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Ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants practiced by traditional healers and herbalists for treatment of some urological diseases in the West Bank/Palestine

N. Jaradat, A. Zaid, Rowa’ J. Al-Ramahi, Malik Alqub, F. Hussein, Zakaria I Hamdan, Mahmoud Mustafa, M. Qneibi et al.

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017

69 citations

Abstract

BackgroundThroughout history, every civilization in the world used plants or their derivatives for treatment or prevention of diseases. In Palestine as in many other countries, herbal medicines are broadly used in the treatment of wide range of diseases including urological diseases. The main objective of this research is to study the use of herbal remedies by herbalists and traditional healers for treatment of various urological diseases in the West Bank regions of Palestine and to assess their efficacy and safety through the literature review of the most cited plants.MethodThe study included a survey part, plant identification and a review study. The first part was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Face to face questionnaires were distributed to 150 traditional healers and herbalist in all regions of the West Bank of Palestine. The literature review part was to assess the most cited plants for their efficacy and toxicity.ResultsOne hundred forty four herbalists and traditional healers accepted to participate in this study which was conducted between March and April, 2016. The results showed that 57 plant species belonging to 30 families were used by herbalists and traditional healers for treatment of various urinary tract diseases in Palestine. Of these, Apiaceae family was the most prevalent. Paronychia argentea, Plantago ovata, Punica granatum, Taraxacum syriacum, Morus alba and Foeniculum vulgare were the most commonly used plant species in the treatment of kidney…

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