Medicinal plants with preventive and therapeutic effect on diarrhoea: A cross-sectional epidemiologic and ethnobotanical study in traditional therapists of Shahrekord, south-west of Iran

Chemical treatments for diarrhoea usually lead to side effects, so humans are seeking out a safe pharmaceutical source to cure them. From ancient times, medicinal plants have served as an important pharmaceutical source for the treatment of various acute and chronic diseases and infectious and non-infectious diseases. This study was carried out from April 2017 to February 2018 by interviewing with and administering a questionnaires to 29 traditional therapists. The questionnaire also included demographic items. The interviewers referred to the participants in person and asked them certain questions to elicit their beliefs about herbal medicine. Data were finally analyzed by the Excel software. In this study, the frequency of plant use was calculated by using a formula. According to the ethnobotanical knowledge of the region under study, Astragalus hamosus L., Ziziphora taurica M.Bieb., Anthemis hyalina DC., Plantago major L., Quercus brantii Lindl., Myrtus communis L., Satureja bachtiarica Bung., Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Peganum harmala L., Rheum ribes L., Rumex pulcher L., Artemisia absinthium, Descurainia sophia (L.) Prantle., Plantago major L. and some others medicinal plants are used as antidiarrhoeal medicinal plants. Most plant species reported belong to the Asteraceae family and the aerial part (36%) is the most frequently used plant organ for cases of diarrhoea in Shahrekord. The scientific registration and review of the written and non-written knowledge of different ethnicities in Iran regarding traditional medicine will help preserve the valuable treasure of thousands of years of Iranians’ medical knowledge and experience and will provide the basis for the discovery of new drugs and the progress of the pharmaceutical industry.