An Ethnobotanical and Ethnomedicinal Study on the Use of Wild Medicinal Plants in Rural Areas of Serbia
Abstract
In the traditional culture of the
Serbian people, medicinal plants are of medicinal, economic, and
cultural anthropological importance and represent a symbol of health.
Among other things, they are used in the healing of people and animals,
for food, beliefs and customs, and as a source of income.
This
chapter describes the usage of 80 of the most frequently used and
well-known medicinal herbs in ethnomedicine and 15 used in
ethnoveterinary medicine in rural areas of Serbia. Different plant parts
(rhizomes, roots, tubers, bulbs, leaves, buds, flowers, fruit, seeds,
bark, needles, the aerial part or the whole plant) are used internally
or externally, as tea, decoction, tincture, syrup, oil, or ointment, or
are applied directly to the skin. In addition to tea, the most important
role in Serbian ethnomedicine traditionally is played by rakija prepečenica (very strong plum brandy) or komovica
(grape pomace brandy) combined with a medicinal herb (gentian,
wormwood, walnut, juniper, etc.). Medicinal plants that are
predominantly used internally (50 %) are mainly used for treating
diseases of the digestive system, skin conditions, respiratory system
diseases, urogenital problems, nervous tension, gynecological problems,
etc., whereas external applications are used in the treatment of
rheumatic diseases, arthritis, injuries, wounds, cuts, boils,
hemorrhoids, and other skin complaints