Analysis of factors affecting the consumption of medicinal plants and their products

Medicinal properties, market demand, and satisfaction level are among a medicinal plant's most important economic indicators. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the factors affecting the consumption of medicinal plants to analyze the behavior of consumers to implement management strategies in this field. Accordingly, the present research investigated the factors affecting the use of medicinal plants in Shiraz City one of the important metropolises of Iran. This study used a survey and questionnaire with approved validity and reliability. The required data were collected from ۳۸۵ people in ۱۱ municipal districts of Shiraz using a random sampling method. A set of demographic, economic, social, and cultural factors on the consumption of medicinal plants and their products was investigated. A logit model was used to analyze the data. The results showed that the studied factors, except for gender and income level, positively affected people’s decisions to use medicinal plants. Variables of education, age, awareness about medical properties of plants, fewer side effects, advertisement, family knowledge, doctor’s prescription, personal experience (trial and error), effective distribution marketing channels, consumption experience, anxiety caused by infectious diseases, unwillingness to attend the clinic, and the belief that medicinal plants are more compatible with the body were among the factors influencing people’s choice of medicinal plants. Regarding the tendency to use medicinal, policymakers must pay attention to the factors affecting the use of medicinal plants. By knowing the behavior of consumers, more appropriate policies could be implemented in the medicinal plant industry.

کلیدواژه ها:

Logit model ، Medicinal plant consumption management ، Medicinal plant industry ، socio-economic factors