Ethnopharmacological study of medicinal plants from Khoy city of West Azerbaijan- Iran

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to gather information on the use of plants by native people along with therapies suggested by the conventional healers of Khoy. It was analyzed and some important indices including, frequency of citation (FC), cultural importance index (IC), use report (UR) and informants consensus factor (ICF) were calculated. A total of 123 plant taxa belonging to 46 families used for cure of various ailments are reported in this investigation. Among the plants evaluated Apiaceae, Lamiaceae and Asteraceae were the dominant families. The most repeatedly utilized parts are aerial parts (23.2%), followed by leaves (18%). Most frequently used method for consumption has been raw (19.7%), followed by infusion (16.5%). Maximum value of ICF was obtained in digestive system category (with 0.81), followed by respiratory and blood use categories (each with 0.80). Malva neglecta Wallr. was the most cited plant, followed by Mentha longifolia (L.) L. and Plantago major L., Cichorium intybus L. and Salix aegyptiaca L. seem to be the most culturally important plants. The indices like IC and FC could be helpful in selecting important medicinal plant species for further pharmacological investigations in order to find new biologically active compounds.