Int. J. Med. Arom.

Plants, ISSN 2249 4340

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 101-106, September 2011
*Corresponding author: (E-mail) ilkerugulu@mynet.com http://www.openaccessscience.com
2011 Open Access Science Research Publisher ijmap@openaccessscience.com
Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants used for
external therapies in Alasehir, Turkey
Ilker UGULU
Department of Biology Education, Necatibey Faculty of Education, Balikesir University, Balikesir, 10100,
Turkey
Article History: Received 4
th
September 2011, Revised 9
th
September 2011, Accepted 9
th
September 2011.
Abstract: Traditional Ethnobotanical Knowledge (TEK) is the main resource of the all ethnobotanical investigations.
Documentation of the TEK through ethnobotanical studies is important for the conservation and utilization of biological
resources and should be carried out before such rich heritages are lost due to various anthropogenic and other natural
causes. In this reason, the aims of this study is identified not only the medicinal plants used for external therapies by local
people of Alasehir District in the Aegean Region of Turkey, but also drawing attention to traditional knowledge that is in
danger of being lost. The information including the various data such as local names, ailments and diseases treated, the-
rapeutic effects, parts of plants used and methods of preparation were obtained from local people through individual and
face-to-face interviews. Also, the fidelity levels of the species were determined. At the end of the study, it is found that
37 taxa of medicinal plants are used for external therapies by the community. These medicinal plants belong to 27 fami-
lies. Most used families were Asteraceae and Liliaceae. Allium cepa (100 %) has the highest fidelity level and Ficus ca-
rica ssp. carica (65 %) has the lowest. The knowledge of medicinal plants used by the people of Alasehir seems to be
well known to its culture and tradition.
Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge, Phytotherapy, Alasehir, Turkey.
Introduction
Ethnobotany is defined simply as the study
of the relationships between plants and people
(Balick and Cox 1996). Some of the steps uti-
lized in ethnobotanical research include docu-
menting how people classify, identify and relate
to plants, examining the interactions of plants
and people, taxonomic identification of selected
plants and biological as well as chemical analy-
sis of their ingredients (Balick 1996). In general,
ethnobotany is the scientific investigations of
plants as used in indigenous culture for food,
medicine, rituals, building, household imple-
ments, musical instruments, firewood, pesti-
cides, clothing, shelter and other purposes (Kel-
bessa et al. 2004; Kumbi 2007).
Indigenous knowledge is the main resource
of the all ethnobotanical investigations and is
generally called as Traditional Ethnobotanical
Knowledge (TEK). However, the continuation
of this knowledge is endangered when transmis-
sion between the older and younger generation
is no longer connected (Kargioglu et al. 2008).
Therefore, documentation of the TEK through
ethnobotanical studies is important for the con-
servation and utilization of biological resources
(Muthu et al. 2006) and should be carried out
before such rich heritages are lost due to various
anthropogenic and other natural causes (Kumbi
2007).
The value and importance of TEK are now
being increasingly acknowledge all over the
world (Verma et al. 2007). However, the in-
crease of the ethnobotanical investigations is
showed that traditional knowledge also play an
important role in Turkey (Cakilcioglu and
Turkoglu 2010; Dogan et al. 2004; Dogan et al.
2011; Kargoglu 2008, Kultur 2007; Mert et al.
1993; Ozgen et al. 2004; Simsek et al. 2004;
Tan et al. 2004; Ugulu and Baslar 2010; Ugulu
et al. 2009; Ugurlu and Secmen 2008; Uzun et
al. 2004).
The aims of this study is identified not only
the medicinal plants used for external therapies
by local people of Alasehir District in the Ae-
gean Region of Turkey, but also drawing atten-
102
Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants Local knowledge about plants used for external therapies in Alasehir
Ilker Ugulu
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tion to traditional knowledge that is in danger of
being lost.
Methodology
Study Area
Study area was located on the west of Ana-
tolian diagonal, in the Aegean Geographic Re-
gion (one the seven subdivision of Turkey).
Alasehir (Figure 1) is bordered on the east by
Sarigol and Esme (Usak), on the west by Salihli,
on the south by Nazilli (Denizli), on the north
by Kula and is situated in the valley of the Ku-
zucay, at the foot of the Bozdag. It belongs to
the Mediterranean Plant Geography Region and
falls within the B2 grid square according to the
grid classification system developed by Davis
(19651985).
Figure 1: The map of the study area.
Data Collection
Semi-structured interviews were adminis-
tered to 86 informants to gather information
about medicinal plants applied as external ther-
apies in Alasehir. The information including the
various data such as local names, ailments and
diseases treated, therapeutic effects, parts of
plants used and methods of preparation were
obtained from local people through individual
and face-to-face interviews. The informants
were selected based on one of the following cri-
teria: that they have been living in the region for
more than 10 years, use plants as the main med-
icine or identified as medicinal plant extractors
or traditional healers. The people who had
knowledge of plants were visited at least for two
times; one of these visits is particularly paid to
their houses. The people who participated in the
study were also requested to indicate the wild
plants they used.
