Ethnoveterinary Uses of Medicinal Plants in Mediterranean District, Turkey

Abstract

Ethnoveterinary Medicine (EVM) research is defined as the reevaluation of the animal disease prevention and treatment folklore dating back to 14,000 years using modern and scientific methods. The knowledge acquired in centuries by trial and error has been used in medicine and has reached today by being transferred from generation to generation. As the science of chemistry has developed after the 18th century, synthetic or semi-synthetic materials have replaced the plants as raw materials for drugs. However, the emerging problems caused by the side effects of modern drugs in the recent years have popularized the use of natural drugs again. This study is conducted in the Mediterranean Region which is ranked at the top of medical aromatic plant diversity list in Turkey. 60 participants living in the region, chosen by random sampling have been interviewed face-to-face and we have tried to measure their knowledge about the plants they use for EVM. The obtained information has enabled us to make 168 citations to 67 different plants used in animal diseases. L. nobilis L., (%7.14), Mentha spp. and Urtica urens L. (%4.17) were the most prominent among these plants and it was reported that the medicinal plants were mostly used for gastrointestinal disorders (%26). Although EVM parctices reached today and are still being widely applied, the recorded information about this subject in Turkey and many other countries is inadequate. This study presents information about the plants used in Turkey�s Mediterranean region for EVM and how they are used to treat which diseases.