PRIOR ART The therapeutic use of plant ash is described in various patents and/or patent applications. For example, patent US 5,035, 888 (which corresponds to European patent application 0 129 431) claims compositions to be administered orally for the treatment of blood acidosis, peritoneal ascites and anaemia, constituted by particles of wood ash with a particular particle size and calcium carbonate, which said compositions contain compounds (oxides, halides or"the oxidized forms of phosphorus and sulfur") of calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, aluminium, potassium, sodium, silicon, copper, zinc, cobalt, titanium, germanium and chromium. Japanese patent JP 63 093 723 relates to the buds of broadleaf trees of the Fagus, Ulmus and other families, which are burnt in two stages; the ash thus obtained is pulverised and administered orally as a health promotion aid, or applied for cosmetic purposes in the form of an ointment or lotion. Another Japanese patent, JP 2 138 125, claims the use of an aqueous extract of ash obtained from a coniferous or broadleaf tree, to be administered orally for the treatment of peptic ulcers, hypertension and cancer. Chinese patent 1 231 908 describes a burn treatment ointment consisting of six medicinal products, including fir ash. Japanese patent JP 7 165 594 claims a generic use as skin treatment and germicide for an aqueous extract of wood ash obtained from coniferous and broadleaf trees.

More specifically, German patent 4 320 523 claims compositions

containing 30-50% in weight of ash or charcoal, 20-40% fat, 8-12% odorant and 15-25% oil, for the treatment of equine mange and scab. Finally, application PCT WO 94/11010 describes the use of ointments containing extracts of oak-bark ash for the treatment of melanoma, venous stasis, lacerations and abrasions in general, psoriasis, impetigo, gangrene (twice a day for six weeks), boils, Kapos's sarcoma and AIDS lesions."Synthetic" preparations containing 10 to 80 parts in weight of potassium ions and smaller amounts of zinc, calcium, rubidium and sulphur ions (elemental or as sulphate) can be used instead of ash according to this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It has now been discovered that aqueous extracts of plant ash, if combined with sodium chloride in given weight ratios, especially when administered in the form of baths, compresses or irrigations, have a very high therapeutic activity, greater than that claimed in the known art, with rapid results, in patients suffering from a wide variety of disorders of bacterial and viral origin such as: furunculosis, abscesses of various kinds, juvenile acne, whitlow, abscesses, carbuncles, purulent fistulas, varicose veins, rhagades and bedsores; inflammatory processes in general, infections of the eye, ear, oral cavity and throat; purulent lesions from the minimum to maximum degree of severity, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, gangrene, mastitis, and infections of the male and female genital apparatus.

The extracts according to the invention have also proved effective in the treatment of burns of varying degrees of severity; they reactivate the capillary vessels; they are active against dandruff and hair loss, cure tooth abscesses and bacterial plaque, and are active (in their original form or incorporated in toothpaste) against pyorrhoea, gingivitis and tooth decay, in both preventive

and therapeutic terms.

They are also effective in post-surgical treatment following orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery or other types of surgery.

When used by inhalation (vaporisation, nebulisation and sprays) they have proved surprisingly effective against colds, bronchial asthma, bronchitis in general, pleurisy and pneumonia, considerably improving the respiratory capacity of normal subjects and heavy smokers alike.

It has also surprisingly been found that the compositions according to the invention possess very high bactericidal activity, even against antibiotic- resistant bacteria, and can therefore be used in all cases of bacterial infections in which many antibiotics have little or no effect due to the development of resistance to those antibiotics.

Examples of bacteria against which said compositions are very active include Enterococcus faecium V2, V3, V8, V12, C3,29 ; Enterococcus faecalis Cl, V6, V13; E. casseliflavus C5,6, 11; Klebsiella ssp, ozenae, pneumoniae ; P. mirabilis, Escherichia coli; Staphlyococcus aureus.

Moreover, said compositions are active against fungi (e. g. Candida) and yeasts.

Moreover, the compositions according to the invention are particularly useful as adjuvants to other drugs, in particular those used in dermatology.

More recently, it has been observed that they can be used as adjuvants in the therapy of SARS and AIDS.

Finally, it has surprisingly been found that these compositions also possess an effective therapeutic action against many types of cancer.

The compositions according to the invention have a highly effective disinfectant action on wounds of varying degrees of severity, and are suitable to disinfect premises and animal rearing units and for the cleaning and disinfection of machinery and equipment, pipes and containers used for the

processing and transport of foodstuffs, partly because they are non-toxic. In view of these characteristics, the compositions according to the invention are also ideal for the sterilisation of water designed for uses other than drinking water, and for disinfectant rinses of fruit and vegetables.

In addition to baths, compresses, impregnated gauze dressings and irrigations, the ash and sodium chloride compositions according to the invention can also be used in paste form for creams or ointments, and for infiltrations.

Moreover, dry extracts which can be used as such or transformable (by addition of traditionally used excipients, adjuvants, flavouring agents etc.) into tablets, suppositories, pills or injectable vials can be obtained from the aqueous extracts according to methods known in pharmaceutical technology.

The ash used according to the invention may derive from total incineration (or partial burning) of any kind of plant, including seaweed, any part of the plant (trunk, branches, leaves, roots or bark), or surplus timber.

Particularly good results are obtained from firewood ash, especially oak ash, or the corresponding charcoal, especially if the original trees grew in mountain areas or areas otherwise little affected by atmospheric pollution.

