Ethnomedicinal plants of Aydincik District of Mersin, Turkey

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: This survey presents crucial ethnopharmacological data on medicinal plants used by indigenous people who live in the Aydincik district of Mersin in Turkey.

Aim of the study: To provide a knowledge base of herbal therapies from the Aydincik region with their traditional use, plant parts and administration methods besides computing some statistical values.

Materials and methods: Plant samples that have been collected by spice-sellers or residents from Aydincik for therapeutic purposes were recorded by visiting the villages during the study period, and then brought to the laboratory to diagnose the taxa. In addition, the relative frequency citation (RFC), use values (UV), informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL) were computed.

Results: In this research conducted between 2013 and 2015, 91 taxa associated with 41 families, including 1 fern & 2 gymnosperms were defined they have been used for centuries in terms of the healing by visiting 10 villages & 5 spice-sellers in Aydincik. Lamiaceae, Rosaceae, Araceae, Asteraceae, Cupressaceae, Orchidaceae and Pinaceae have been determined as the most used families for therapeutic purposes. The study revealed that most of the locals concurred on the use of Juniperus oxycedrus fruits & leaves to cure gastro-intestinal diseases that demonstrated the highest fidelity level (0.98). 22 taxa have not matched with any studies conducted in and around the region.

Conclusion: The light of the information obtained during the investigation demonstrates that the medicinal plants have been mostly utilized as analgesics (0.78 ICF). The most data were acquired from the mountain villagers & Yuruk nomads, having average ages of 65. From the viewpoint of ethnobotany, the district has remained valuable due to the winding roads, ongoing hundreds of kilometers over the mountains and along the coast is very difficult to drive making Aydincik too far from large cities and mass tourism centers.