Abies pindrow is also called the West Himalayan fir due to the fact that it is found growing in the Himalayan region of Nepal and India. It is also referred to as the pindrow fir or talapatra. The fir is a large evergreen tree belonging to the Pinaceae family of plant and grows to up to 60 metres in height. The leaves of the fir tree may have particular medicinal properties. For example, evidence suggests that extracts of West Himalayan fir show anxiolytic effects in animals. This anxiolytic effect may stem from the fact that extracts from the fir show particular anti-inflammatory effects. In this regard researchers have demonstrated that extracts of West Himalayan fir are effective at reducing arthritic symptoms in animals due to their anti-inflammatory properties of the phytochemicals contained within the extracts. Current evidence supports a role for inflammation in the aetiology of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, and anti-inflammatory herbs may therefore play a pivotal role in treatment.
The fresh of the West Himalayan fir contain an essential oil that makes up about 0.25 % of the extracted liquid. The oil contain high amounts of α-pinene (14.7%), l-limonene (10.6%), ∆3-carene (11.8%), dipentene (8.4%), l-bornyl acetate (15.7%) and l-codinene (9.9%). The leaves of the fir also contain high amounts of flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids and steroids. Studies have shown that components of the leaves can stabilise mast cells and reduce histamine release, and this is strong evidence that the phytochemicals within the leaves are able to modulate the immune response and this may explain the anti-inflammatory effect. Image is of West Himalayan fir trees. Image from: By Abhineet Khorana – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/ w/ index.php?curid=2923243.
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