An Ethnobotanical Study on Plants Used in the Treatment of Gynecological Diseases in Some Provinces of the Eastern Anatolia Region

Abstract

This work was supported by “The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks.” It was carried out to document the plants used by people living in and around Ardahan, Iğdır and Kars provinces between 2020-2021 for gynecological diseases. For this purpose, medicinal plants used by the public for therapeutic purposes were collected and determined, their use, and parts used were reported, and herbarium samples were prepared. Regular visits were arranged to the regions where the research was carried out, and surveys were conducted by interviewing and speaking with the area's people. It was determined that 34 medicinal plant taxa belonging to 18 plant families were used in gynecological diseases among the people of Ardahan, Iğdır and Kars provinces and their surroundings. These plants include 26 wild species and 7 cultivated species. It has been observed that the most commonly used medicina plant families in gynecological diseases are Asteraceae (6), Malvaceae (5) and Lamiaceae (3). Although traditional medicine is widely practiced in the regions where it is studied, it is rapidly being replaced by modern medicine and pharmacy.