The therapeutic compositions are prepared as follows. a) The"raw material", ie. the wood ash or the corresponding charcoal, is treated in an oven at the temperature of at least 600°C for approx.

24 hours to obtain complete sterilisation, and then left to cool. b) 15 to 30 litres of water (ie. spring, demineralised, distilled, mineral or spa water) are then heated; when the water comes to the boil, 700 to 1800 grams of ash and 10 to 300 grams of sodium chloride are added.

After boiling for a short time the mixture is left to stand. c) The supernatant liquid is decanted and a quantity of boiling water approximately equal to the quantity originally used is added to the residue ; the mixture is then agitated and left to decant again.

d) The supernatant liquid is then collected, and operation c) is repeated. e) The three portions of aqueous extract resulting from the decantation are combined, filtered to remove the solid residues still present, and distributed between sealed glass containers.

As will be seen from the above description, 10 to 300 grams of sodium chloride is added to 500-1800 grams of ash to prepare the compositions according to the invention. The aqueous extract thus obtained can be used for balneotherapy or for impregnating gauze dressings, compresses and the like, possibly after dilution with water in the case of highly concentrated extracts (ie. those with an ash: sodium chloride: water weight ratio exceeding 3: 0.8 : 40), in which case it is advisable to add more water to the extract, generally approx. 1-2 litres per litre of extract.

Alternatively, a dried extract suitable for the preparation of creams or ointments with the vehicles commonly used for these types of pharmaceutical formulations, which said creams or ointments contain 1 to 10% in weight of dried extract, can be prepared from the aqueous extract by evaporation of water (lastly under vacuum).

The following examples further illustrate the invention.

Example 1 82 patients of varying ages, suffering from anal fistulas, were treated twice a day with a local bath obtained from oak ash, sodium chloride and water in the weight ratio of 0.7 : 0.1 : 50. All patients were wholly cured by a number of baths ranging between 10 and 35, depending on the severity of the case. The same bath, given 2-5 times, totally cured some 70 cases of anal rhagades.

Absence of healing was not observed in any case.

Example 2- Over 200 cases of cellulitis were completely cured by 8-12 baths identical to those described in example 1. Absence of a cure was not observed in any case.

Example 3 33 cases of mycosis of various kinds were totally cured by application of compresses with an aqueous extract prepared as described above from oak ash, sodium chloride and water in the weight ratio of 1: 0.25 : 80. In 12 cases, the patients had unsuccessfully used various commercial antifungals.

Example 4 25 patients (out of 25 treated) suffering from vaginitis and vulvovaginitis of various kinds were completely cured by 1-3 irrigations, or applications of swabs impregnated with an aqueous extract like the one described in example 3.

Example 5 141 patients suffering from osteomyelitis (haematogenous osteomyelitis in children, vertebral and chronic osteomyelitis) were cured by 20-40 baths identical to the one described in example 1, with the sole exception that oak ash was replaced by beech ash. Absence of a cure was not observed in any case.

Example 6 Daily application for 2-7 days of an ointment containing 5% of a dried extract of oak ash/sodium chloride completely cured eight cases of juvenile acne and over 150 cases of furunculosis and folliculitis. Over 22 patients suffering from furunculosis had previously used an antibiotic treatment, without success.

Example 7 17 cases of conjunctivitis (out of 17) were cured by 2-6 irrigations with the aqueous extract described in example 1, diluted with 3 volumes of distilled water.

Example 8 The ointment described in example 6, applied once a day for 2-4 days, cured seven out of seven cases of dental abscesses.

Another subject of the invention is the therapeutic use of compositions obtained by mixing metal salts and/or oxides in proportions which on average

correspond to those found analytically in the types of ash described above.

Said compositions consequently contain, per 100 grams, in the form of sulphates, oxides or chlorides: 20 to 30 g of calcium ions; 5 to 10 g of potassium ions; 1 to 2 g of magnesium ions; 0.1 to 1 g of manganese ions; 80 to 300 mg of zinc ions; 10 to 120 mg of copper ions; # 0.4 to 1.2 g of phosphorus as phosphate; 5 to 15 g of sodium added as sodium chloride.

Treatment of the disorders listed above with these compositions (also in the form of baths, creams, ointments, etc. ) produces results similar to those described above.

A further subject of the invention is constituted by the therapeutic use, for the same purposes as described above, of aqueous compositions containing per litre, in the form of salts (chlorides, sulphates, fluorides, etc. ) : 1 to 5 grams of sodium; # 0.5 to 3 grams of potassium; # 8 to 18 milligrams of magnesium; # 15 to 50 milligrams of calcium; # 2 to 16 milligrams of silicon (as silicate); # 2 to 10 milligrams of phosphorus (as phosphate); # 0.02 to 0.12 milligrams of zinc; # 0.03 to 0.15 milligrams of copper; # 0.1 to 1 milligrams of manganese; # 0.05 to 0.8 milligrams of iron; # 0.001 to 0.01 milligrams of arsenic ;

0.01 to 0.1 milligrams of chromium; 0.001 to 0.01 milligrams of cobalt; 0.1 to 0. 35 milligrams of boron ; # 0.03 to 0.15 milligrams of aluminium; # 0.002 to 0.012 milligrams of lithium.

Said composition corresponds on average to the analysis of the aqueous extracts obtained according to the invention. Treatment of the disorders listed above with these compositions (also in the form of baths, impregnated gauze dressings, compresses, etc. ) produces results similar to those described above.