Plants used in ethnomedicinal practices in Gulnar district of Mersin, Turkey

Abstract

This research reveals essential ethnopharmaceutical data on medicinal plants used by locals who live in the Golnar county of Mersin in Turkey. In this survey carried out between 2013-2015, 104 taxa belonging to 46 families, including two gymnosperms were identified as being used for therapeutic purposes by visiting 16 villages and six spice-sellers in Golnar. The study demonstrated that most of the informants agreed on the use of Ceratonia siliqua fruits to cure respiratory diseases having the highest fidelity level (95.3). Two taxa may have been recorded by the authors for the first time as they were not matched with any studies that had previously been conducted in and around the region. Although it is not a very common finding in the ethnobotanical literature, the knowledge achieved by this research indicates that the medicinal plants reported have mostly been used to treat livestock diseases (0.78 ICF) since the locals provide their livelihood from farm animals and agriculture. As in many other regions of Anatolia, the average age of the participants who shared valuable ethnomedicinal information with us was mostly over 60 years of age. However, the festivals of homemade products organized during the last few years in various villages increased our hopes on behalf of the future of the ethnobotanical heritage. Additionally, we would recommend that the industrial sector entrepreneurs interested in new natural drug discovery and development were informed of the taxa having highest FL, UV and RFC in this research.