvents: water and methanol. A plant sample (2 g) was placed in a 100-mL volumetric flask containing 45 mL of solvent. The resulting mixture was sonicated for 50 min at 40°C, with a frequency of 50 kHz. Then, the solution was filtered through a 0.25-μm pore size filter. Thus, four birthwort fractions were prepared: B 1 (water extract from leaves and stems), B 2 (methanol extract from flowers), B 3 (water extract from leaves), and B 4 (methanol extract from stems). Identification of the main compounds from the birthwort fractions, B 1 , B 2 , B 3, and B 4, was performed using TOF-MS method.

TOF-MS analysis
The mass spectra of birthwort fractions: B 1 -B 4 (acquired in positive ion mode, in a mass range of 100-3000 m/z) are presented in Figure 1a-d.
The results gained through mass spectrometry confirmed the presence of aristolochic acid in all four samples analyzed (m/z detected: 294, 293, 308, 355) among other secondary metabolites [86].
Further, thorough investigations are required to highlight: • the maximum concentration of phytoconstituients from that called perfect moment to harvest the plant and the composition of active principles from a randomly harvest plant;

Conclusions
Natural compounds are essential for the existence of humanity; this assertion has been demonstrated by the most modern researches which once again highlights the particular curative properties of phytochemicals isolated from medicinal plants known and appreciated since the earliest times.