An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants administered for the treatment of hypertension

The incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is very high in human societies and their prevention and treatment are the most important priority in many countries. Hypertension makes an important contribution to the development of CVDs. This study aimed to collect the ethno-medicinal knowledge of the traditional healers of Shiraz on medicinal plants used in the treatment of hypertension. Ethno-medicinal data were collected from September 2012 to July 2013 through direct interview. Twenty-five healers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires and their traditional ethno-medicinal knowledge was recorded. Questionnaires were included apothecary personal information, plant local name, plant parts used, method of preparation, season of harvest and traditional use. Data collected from surveys and interviews were transferred to Microsoft Excel 2007 and analyzed. Analysis of data showed that, 27 medicinal plants from 22 families are used for the treatment of hypertension. The families with most antihypertensive species were Apiaceae (8%), Rosaceae (8%) and Papaveraceae (8%). The most frequently used plant parts were leaves (36%) followed by fruits (30%), aerial part (17%) and branches (7%). The most frequently used prepar...Continue Reading