Abbas Rahmani and Narjes Seighali komleh
Ethnobotany is the study of people’s use of plants, including in healing traditions. Medicinal plants play an important role in different cultures and regions in preventing and treating human and animal diseases. This paper focuses on traditional medicinal plants used by local peoples of the Guilan Province, Northern Iran. This region has diverse climates and ecosystems, and these are reflected in the range of medicinal plants they use. People's traditional beliefs concerning the use of medicinal plants have been an important aspect of their application. The current research aimed to identify the most important species of medicinal plants used by local peoples and apothecaries of a region northern Iran, including the parts used and the type of application in the treatment treating human and animal diseases. This research on ethnobotanical and veterinary medicinal plants was carried out between 2020 and 2023 in Langroud and its surrounding villages, on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Guilan Province, Iran. After preliminary investigations and determination of the study area and references, the plants of this region were collected by a systematic-random method and were identified. An ethnobotanical study using structured questionnaires and interviews was conducted with traditional healers and local villagers, to document the traditional medicinal uses of plants for human consumption and in the treatment of animal disorders (including cattle and sheep). A total of 420 plant species in 86 families were identified, in this study. The medicinal plants collected totalled 165 species in 58 families. Leaves were the plant part found to be the most widely used in curing both livestock (43%) and human (35%) diseases. Aerial parts (15%), roots and underground parts (9%), flowers, fruits and seeds (each (5%) were also used in the ethno-veterinary medicines. Seeds (18%), flowers (12%), whole plants and roots and underground parts each (11%) were used in human medicine and healthcare. As medicines for people, these plants were mostly used to treat of digestive problems (36%), parasites (20%), wounds (24%) and fever (8%). In veterinary care, the common ailments treated were for treatment colds and sore throats (30%), digestive disorders (18%), liver disorders (17%), kidney disorders (10%), nervous disorders (5%). Among the identified medicinal plants used to treat the disorders and discomforts of humans and animals in the study area, some are also used in other parts of the country. For example, Capsella bursa –pastoris (L.) Medik., Artemisia vulgaris L., Cichorium intybus L., and Stellaria media (L.) Cyr. are also used in the Tehran watershed for ethno-veterinary treatements. Punica granatum is used in the North Khorasan province; Solanum nigrum, Ricinus communis L., and Juglans regia L. are used in the Shahrbabak, Kerman province. Morus alba L., Ficus carica L., Plantago lanceolatae L. are used to treat human ailments in the Northeastern Persian Gulf watershed, and Cichorium intybus L., Nasturtium officinale R.Br., and Convolvulus arvensis L. are used medicinally in the Abhar, Zanjan province. As well, local people and attars use different parts of plants for medicine. Leaves and aerial parts and seeds are the most widely used parts. Notably, their use has a less negative effect on the survival of the plants harvested compared to the harvesting of their roots and bark.
