Studying indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used in Chaharchasmeh village (Khomein City, Central Province)

Subject Areas : Medicinal Plants

Shabnam Abbasi ¹ , Zeinab Badakhshan ²

1 - Assistant Professor, Department of Biology Education, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran
2 - Official Biology Teacher, Education Department 18, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2024-01-30 Accepted : 2024-06-12 Published : 2024-06-17

Keywords: Ethnobotany, Digestive disorders, Treatment, Interview.,

Abstract :

Ethnobotany, as a branch of indigenous knowledge, investigates how people of a tribe or community use the plants of a region. Despite the huge advances in the production of chemical drugs, the use of herbal and traditional drugs still seems to be efficient and irreplaceable. The purpose of this research is to know the medicinal plants used by the people in Chaharcheshmeh village of Markazi province. For this purpose, the floristic list of the target area was first prepared using the field survey method, and then, using questionnaires, the area’s local residents’ local knowledge such as the local name of the plant, the organ used, the method of consumption, and the use of the medicinal plants of the area was obtained through open, semi-structured and collaborative interview methods with native people. According to the results of this research, 41 plant species belonging to 17 families are used by the people of Chahar Cheshme village. Among them, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Apiaceae families are the most important. The highest Relative Frequency Citaion indices (RFC) of the records belong to mountain tea (0.85), oregano (0.76), thyme (0.75), and mint (0.72), respectively. The most common uses of these medicinal plants were to eliminate digestive and respiratory disorders. The people of this region use these medicinal plants mostly in the form of decoction, sweating, topical application, and powder. Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that utilizing the indigenous knowledge of the residents of Chahar Cheshmeh village can contribute to enhancing the awareness of contemporary individuals in the field of herbal medicine utilization as an alternative to chemical drugs. Furthermore, these natural compounds can be utilized in the pharmaceutical industry to mitigate the side effects caused by chemical substances.

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