Ethnopharmacology of Medicinal Plants in the Kangan- Asaluyeh Area

Ethnopharmacology, as a multidisciplinary approach for novel drug discovery, provides valuable data about medicinal plants in different cultures. The aim of this ethnopharmacological study was to identify medicinal plants in the Kangan-Asaluyeh area in the north of the Persian Gulf. Material and Methods: The medical uses of medicinal plants were gathered from 20 local informants by face-to-face interviews. The relative frequency of citation (FRC) and cultural importance (CI) indices were calculated. A total of 90 medicinal plants belonging to 42 families were identified. Zataria multiflora, Teucrium polium, Salvia mirzayanii, Pistacia atlantica, Astragalus fasciculifolius, Achillea eriophora DC, Artemisia sieberi, Cassia italic and Haplophyllum tuberculatum had the highest CI and FRC indices. The highest medical uses were for gastrointestinal discomforts, infectious diseases, skin diseases, respiratory diseases, and the metabolic disorders, respectively. There is a vast variety of medicinal plants in the Kangan-Asaluyeh area. Although most of the therapeutic applications of these plants in this region are the same as Iran’s traditional medicine, the people in the Kangan-Asalouyeh area use some of these plants for some diseases which are unique for this region. For example, the native people use Zataria multiflora, Teucrium polium, Pistacia atlantica, Artemisia sieberi for gastrointestinal discomfort and abdominal pain. They use Achillea eriophora DC, Haplophyllum tuberculatum for neonatal colic, Zataria multiflora for cough, Astragalus fasciculifolius for fracture, Teucrium polium and Artemisia sieberi for diabetes mellitus and inflammatory diseases, Cassia italic for constipation, Pistacia atlantica for diaper rash and sore throat, Haplophyllium tuberculatum for headache and improving mental health and Achillea eriophora DC for jaundice. Thus, investigation about these plants should be initiated to discover novel drugs for clinical applications.