Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants, Fasa County, Iran

Background: Traditional herbal medicine has a long history in the Persian communities of Fars province, especially in Fasa County. Despite the longstanding history and robust culture of traditional medicine in this region, there is no comprehensive study on the ethnobotanical knowledge of this unique region with residents historically dependent on medicinal plants. Objective: Hence, the main objective of this study was to identify and record medicine plants and traditional herbal knowledge of the ethnic communities of Fasa County in the Fars province of Iran. Methods: Ethnopharmacological data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires, guided walks, and group interviews during a period of two years (2021-2022). 45 local informants were selected and interviewed for data collection. We calculated quantitative factors including informant consensus factors (ICF), and use reports (UR) for each species. Medicinal plant species were identified through standard taxonomic methods by botanists. Results: The local communities have documented 62 medicinal plants across 58 genera from 27 families, which are used to treat 12 different categories of ailments. The most common preparation method was infusion, followed by decoction and poultice. Dermatological (ICF = 0.93), neurological (0.92), and digestive (ICF = 0.91) diseases were documented as the most common ailment categories in this area. Conclusion: The study results indicated that the traditional herbal knowledge of Fasa County is still rich and it revealed an obvious relationship between the ancient medicinal culture of this region and Iranian Traditional Medicine. Therefore, evaluation of the pharmacological activity of highly utilized medicinal plants could result in new herbal drugs.