At the end of the semi-structured interviews,
the information about medicinal plants and its
103
Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants Local knowledge about plants used for external therapies in Alasehir
Ilker Ugulu
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usages was carefully recorded. The recorded
species were collected by author and taxonomi-
cally identified according to Flora of Turkey
and the East Aegean Islands (Davis 1965
1985; Davis et al. 1988; Guner et al. 2001).
Data Analysis and Quantitative Ethnobotany
The fidelity level (FL), the percentage of in-
formants claiming the use of a certain plant spe-
cies for the same major purpose, was calculated
for the most frequently reported diseases or ail-
ments as: FL (%) = (N
p
/ N) 100, where N
p
is
the number of informants that claim a use of a
plant species to treat a particular disease, and N
is the number of informants that use the plants
as a medicine to treat any given disease (Alex-
iades 1996).
Results and Discussion
Interviews with the local people living in
Alasehir indicated that 37 taxa of medicinal
plants are used for external therapies by the
community. These medicinal plants belong to
27 families. The plants used for medicinal pur-
poses in Alasehir are presented in Table 1 ar-
ranged in alphabetical order of their botanical
names, with the relevant information such as
family, vernacular name, plants parts used etc.
It was observed that some plants like Ecballium
elaterium, Hypericum perforatum, Parietaria
judaica and Pistacia terebinthus have more than
one vernacular name. The reason for this may
be because the same plant is prepared in differ-
ent ways in different people to treat different
ailments.
Table 1: The medicinal plants used for external therapies in Alasehir.
Botanical Name Vernacular Name Family Parts Used Preparation Uses
Achillea millefolium L.
subsp. millefolium
Civanperemi Asteraceae Leaves Poultice Wounds, Furuncle
Allium cepa L. Mutfak Soan Liliaceae Bulbus Crushed + salt Sprain, Edema, Bruise
Allium sativum L. Sarmsak Liliaceae Bulbus Crushed Snake bite
Althaea officinalis L. Hatmi, Tbbi hatmi Malvaceae Leaves Infusion Mouth Diseases
Capsella bursapastoris
Medik.
oban antas Brassicaceae Leaves Poultice Hemorrhoids, Wounds
Ecballium elaterium (L.)
A. Rich.
Eek hyar, eytan
kelei, Ac dlek
Cucurbitaceae
Fruits Juice +
Water
Snuffing Sinusitis
Fruits Juice +
Water
Drop Earache
Euphorbia stricta L. Stleen Euphorbiaceae Latex Fresh Toothache
Ficus carica ssp. carica L. ncir Moraceae Latex Fresh Warts
Hypericum perforatum L.
Kantaron otu, Sar
kantaron, Mide otu
Clusiaceae Leaves Keeped in olive oil Wounds
Juglans regia L. Ceviz Juglandaceae
Leaves Infusion Syphilis
Leaves Infusion Eczema, Herpes, Pimples
Laurus nobilis L. Defne Lauraceae Fruits Crushed Antiseptic
Lilium candidum L. Zambak Liliaceae Leaves
Crushed with olive
oil
Wounds, Edema, Too-
thache
Malva sylvestris L. Ebegmeci Malvaceae Leaves Poultice Wounds, Furuncle
Matricaria chamomilla L. Papatya Asteraceae Flowers Decoction Alopecia
Morus nigra L. Karadut Moraceae Fruit Juice Crushed Mouth Diseases
Paeonia mascula (L.)
Miller
akayk Paeoniaceae Roots Infusion Sore Throat
Paliurus spina-christi
Miller
Karaal, kz gz Rhamnaceae Leaves Poultice Wounds, Furuncle
Papaver rhoeas L. Gelincik Papaveraceae
Aerial Parts Poultice Wounds
Aerial Parts
Poultice with olive
oil
Burns
Parietaria judaica L.
Duvar fesleeni,
yapkan otu
Urticaceae Leaves Decoction Mouth Wounds
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Ilker Ugulu
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Peganum harmala L. zerlik Zygophyllaceae Roots Decoction Hemorrhoids
Pinus pinea L. Fstk am Pinaceae Gum Decoction Wounds
Pistacia terebinthus L.
