Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants from West Azerbaijan, Northwestern Iran

Abstract Background This study has identified the applications and local (Azari) and persian names of wild and cultivated plants collected for medical purposes by Azerian people of West Azerbaijan region in the Province of West Aerbaijan, Iran. The aim of this study is to collect information from local population concerning the use of medicinal plants of Khoy and determine the relative importance of the species including use value of species and the informant consensus factor (ICF) were surveyed and calculated in relation to medicinal plant use. Methods A field study had been carried out for a period of approximately 2 years (2014–2015). A questionnaire was administered to the local people, through face-to-face interviews. Demographic characteristics of participants, names of the local plants, their utilized parts and preparation methods were asked. The plant species were collected as herbarium specimen. The collected data were used to calculate the ICF and the plant use values. 82 Plants were found to be used for medical purposes in study area. Results The results showed that the highest use value were recorded for the species Thymus kotschyanus Boiss. exhibited maximum use value (0.58), while the highest ICF was cited for Cold, flu, fever (0.61). Conclusions The results of this research showed that in the studied area the folk medicinal plants are still applied and evaluation of pharmacological activity for the indigenous medicinal plants is recommended.