Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants of Hezar Mountain Allocated in South East of Iran

Introduction

There are about 35,000 to 70,000 plant species that have been used for medicinal purposes worldwide (1) from which, the application of 6,500 species is related to the Asia (2). Iran has a long medicinal tradition and traditional learning of plant remedies. One of the earliest ethnobotanical works that we could name here is a work by Hopper and Field (1973) on useful plants and drugs of Iran and Iraq (3). Shokir and Safaian (1993) also presented a list of 210 medicinal plants used in Mazandaran province (4). An ethnobotanical work in Turkmen Sahra area in north of Iran has been done by Ghorbani (2005) (5). In their study, 136 species from 51 families were documented. Miraldi et al. reported a total of 30 medicinal plants from the west Azerbaijan villages (6). Naghibi et al., represented 46 genera and 410 species and subspecies from Labiatae family in Iran that many members of this family were used in traditional and folk medicine (7, 8).

The nearest main mountains to Hezar are Lalezar with the highest peak of 4351 m in the West and Jupar with the highest peak of 4135 m in the North. No ethnobotanical study has been reported from these mountains. Hezar is a high mountain and there are many villages around it, far from the cities, so that their people have a little access to medical facilities. This fact encourages local people to use herbal plants for the treatment of some daily diseases. Due to the fallowing reasons, this mountain has been chosen as an ethnomedicinal case study in the present survey: (a) Hezar mountain has a rich plant diversity, (b) Owing to the height of this mountain (4465 m), Hezar has not been adequately explored, (c) The rich traditional knowledge of the native habitants regarding different plant species, handed down from their predecessors.

The aim of this paper is to focus on the kinds of medical diversity found in the study area, depending on the frequency of the plants medical applications, and to show the most common preparations mode of botanical drugs used in Hezar ethnomedicine.

The area under the study, Hezar (29°30/ N, 57°20/ E) with an area of 900 Km2 and height of 4465 m, is the 4th highest mountain allocated in the south east of Iran (Figure 1).

Study area map in SE of Iran

Figure 1

Climate and vegetation overview

The climatic information was obtained from the nearest meteorological station-Rayen, the station located at 15 Km NE of study area at 2235 m altitude. The climate of this area is arid and cold. The lowest and highest absolute temperatures are -1°C and 40°C. In most parts of Hezar, the precipitation is increased by altitude. The main period of precipitation is during the late of autumn, winter and early spring. The data of Rayen station at the NW of Hezar, shows that the winter, spring, autumn and summer rainfall comprises 56%, 22%, 32% and 1% of the annual precipitation, respectively. The average number of frost days is 73 with a maximum during the January. Ecological climate diagram shows that the period of aridity of this area starts from late April to the end of November. The period of humidity is pronounced to November during up to early April (Figure 2).

Ecological climate diagram of Rayen meteorological station, indicating monthly average of temperature and precipitation and relative humidity (hatched) and relative arid (stippled) seasons

Figure 2

The results of this study show the existence of five different habitats in the studied area as follows:

I. Plain regions: They include all mountain slopes and the flat plains between the mountains reaching areas mildly steeped. Being a region fit for agricultural activity, various species belonging to Poaceae and Apiaceae distributed in this region: Conium maculatum, Levisticum officinale, Dorema aucheri, Dorema ammoniacum, Artemisia aucheri, Cirsium arvense, Cousinia onopordioides, Echinops lalesarensis, Hertia intermedia, Scorzonera mucida, Scorzonera pussila, Tanacetum parthenium, Berberis integerrima and Lonicera nummulariifolia.

II. Rocky areas: These habitats are usually situated on the slopes strew with rocks and boulders.

These areas are covered by species such as Corydalis rupestris, Graellsia saxifragifolia, Psychrogeton spp., Arnebia euchroma, Rosularia modesta, Melica persica and Parietaria judaica.

III. Screes are the major habitats of the alpine zone in Hezar Mountain. Cicer tragacanthoides, Asperula glomerata, Astragalus tenuiscapus, Silene daenensis and Nepeta natanzensis are the important species of Hezar scree habitats. The species richness of these habitats is very low.

IV. Humid mountainous regions: In this habitat, various grass species and some other families such as the followings are found: Artemisia tournefortiana, Primula capitellata, Carex songorica, Glaux maritima, Orchis coriophora, Juncus inflexus, Taraxacum spp. and Veronica anagallis-aquatica.

V. Degraded areas: These habitats include manipulated rural areas used for farming and gardening as well as diggings alongside the roads and pathways. They are local to various grasses and weedy species such as: Malcolmia africana, Malva neglecta, Cynodon dactylon, Geranium tuberosum, and Cardaria draba.

