The most important medicinal plants in Wadi Araba desert in South West Jordan : A review

This paper reviews the relevant information from journal articles and other resources on the most important medicinal plants present in the desert of Wadi Araba in South-West Jordan including the pharmaceutical and indigenous knowledge research. Many of Wadi Araba plants are common in the deserts of other Arab countries such as Arab gulf countries, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine and Sudan and beyond to India and Pakistan. The flora of Wadi Araba was investigated by many botanist and plant ecologist but the analysis of the medicinal and economical value of those plants is still lacking. From the medicinal plants that present in Wadi Araba and still used by the local inhabitants are: Artemisia judiaca, Calligonum comosum, Moringa peregrina, Salvadora persica and Ziziphus spina-christi. However, the traditional and indigenous knowledge of the medical utilization of these and other plants is poorly recorded and is suffering from dramatic erosion. Consequently, further investigations regarding the value of native medicinal plants and the documentation of its traditional and ethnopharmacological knowledge is an indispensible priority in Wadi Araba in particular and in Jordan in general. The aim of this review article is to provide the reader with information concerning the pharmaceutical research and indigenous knowledge of the most important medicinal plants that present in Wadi Araba fragile desert ecosystem in order to: (1) Emphasize the importance of documenting the indigenous knowledge as a part of the cultural heritage, (2) Draw attention of the share holders in the pharmaceutical industry in Jordan and beyond about the important medical values of those plants and (3) Draw attention of the governmental and nongovernmental authorization to preserve those plants from genetic erosion.