Medicinal plants used in the Uzunköprü district of Edirne, Turkey

Fatma Güneş

doi:10.5586/asbp.3565

Abstract

This study examined the use of plants in Uzunköprü and surrounding villages in the years 2013–2015 during the flowering and fruiting season of the studied plants (March–October). Interviews were carried out face-to-face with members of the community. Fifty-seven people in 55 villages were interviewed. Overall, medicinal plants from 96 taxa belonging to 45 families were recorded. Traditional medicinal plants were used to treat 80 diseases and ailments such as diabetes, cold, flu, cough, stomachache, and hemorrhoids. According to the results, the largest eight families are Rosaceae, Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae, Ranunculaceae, Malvaceae, Cucurbitaceae, and Brassicaceae. The most commonly used species were Anthemis cretica subsp. tenuiloba, Cotinus coggyria, Datura stramonium, Ecballium elaterium, Hypericum perforatum, Prunus spinosa, Pyrus elaeagnifolia subsp. bulgarica, Rosa canina, Sambucus ebulus, Tribulus terestris, Urtica dioica. The herbarium numbers, Latin and local names, families, village numbers, parts used, usage forms, and uses were listed alphabetically in a table. In this study, 219 local names were identified.

Highlights

Turkey is rich in flora and approximately 12 000 species of plants are growing there naturally [1,2,3,4,5]
People who cultured various plants and used natural resources for medical purpose in Anatolia, China, Egypt, and Central America around 8000 BC definitely had a rich knowledge on plant uses
Dioscorides (30–90 AD), a doctor who was born near Tarsus (Cilicia) and lived in Anatolia, described approximately 600 plants with medical properties

Summary

Introduction

Turkey is rich in flora and approximately 12 000 species of plants are growing there naturally [1,2,3,4,5]. Dioscorides (30–90 AD), a doctor who was born near Tarsus (Cilicia) and lived in Anatolia, described approximately 600 plants with medical properties. He wrote a book entitled De materia medica and this work has been the guidebook for doctors for 15 centuries. The picture and properties of Mandragora (mandrake) plant is presented in this book. This scholar, who travelled a lot, visited Greece, Italy, France, and Turkey. Ibn Al-Awam described approximately 600 plants [6,7]

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