Available online 31 July 2015
Ethnobotany Of Medıcınal Plants Used In Antakya: A Multıcultural Dıstrıct In Hatay Provınce Of Turkey
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
We
have compiled information about the medicinal plants used in folk
medicine in the district of Antakya. Since its establishment by King
Seleucus I in 300 B.C., Antakya (old Antioch) has hosted nearly twenty
civilizations. Antakya, neighboring Northwestern Syria, is located on
the western end of the “Silk Road” and was one of the great centers of
Graeco–Roman world. Today, Antakya is a cosmopolitan city in which
Arabic and Turkish are widely spoken, and where distinct ethnic and
religious communities, such as Arab Alawite, Arab Christian, Arab Sunni,
Turk Sunni, Armenian, and Jewish, have been living together in harmony
for centuries. In addition, the rich flora in the vicinity of Antakya
also renders the area interesting in terms of ethnobotanical fieldwork.
Aim of the study
This
study aimed to compile the information about plants used for medicinal
purposes by local people in the district of Antakya. This city is a
significant region in terms of ethnobotanical fieldwork, owing to its
cosmopolitan structure, long history, relatively preserved traditional
community structure, and rich flora. Furthermore, we sought to compare
the ethnomedicinal data geographically, cross-culturally, and
historically.
Materials and methods
The
ethnobotany of medicinal plants used in the district of Antakya has
been investigated through two separate studies; one was conducted in
1975, interviewing 29 people, and the other was conducted in 2011–2013,
interviewing 182 people. The Use Value (UV) and Informant Consensus
Factor (FIC) values of the plants were calculated. In order to interpret
the authenticity and sources of the compiled ethnomedicinal
information, previous publications that contain information about the
similar medicinal uses of plants identified in our region were reviewed
and evaluated meticulously. A comparison with the data obtained from
other regions of Turkey and from other Mediterranean regions, as well as
a cross-cultural analysis between the ethnic groups within the study
area, was performed by implementation of the Jaccard index (JI)
Results
Throughout
the study, information about 202 medicinal plant taxa was compiled.
Among these plants, 39 have either not yet been mentioned in
ethnobotanical or medicinal studies, or have been used for a medicinal
purpose other than those encountered in the literature review. The
ethnomedicinal information we gathered from the study area exhibits
close similarities to the ethnomedicinal information of other Southern
and Eastern Mediterranean countries where Arabic is spoken, as well as
to that of Northern and Western Mediterranean countries where Latin
languages are spoken. In addition to these similarities, in most cases,
this ethnomedicinal information shows hybrid features of ethnomedicinal
knowledge from Eastern and Western Mediterranean countries.
Conclusion
Based
on a literature survey, we found that the cited medicinal uses for 43
plants have also been corroborated by other various biological testings.
This finding strongly suggests the importance of ethnobotanical studies
in the development of new medicines. We believe that this study has
compiled rich ethnomedicinal information that reflects the cosmopolitan
structure of Antakya in a very good way.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
- Ethnomedicine;
- Antakya;
- Multicultural old city;
- Diachronic analysis;
- Cross-cultural;
- Comparison;
- Turkey
- Corresponding author. Tel.:
+905334801078; fax:+903262455867.
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