Experimental

Data collection

The different slopes of Hezar were investigated and the specimens were collected by authors during 2008-2010 between March and October in each year. Then, ethnobotanical information have been gathered from the main villages in and around of Hezar Mountain. These villages have been selected based on their population including Babini (2600 m), Ziarat-gah (3000 m), Babzangi (3300 m), Ordikan (3200 m), Rask (3000 m), Deh-morteza (2950 m) and Sahib-Abad (2500 m) (Figure 1). The specimens were prepared according to the established herbarium techniques. The plant samples were recognized according to

Flora Iranica (9), Flora of Iran (10), Flora of Iraq (11), and Flora of Turkey (12) and kept in the Avicenna Herbarium of Islamic Azad University, Science and Research branch, Tehran, Iran (IAUH).

Interviews with local people

The data were collected through direct interviews. A questionnaire was administered to the local people (Appendix 1). After collecting the specimens, we showed these fresh specimens to the local people in their houses and farms. We employed random sampling techniques to identify potential participants and interviewed a total of 75 people (30 men and 45 women) whose age ranged from 40 to 75 years. The women were said to have better knowledge about the medicinal application of plants than men. Most of the interviewees mainly belonged to families which still have a strong connection with traditional agricultural and pastoral activities. There were herbalists, healers and plant traders among the interviewees as well. The same plant specimens were shown to different people to confirm the accuracy of the results. The interviews consisted of obtaining the information related to the identification of plants, their vernacular names, their medical uses and the preparation of remedies.

Results

Medicinal plants

A total of 92 species belonging to 35 vascular plant families and 78 genera were reported. From these species, 79 species reported to be used for medicinal applications, 70 species of which were used to treat more than one disease and the remaining 9 species were used to treat only one disease.

The largest number of medicinal species came from Lamiaceae (15.2%), followed by Asteraceae (12%), Fabaceae (8.7%), Apiaceae (8.7%), Rosaceae (5.4%) and Brassicaceae (5.4%). Recorded plant species with their vernacular names, uses and mode of preparation are listed in Table 1.

As a result, we observed that these plants are used especially for intestinal digestive disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, (25.4%), renal and genital disorders (13%), respiratory tract system disorders (11.8%), heart-blood circulatory system disorders (10.2%), fever (6.2%), skin disorders (6.2%), sedative (5.6%), bone fractures and arthritis (5%), nerve disorders (5%), antiseptic (4.5%), liver-spleen disorders (3.4%) and others (nose bleeding, body reinforcement, appetizing, etc.) (3.4%) (Figure 3).

Remedies reported by informants

Figure 3

Our results showed that several parts of individual plant species are used as medicine. The most widely used medicinal plant part was the leaves (33 species) followed by flowers (18 species), root (14 species), Seed (14 species), aerial parts (10 species), fruit (8 species), whole plant (7 species), latex and seed (6 species), rhizome (4 species), stem (4 species), bulb (3 species), tuber (2 species) and bark (2 species) (Figure 4). The most common mode of preparation was decoction (44%) and followed by infusion (21%), poultice (15%), oral (13%) and Hydrodistillation (7%) (Figure 5).

Plant parts use and their percentages

Figure 4

Mode of preparations and their percentages

Figure 5

The study of the growth form of the medicinal plants revealed that herbs made up the highest proportion of medicinal plants (80 species), followed by shrubs (7 species) and trees (5 species).

Chorology: Irano-Turanian elements compose 48% of the medicinal plants growing on the study area (Zohary, 1973). They are the dominant chorology in the region (Figure 6).

Chorology of plants and their percentages (IT: Irano-Turanian; Cosm: Cosmopolitan; ES: Euro-Siberian; PL: Pluriregional; M: Mediterranean; SI: Sahara-Indian).

Figure 6

Plants used in veterinary

Some species are used in veterinary. The species include root of Bryonia aspera Stev. Ex Ledeb is used for digestive problems in sheep and horses. The oil obtained from the seeds of Eruca sativa L. was used for the remedy of mange and dermal problems in domestic animals. Fruit of Rheum ribes L. was used as antiparasitic worm in domestic animals. Ash of leaves and stem of Launea acanthodes (Boiss.) O. Auntze which are used for snake bites and insect sting.

Plants with non-medicinal uses

Seventy species have been recorded for non-medicinal uses including, edible, natural dyes, making gum, rope, basket, ink and detergent. Root of Acanthophyllum laxiusculum Schiman-Czeika is used for a kind of food (Halva) and detergent. Dracocephalum polychaetum Bornm and Levisticum officinale W. D. Koch are used as flavor in yoghurt. Juncus inflexus L. is used for making rope and basket. Juglans regia L. and Berberis integerrima Bge are used in dyeing. Daphne oleoides Schrev is used for making ink. Ephedra major Host is used for making Mashk (a bag made from animal leather and used for maintaining water and yoghurt). The bulbs of Tulipa biflora Pall leaves of Rheum ribes L. and Rumex dentatus L. are used for local foods. The latex of Dorema aucheri Boiss, which is called Eshterk, is used for Making Gum. The latex of Astragalus dschuparensis Freyn and Bornm., which is a kind of detergent.

Discussion

As a result of the rich flora of this region, medicinal plants are the most important means of health care. Due to the lack of modern medicine, difficult geography of the district as well as traditional culture cured by plants, serves as a usual way in this region particularly in elders.

