Ethno-medicinal survey on weed plants in agro-ecosystems: a case study in Jahrom, Iran

Abstract

Most useful plant-derived drugs have been discovered by follow-up of ethno-medicinal information. Weeds, unwanted and uncultivated plants in agro-ecosystems, generally tend to have high content of bioactive secondary compounds. The main objectives of present research were to gather, analyze, and evaluate the ethno-medicinal information on weed species used by the native people of Jahrom, Iran. All kinds of weeds were repeatedly collected from various agricultural areas through different seasons of 2015. Ethno-medicinal information about these weeds was obtained through direct interviews and open discussions with local informants. Based on the results, 36 weed species belonging to 18 families and 31 genera had traditional medicinal uses. Asteraceae was the most dominant family having highest number of weed species followed by Fabaceae, Brassicaceae, and Polygonaceae. Most of weeds with therapeutic uses had annual life cycle. Leaf was the most widely consumed part of the weeds followed by seed and fruit. The weeds were traditionally used for curing various health problems such as gastrointestinal disorders, body pain, and metabolic disorders. It can be concluded that certain weeds could play a major role in curing the diseases and health improvements in the local people, especially in developing countries. Undervaluation and ongoing destruction of the endemic medicinal weeds in agro-ecosystems may have a negative impact on availability of the unwritten local knowledge about such valuable weeds in the future.