Ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal studies in Baluchi tribes: A case study in Mt. Taftan, southeastern Iran.

ETHNOBOTANICAL RELEVANCE

From ancient times, the applied use of herbs has been common among indigenous people throughout the world. The present survey is a regional ethnobotanical study of Baluchi tribes living in the Mt. Taftan area, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, southeastern Iran. The aim of this study was to document all traditional knowledge and analyze the medicinal plants used in area and also to identify significant plant species for future pharmacological study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Local knowledge was obtained through semi structured and open interviews, in which 51 informants were interviewed. Data were analyzed with Informant Agreement Relative (IAR) and Frequency of Citation (FC) indices.

RESULTS

A total number of 106 taxa of medicinal plants were collected from ten villages from the surrounding plains and highlands of Mt. Taftan, out of 446 plant taxa collected or reported as native in the area. Most plants belong to the Irano-Turanian phytogeographical region in which Asteraceae (15%), Lamiaceae (11%), Fabaceae (8%), Rosaceae (7%), Apiaceae (7%) and Brassicaceae (5%) are those predominantly used. The regression analysis shows that families Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Solanaceae and Rosaceae are more highly used as medicinal than species rich families such as Asteraceae and Fabaceae, which are the richest families in the Iranian flora. The highest FC was recorded for Artemisia spp. (41) and Berberis integerrima (40). The highest IAR Index was obtained for stings (0.86), followed by disorders in the circulatory system (0.7), dental problems (0.70) and injuries (0.69). Comparing our data with major ethnobotanical references in Iran revealed that medicinal applications of 34 taxa have not been cited, including Hyoscyamus malekianus, a local endemic plant using for ailments of toothache and worms. The toxicity of the endemic Semenovia suffruticosa is also reported.

CONCLUSION

As a result of this study we conclude that Taftan area harbours many plant species for which indigenous knowledge provides a background of medicinal importance. The high percentage of medicinal plants proportional to the native flora is 23.8%, compared to the world percentage of 17.1%, is an indication of the rich knowledge and relationship of isolated Baluchi tribes living in Mt. Taftan to the local flora growing in their surroundings. This rich knowledge should be highly regarded as a cultural and ethnobotanical heritage. Furthermore, ethnobotanical results show some weak interrelation between Baluchi tribes living in Iran and Pakistan, probably because of a different flora and/or unfavourable environmental conditions and perhaps local conflicts which might have reduced active cultural exchange.