Ethno-botanical Survey of Traditional Medicinal Plants of Abhar County, Iran

Plants are a key component of traditional medicine that has long been used by humans since ancient times. Despite the dramatic advances in the health care system and pharmaceutical industry, still traditional herbal medicine is used all over the World. According to World Health Organization [۱] approximately ۸۰% of the world’s population use traditional herbal medicines for primary healthcare and approximately ۸۵ % primary health remedies are obtained from plants [۲]. Indigenous knowledge and ethnobotany have played a remarkable role in the development of new medications in many centuries. The present study was carried out with an aim to gather, evaluate and document the indigenous knowledge of therapeutic uses of medicinal plants by the local people of Abhar in Zanjan province. Ethnobotanical information was gathered by semi-structured interviews during ۲۰۱۸-۲۰۱۹. The data obtained were quantitatively analyzed by RFC, CI and FIC indices. A total ۷۰ medicinal plants belonging to ۳۲ families were documented. Asteraceae was the predominant family over others with ۱۱ reported medicinal plant species, leaf was the most used part, and herbal tea the most preferred preparation type. Anthemis cotula L. and Rosa canina L. have the largest value of relative frequency of citation and cultural importance indices respectively. The current study indicated the importance to document traditional knowledge of some medicinal plants in Abhar. However, further clinical and experimental studies are needed to ensure the efficacy and safety of these medicinal plants.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ethnobotany ، Herbal medicine ، Asteraceae ، Use value ، Zanjan