subsp. terebinthus
Menengi, itlembik Anacardiaceae Leaves Decoction Antifungal
Plantago lanceolata L. Sinir otu Plantaginaceae Leaves Poultice
Bee Bites, Heat Rash, Fu-
runcle
Platanus orientalis L. nar Platanaceae Leaves Decoction Edema
Quercus coccifera L. Dikenli pnar Fagaceae Roots Infusion Wounds
Rosa damescena L. Gl Rosaceae
Petals Juice Skin Care
Petals Juice
Mouth Wounds, Bruise,
Cuts
Rosmarinus officinalis L. Kudili, biberiye Lamiaceae Aerial Parts Decoction Wounds
Rubus canescens DC. Brtlen, Gr zm Rosaceae Leaves Decoction Wounds, Burns
Rumex crispus L. Kuzukula Polygonaceae
Leaves Crushed Hemorrhoids
Leaves Crushed Rheumatism
Scolymus hispanicus L. evketi bostan Asteraceae Seeds Decoction Hemostatic
Scrophularia libanotica L. Sprge otu Scrophulariaceae Leaves Poultice Inflamed wounds
Sedum album L. Damkoruu Crassulaceae Aerial Parts Poultice Corn, Hemorrhoids
Solanum nigrum L. tzm, kopek zm Solanaceae Aerial Parts Poultice Wounds, Rheumatism
Thymbra spicata L. Zahter Lamiaceae Leaves Decoction Eczema
Tussilago farfara L. ksrk otu Asteraceae Leaves Poultice Furuncles, Paniculas
Urtica dioica L. Isrgan, Gidiken Urticaceae
Leaves Decoction Rheumatism
Leaves Decoction Skin Diseases
Viola tricolor L. Meneke Violaceae Aerial Parts Infusion Eczema, Acne, Expectorant
In depth analysis on the families has shown
that family Asteraceae is represented by highest
number of species (4 species). Liliaceae is
represented by three species. These are followed
by Malvaceae, Moraceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae
and Urticaceae, each represented by two spe-
cies. The rest are represented one species each
(20 families). In a study carried out in Izmir, it
was seen that plants belonging to the families of
Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae (Ugulu et al.
2009), Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae in Ca-
talca (Genc and Ozhatay 2006), Rosaceae, Aste-
raceae, Lamiaceae in Merzifon (Ezer and Arisan
2006) are used commonly by the people of the
regions.
All parts of various plant species are used in
the traditional medication of different diseases,
however, the most frequently used parts are
leaves. The utilization and administration of the
medicinal plants vary depending on the type of
diseases. Sometimes, local people also used oth-
er ingredients, such as salt, olive oil to prepare
the remedies. The most frequently used way of
applying the external therapies is decocting the
usable part, homogenizing in water and coating
on the surface of the affected body part. When
other studies concerning nearby areas were eva-
luated, it was seen that decoction and infusion
are the methods mostly used for the preparation
of the folk medicine (Tuzlac and Tolon 2000;
Kargioglu et al. 2008; Ugulu et al. 2009).
The study found that some of the plants are
collected for commercial purposes by local
people: Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Juglans
regia and Rosa damescena are largely cultivated
for harvesting. These plants have great econom-
ic importance in Turkey. Hypericum perfora-
tum, Laurus nobilis, Malva sylvestris, Morus
nigra, Peganum harmala, Rubus canescens,
Rumex crispus, Scolymus hispanicus and Urtica
dioica are wild harvested and these plants are
sold bazaars and markets.
The fidelity level (FL) calculated for each
medicinal plant (Table 2). Obviously, the reme-
dies for frequently reported aliments have the
highest FL value and those with low number of
reports have the lowest FL values. The reme-
dies, such as Ficus carica ssp. carica (65%),
have low FL value because the majority of the
informants do not know the dosage and the me-
thods of preparation of the remedies.
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Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants Local knowledge about plants used for external therapies in Alasehir
Ilker Ugulu
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Table 2: The most commonly used medicinal
plants against gastrointestinal disorders and
their major uses with their fidelity level. (0 =
The least, 100 = The highest efficiency).
Species Local name Uses Fidelity
Level
(FL) (%)
Allium cepa Mutfak Soan Sprain, Edema,
Bruise
100
Rosa damescena Gl Skin Care 95
Hypericum perfo-
ratum
Kantaron otu,
Sar kantaron,
Mide otu
Wounds 93
Laurus nobilis Defne Antiseptic 89
Morus nigra Karadut Mouth Diseases 88
Urtica dioica Isrgan,
Gidiken
Skin Diseases 82
Viola tricolor Meneke Eczema, Acne 78
Rubus canescens Brtlen, Gr
zm
Wounds, Burns 76
Allium sativum Sarmsak Snake bite 71
Ficus carica ssp.
carica
ncir Warts 65
Gathering Traditional Ethnobotanical
Knowledge (TEK) about how people deal with
their natural surrounding is not only important
for the recording of indigenous traditions and
the richness of this heritage, but also gives us
some of the information necessary to protect our
natural habitat in the long term. In this perspec-
tive, the knowledge of medicinal plants used by
the people of Alasehir seems to be well known
to its culture and tradition. Finally, the purpose
of this paper is to document the TEK and draw
the attention of pharmacologists and other rele-
vant scientist for further scientific research in
this line.
Acknowledgement: Author would like to es-
pecially thank Gulser Isik and locals for their
precious knowledge and support for the study.
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