Some species are used so frequently that are mentioned by every interviewee. Our results indicated that medicinal species such as Levisticum officinale, Artemisia persica, Thymus carmanicus and Ziziphora clinopodioides are mentioned by many informants. Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Jonst (Boraginaceae) is a perennial plant of the alpine region, distributed in the Persia, Pamir, Tien- Shan, Himalaya and the western Tibet, with an altitudinal range between 3700 and 4200 m above the sea level. Local people of Hezar Mt., use the roots of A. euchroma as poultice for wound healing. Shikonin and its derivatives extracted from the roots of A. euchroma have been known since ancient times and used as dyes for silk and food products. Shikonin possesses antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, A. euchroma exhibits potent anti-HIV activity (13). Arnebin-1 and arnebin-3 derived from it possess anticancerous properties (13). Due to its medicinal uses, the species is being harvested indiscriminately from the wild both for domestic and Pharmaceutical purposes. This has resulted in A. euchroma critically endangered the status and its listing in the species prioritized for conservation in this region.

Levisticum officinale W. D. Koch (Umbellifera) is a perennial plant of the alpine region distributed only in the SE of Iran (Hezar Mt.) and E of Afghanistan. The essential oil of L. officinale was characterized by large amount of monoterpenes, approximately 93.8%. L. officinale exhibits various pharmacological and biological activities, including estrogenic (14), apoptotic (15) and antimycobacterial (16) activities.

The main components in the oil were β-phellandrene and α-terpineol (17). It is a warming and tonic herb for the digestive and respiratory systems. It is used primarily in the treatment of indigestion, poor appetite, wind, colic and bronchitis. The roots, leaves and fruits are antispasmodic, aromatic, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, mildly expectorant and stimulant. Raw or cooked leaves and stems are used as savory flavoring in salads, soups, stews, etc. In addition, some species have other uses which food is the most important one such as Dracocephalum polychaetum as a flavor in whey. The flavones like Levoteolin and Apigenin are the most components in Dracocephalum polychaetum.

Another well-known identified medicinal substance in this mountainous region is Mumenaei. This traditional drug is widely distributed in Russia (termed there Mumie or Mumiyo, India (Saljit), Birma [Kao-tun (blood of the mountain)], Altai Mountains [Barachgschin (oil of the mountain)] Mongolia [Brogschaun (mountain juice)] and Iran. It is found at high altitudes as deposits in walls and caves where they are embedded into rocks. Mumenaei has been used as a medicine by the local people for a long time for bone fracture relief, muscular pain, and arthritis. It is used as a poultice in fracture limb or is eaten orally for the relief of pain. The main organic components, the wax esters and the glycerol ethers, are known to display neuroprotective potential. Future studies will prove whether the monoalkyl ethers also display anti-stomach ache capacity. Finally, the triglycerides have to be studied for their putative antimicrobial activity. The inorganic component(s), the minerals existing in Mumenaei, may have their ameliorating function in bone diseases (18).

New research on some plants of this area such as Nepeta assurgens and Thymus carmanicus (Labiateae) showed that methanolic extracts of these plants had antibacterial activity and can be used in different cases of bacterial infections especially nosocomial infections (18). Leaves and flowers extracts of Salvia rhytidae showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. S. aureus was more sensitive to other bacteria. It can be exploited and applied to food system protection, and treatment of bacterial infections (19). In spite of these findings, no ethnobotanical applications were mentioned for Salvia rhytidea and Nepeta assurgens by informants. Considering the lack of information about the uses and effects of medications of some species like Dorema ammoniacum, Levisticum officinale, Artemisia persica, Tanacetum fisherea, Arnebia euchroma, Tribulus terrestris and Dracocephalum polychaetum will be proposed for further examination.

These plants are used in the treatment of some very common ailments like diarrhea, stomach problems, blood sugar, bronchitis and asthma. All diseases might be related to poor hygienic conditions with regard to food and water.

The data of Table 2 shows ethnobotanical comparison between Turkmen Sahra (NE Iran) (5) and Hezar Mt., (SE Iran).

Medicinal plants threats

In recent years, aridity and low precipitation have damaged the vegetation of plants in Hezar. In addition, overgrazing impact is increasingly threatening the fragile medicinal plants in this mountain.

Some rare species such as Levisticum officinale, Thymus carmanicus, Arnebia euchroma, Dracocephalum polychaetum and Dorema ammoniacum have been threatened as herbalists and traders hire the local people for gathering these species due to the economic purposes. Many of these plants are potentially endangered and vulnerable taxa. Since the alpine plants grow very slowly, they cannot quickly re-grow leaves or flowers that are lost. Harvesting of roots, bulbs, seeds and flowers, which are essential to the survival of the plants, often lead to vanish this species. In addition, local people sometimes sell these medicinal plants in the local market for their livelihood. So, the domestication of these plants is a need for conservation.

Lately, a Manganese purification factory has been established in 30 Km of NW of Hezar Mountain, so that the air pollution and soil toxicity are inevitable in this region. It is a direct threat to flora and fauna in the study area.