Ethnobotanical research of medicinal plants in Mihalgazi (Eskişehir, Turkey).
BACKGROUND
Human beings have long utilized plants for medicinal purposes. Investigation of these plants has led to the discovery of several modern drugs.


OBJECTIVE
This paper documents and evaluates traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used by the local people of Mihalgazi district of Eskişehir, Turkey.


METHODS
Six villages of the study area were visited between February 2014 and April 2015 to collect the data. One hundred and eighty-nine informants were interviewed by the survey method and face to face semi-structured interviews. Taxonomic identification, the most commonly used plant parts, preparation and administration methods were evaluated. Ethnomedicinal data were analyzed quantitatively with relative importance (RI) and the informant consensus factor (FIC).


RESULTS
This paper reported a total of 52 medicinal plants (37 wild, 15 cultivated) belonging to 34 families. Some uses of 22 plants were not found in the literature and are reported for the first time in this study. Furthermore, one of the plants, Calamagrostis arundinacea (L.) Roth (Poaceae), was reported for the first time as being used within the scope of traditional therapies.


CONCLUSIONS
This study recorded traditional knowledge on medicinal plants used in Mihalgazi, Turkey. This paper provides a basis for further investigations to discover efficient pharmaceuticals.
a Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy , Anadolu University , Eskişehir , Turkey.
Merve
M
Uzun
a Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy , Anadolu University , Eskişehir , Turkey.
Ayla
A
Kaya
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D019448:Ethnobotany / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D008875:Middle Aged; D018514:Plant Structures; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
Herbal remedies; Turkey; folk medicine; traditional knowledge