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


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to collect the ethno-medicinal knowledge of the traditional healers of Shiraz on medicinal plants used in the treatment of hypertension.


METHODS
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.


RESULTS
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 preparation method was decoction (95%). Borago officinalis (51.85%), Berberis vulgaris (51.58%) had the highest frequency of mention.


CONCLUSIONS
The ethno-medicinal survey of medicinal plants recommended by traditional healers for the treatment of hypertension provides new areas of research on the antihypertensive effect of medicinal plants. In the case of safety and effectiveness, they can be refined and processed to produce natural drugs.
Madani Heart Hospital, Department of Cardiovascular, Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
Babak
B
Baharvand-Ahmadi
Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
Mahmoud
M
Bahmani
Medical Plants Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
Pegah
P
Tajeddini
Medical Plants Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
Mahmoud
M
Rafieian-Kopaei
Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
Nasrollah
N
Naghdi
Ethnobotanical; Hypertension; Medicinal plants
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