Lamium sp.

The ethnobotanical uses of Lamium plants have been recorded worldwide, particularly as food and medicine. Lamium species, commonly called dead nettles, have been used for their uterotonic, astringent, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, painkiller, hypotensive, antibacterial, antinociceptive, antimicrobial, free radical scavenging, and tonic effects all over the world. The interest due to the medicinal properties of Lamium species has led to intensive phytochemical investigations on the plants. As a result of these phytochemical investigations, several iridoids and secoiridoids, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, phytoecdysteroids, betaines, benzoxazinoids, terpenes, and megastigmen compounds as well as essential oils have been recognized from different Lamium species. In this chapter, we present the current scientific information regarding certain Lamium species that also inhabit in Turkey.