Ethnobotanical and Phytochemical Study of Withania coagulans (Stocks) Dun. in Khash City, Iran

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants covers various aspects, including ethnobotany. Ethnobotany means human knowledge of botany and the ecology of plants. In this study, an ethnobotanical and phytochemical evaluation of Withania coagulans (Stocks) Dun. was performed in Khash city in Sistan and Baluchestan province. The data collection was performed through a structured questionnaire (150 questionnaires). The data was analyzed using RFC (Relative Frequency of Citation) and CI (Cultural Importance Index). The questions were related to the plant organ used, plant harvest time, type of livestock user and growth place. To investigate which chemical compounds in the plant cause people to use this drug in the treatment of certain diseases, the chemical compounds of the species were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Results showed that the best season of plant collecting was spring. The most used part of the plant was seeds. The plant grows mainly in plains. Camel (51.40%) and sheep (42.05%) have the maximum use of the plant. The maximum chemical compositions were related to the Ar-tumerone terpene and Pentadecanone with 95.5% and 93.8% probability, respectively. Also, the percentage of saturated fatty acids such as Palmitic acid, Tetradecanoic acid and unsaturated fatty acids such as Oleic acid has the highest percentage. In total, indigenous people use this plant in treating diabetes due to the presence of a compound such as Ar-tumerone, which is consistent with the chemical compounds identified in this study. The importance of plant seeds in cheese making by indigenous peoples is related to acidic compounds such as Palmitic acid, Linoleic acid and Oleic acid.