Extracts from wild and cultivar olive and Greek juniper – the two plants that are key natural sources found in the Sultanate of Oman — have the potential for wound healing and hair growth. The two plants are also used to treat a plethora of diseases and ailments.
This is revealed in a study by researchers from Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of Korea who investigated “the potential herbal plants because of their association with strong efficacy and fewer side effects”.
Findings showed that tannins, alkaloids, saponin, terpenes, and phenolic were found at high concentrations, while the rest of the constituents were found at moderate to low concentrations in both leaf-based plant extracts.
In the wound healing study, it was observed that Juniperus extract showed significant results in the recovery of linear wounds. In the study on hair growth, it was observed that the wild and cultivar olive water extracts have the best effect on hair growth.
“From these findings, it is clear that these traditional medicinal plant parts can be effectively used for pharmacological preparations”, the researcher wrote in the study “Phytochemical, Antioxidant, hair growth and wound healing property of Juniperus excelsa, Olea oleaster, and Olea europaea”, published in the Journal of King Saud University - Science.
Juniperus excelsa is one of the flowering plants belonging to the family of Cupressaceae. It is a wild plant in the Al Hajar Mountains in the Sultanate of Oman, and it specifically grows only in highlands like Al Jabal Al Akhdhar, Jabal Qubal, and Jabal Al Khawr.
Several reports suggest that the Junipers excelsa extract is enriched with natural bioactive substances which provide antimicrobial activity, moisturising activity, and building of the skin to help in healing the wound and cuts, also reduction of inflammation at the wound site.
“Traditionally, in the Sultanate of Oman, essential oils are used rather than extracts in the treatment of infectious diseases, hair growth, and wound healing,” the study says, quoting other research on the subject.
During wound recovery, the invasion of pathogens into the damaged tissue must be prevented by using antimicrobial agents till partial or complete reformation of the damaged tissue.
Olive products have been employed since ancient times as food, natural preservatives, and in folk medicine, in continuation during the 19th century boiled olive leaf extracts are used to treat malaria. Olive leaf extracts contain active phytochemicals which show olive as an effective antimicrobial substance against bacterial infections, fungal infections, and mycoplasma.
“The significant amount of important constituents of olive leaf extracts are commercialised to treat many common diseases without being evaluated scientifically only based on their traditional efficacy”, the researchers reveal in the study.
Juniperus excelsa is traditionally used in rural areas in Oman as a primary healthcare agent for the treatment of diseases like ‘’diuresis, stomachic, and digestive disorders, flatulence, and diseases of the kidney and bladder.
The essential oil of Juniperus excelsa is widely used as aromatherapy for ‘’mood scents, scent masks, soaps, candles, cosmetics and fragrances, lotions, and remedies’’.
In Oman, it is also traditionally used for bronchitis, the common cold, jaundice, and tuberculosis. Due to their various medicinal values, the research aimed to explore the comparative phytochemicals, wound healing, and hair growth of these selected Omani plants.
The wound-healing effects of water extracts obtained from Junipers excelsa, Olea oleaster (wild olive), and Olea europaea (Cultivar olive) by maceration method were studied on mice.
It was noticed that the Junipers excelsa extract showed the best effect on the recovery of the linear wound, which is 1.6 cm followed by cultivars at 1.467 cm and wild olives at 1.433 cm, respectively, the initial size of the wound was 2.0 cm.
In the hair growth study, “we found that the wild and cultivar olive water extracts have the best effect on hair growth, which is 1 cm and 1.05 cm, respectively,” the researchers say.
Junipers excelsa and olive extract will simply penetrate the scalp, and their cleansing results will help in detoxifying the hair follicles and promoting blood circulation within the scalp. It will increase nutrients to the hair follicles that facilitate hair growth.
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