Tilia

Monograph

Name: Zyad Nayef Abdelsattar

ID: 19128
Round: 1
Origin:
Family: Tiliaceae (Malvaceae).

Synonyms:
English: Lime flower, Linden, Tilia and small leaf linden, small leaf lime

Arabic: ‫تيليو‬

Plant part used:

Flower

Description:
Flower and Fruit: The yellowish-white flowers are arranged in clusters of 5 to 11. The calyx is
5-sepaled, oblong or ovate-lanceolate, acute and deep. The 5 petals are spatulate lanceolate with
crenate tips. There are numerous stamens and 1 superior ovary, which is almost globular and has
silky haired villi. The fruit is a 1-seeded, pear-shaped, indistinctly angular, thin-shelled nut.
There is a tongue-shaped, parchment-like,
greenish- or yellowish-white brace at the base of
the flowers.
Habitat: The tree is common in northern
temperate regions.
Production: Linden charcoal consists of the
charcoal obtained from the wood of Tilia cordata
and/or Tilia platyphyllos.

Phytochemical constituents:
Flavonoids (1%): Kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin and their glycosides (mainly
Kaempferol-3-O-β-D-(6″-E-p-coumaroyl)-glucopyranoside “tiliroside”) and
proanthocyanidins.
Phenolic acids: Caffeic, chlorogenic and p-coumaric acids.
Essential oil: Aliphatic hydrocarbons as the main components in an amount of about 25 %
(mainly tricosane), phenolic alcohols and esters and terpenes including citral, citronellal,
citronellol, eugenol, limonene, nerol, α-pinene and terpineol (monoterpenes), and farnesol
(sesquiterpene).
Mucilages (10%): arabino galactans with uronic acid share
 Kaempferol Quercitin

Tricosane

Phytotherapeutic indications:
 Relief cough and irritation of the throat in colds and catarrh of the respiratory tract.
 Relief of mild symptoms of mental stress (3, 4).
 Mechanism: Linden has sedative effects in animal models. A report documents isolation
of a pharmacologically active benzodiazepine receptor ligand from Tilia tomentosa.
Peritoneal administration of a flavonoid complex in mice produced an anxiolytic effect.
Kaemferol binds to the benzodiazepine receptor but does not have any sedative or
anxiolytic activity.
 An alcoholic extract of the flowers is antimicrobial in vitro with the tannins, glycosides,
and the essential oil the active components. Tilia flavonoids, which have not been
described in detail, are anti-edemic in animal experiments.

Side effects:
- unknown.
- If adverse reactions occur, a doctor or a pharmacist should be consulted.

Contraindications:
 Hypersensitivity to active substances and to other plants of the same family.
 Safety during pregnancy and lactation has not been established. In the absence
of sufficient data, the use during pregnancy and lactation is not recommended.

Reference:
1- https://edaegypt.gov.eg/media/4yrbzjpt/egyptian-herbal-monograph-
2022_compressed.pdf
2- PDR for herbal medicines