Annotated Bibliography

 Annotated Bibliography
Gupta, D., Bleakley, B. & Gupta, R. (2007). Dragon’s blood: Botany, chemistry and therapeutic
uses. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 115 (3), 361-380.
The author reviews the several therapeutic uses of Dragon’s blood namely haemostatic,
antidiarrhetic, antiulcer, antimicrobial, antiviral, wound healing, antitumor, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and among others. Readers will find the review handy as it
provides information on the different sources of Dragon’s blood as a source of chemical
constituents and therapeutic uses. The purified compounds extracted from the Dragon’s
blood are suggested to possess better therapeutic potential as compared to crude extract.
While it advocates the promising therapeutic uses of Dragon’s blood, the authors
conclude the review by citing the importance to conduct clinical trial evaluations to prove
the authenticity of such claims.
Gurgel, L., Silva, R., Santos, F., Martins, D., Mattos, P. & Rao, V. (2001). Studies on the
antidiarrhoeal effect of dragon’s blood from Croton urucurana. 15 (4), 319-322.
Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ptr.728/abstract.
The research study focuses on the possible anti-diarrhoeal effect of Dragon’s blood with
the use of laboratory rats and mice. Among the health conditions involves in the research
study are on castor oil induced diarrhea in rats, cholera toxin-induced intestinal secretion
in mice and on small intestinal transit in mice. The authors published a clinical
investigation on mice and the anti-diarrheal properties of Dragon’s blood as opposed to
the analgesic properties of the said traditional based on the study below of Liu & Chen
(2007).
Liu, X. & Chen, S. (2007). Research on analgesic effect of dragon’s blood resin and reverse
pharmacology [Google books version]. Retrieved from
http://www.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=xzCpYmcwwgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA217&dq=dragon%27s+blood+therapeutic+use&ots=35aLL
H7TNJ&sig=MMzJR33J-j0Y7RD0tE8o7BmyiKQ#v=onepage&q&f=false/
The researchers published the results of a series of research work that investigates the
pharmacological mechanism of the quality of dragon’s blood resin on voltage-gated
sodium currents. The research work involves reverse pharmacology wherein the
Dragon’s blood as a traditional medicine is studied in a clinical set up to prove the
analgesic mechanism of the resin found in dragon’s blood. Readers are able to determine
the efficacy of dragon’s blood in a controlled, clinical trial. Thus, the authors attempt to
present the analgesic properties based on the chemical make-up of the traditional
medicine.
Simeone-Senelle, M.C. (1994). Aloe and dragon’s blood, medicinal and traditional uses on the
island of socotra. New Arabian Studies.
The author use data from the people of Yemenite island of Socotra to determine the
legendary origin and medicinal use of Aloe and Dragon blood’s tree. The reading offers
several medicinal properties of Dragon’s blood namely soothes heartburn, stop bleeding,
hasten healing, anti-inflammatory, and an abortive action. Readers will benefit from this
study upon knowing how native people of the island of Socotra value the myth and origin
of Dragon’s blood and Aloe in relation to their strong belief on the efficacy of the two
prestigious herbal medicinal plants.