Ethnopharmacology of Medicinal Plants in Tangestan county

Background: Ethnopharmacology is a very diverse approach to drug discovery that involves the observation, description, and experimental study of native drugs and their biological activities based on botany, chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and other disciplines such as anthropology, archeology, history, and linguistics that helps discovering of  natural products with biological activity. The aim of this study was to identify medicinal plants that have a traditional use in the Tangestan region of Bushehr in the north of Persian Gulf. Materials and Methods: The medical uses of medicinal plants were gathered from 20 local informants by face to face interviews. The relative frequency of citation (FRC) and cultural importance (CI) indices were calculated. Results: A total of 109 medicinal plants belonging to 55 families were identified. Zataria multiflora, Descuraninia Sophia, Matricarria charmomilla, Achillea eriophora DC, Salvia mirzayanii, Plantago psyllium, Haplophyllum tuberculatum, Teucrium polium, Prunus amygdalus had the highest CI and FRC indices. The highest medical uses were for gastrointestinal problems, infectious diseases, gynecology and obstetrics, metabolic diseases, and skin problems. Conclusion: There is a wide variety of medicinal plants in the Tangestan region of Bushehr province which are used for  various diseases that are consistent with the traditional medicine uses that are common in Iran and had been reported in the international medical literature. However, in this region, a number of plants are used to treat diseases that are specific to this region and research on these medicinal plants can be the beginning of a way to discover new drugs in the therapeutic field.