Plant Families & their TherapeuticsPreview
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Mucilage

Solvents: water, good; alcohol, poor; glycerin, fair; vinegar, poor; oil, fair

Videos

This is what mucilages look like:

watch?v=pBgGS16lVm0

Plants Control Soil Gas Exchanges Possibly Via Mucilage by A. Haupenthal et al.

watch?v=Q-EuTs_-VeY

This is a slimy, moist polysaccharide - example, Aloe, that moistens tissues. Its especially useful for mild burns and sunburns. The fluid between your body cells is a mucopolysaccaride hydrogel. The polysaccharides help strengthen this hydrogel after damage. Its described as an emollient when applied externally, and as a demulcent when taken internally, as for soothing a sore throat. It has a mild expectorant quality, probably by increasing the sliminess of the phlegm enough to release it. Its sometimes used as a bulk laxative. It also coats the intestinal tract, reducing irritation and sensitivity to chemicals, acids and bitters. The Cactus, Mallow, Flax, Purslane, Borage and Plantain families are all high in mucilage. Its also found in the Violet family and several members of the Rose family. - (Epel)

Water soluble heteropolysaccharides; emolient

Solvents: water, good; alcohol, poor; glycerin, fair; vinegar, poor; oil, fair

Mucilages are a class of polysaccharide related to soluble fiber. Soluble fiber such as guar gum is thought to lower cholesterol by several possible mechanisms. In particular, bacterial flora in the large bowel metabolize soluble fiber to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Some of these SCFA are carried by the portal venous system to the liver where they might influence hepatic metabolism to decrease cholesterol biosynthesis. Patients can supplement their soluble fiber intake with mucilages such as slippery elm, marshmallow root and seeds or hulls from Plantago species (psyllium ispaghula).

Caution:

Since they are known to cause esophageal obstruction, mucilages should be taken with plenty of water and not prescribed in tablet form. Even the, Health Canada issued a 2010 warning that glucomannan (a fiber very similar to mucilage) as a powder or capsule needs to be taken with copious amounts of water as otherwise it may cause serious choking.

Mucilages may compromise absorption of nutrients and drugs. However, the potential for psyllium to decrease the absorption of minerals isn’t proven.

Preparation:

Since mucilages are water soluble and relatively insoluble in ethanol, liquid Galenical preparations of mucilages are not appropriate (except for their use as reflux demulcents); for demulcent effects in the digestive tract, mucilages are best given as powders, capsules, or glycerol-based tinctures. An effectively made liquid extract of slippery elm, for example, would be so viscous that it could not be poured, yet there are still some companies that sell it. (Bone & Mill pg 26)

PDF Summary

Title: Medical Mucilage Used in Traditional Persian Medicine Practice (attached at the top)
Authors: Ghazaleh Heydarirad, Rasool Choopani, Mehdi Pasalar, Jamileh Mahdavi Jafari
Source: Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2016

This reviews how mucilage, a group of pharmaceutically useful polysaccharides, was used in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM). Mucilage can function as a binder, thickener, water-retention agent, emulsion stabilizer, suspending agent, disintegrant, film former, and gelling agent.

The authors examined major Persian medical texts, including Al-Havi, The Canon of Medicine, Qarabadin-e Kabir, Zakhireh-ye Khwarazmshahi, Tuhfat al-Mu’minin, and Makhzan al-Adwiyah. They searched these works for the term “loab,” referring to mucilaginous substances, and collected information about their medicinal applications.

Main findings

Several mucilage-producing plants were frequently described, including:

These plants were traditionally administered orally or topically to address disorders involving the:

Conclusion

Mucilage was one of the most commonly cited medicinal properties of plants in Persian medical literature. The authors suggest that systematically studying these historical practices could identify potentially useful treatments, particularly for chronic diseases, and generate new research opportunities. However, the poster is a literature review and does not itself provide modern clinical evidence confirming the effectiveness or safety of these remedies.

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