An ethnobotanical investigation on medicinal plants in South of Erzurum (Turkey) Songül Karakaya, Ahmet Polat, Özkan Aksakal, Yusuf Ziya Sümbüllü, Ümit İncekara Research Karayazı'da yapılan etnobotanik araştırmaların sonuçlarını bildirmektedir. Etnobotanik sonuçlar, Abstract tıbbi bitkilerin çeşitliliği Ve ilçelerde belgelenen diğer kullanımlar hakkında nicel verileri içerir. Background: This study reports the results of ethnobotanical research performed in Çat, Tekman, Metotlar: Tıbbi bitkilerin çeşitliliğini Ve bu Hınıs, Karaçoban, Karayazı situated in the southern bölgelerdeki kullanımlarını kantitatif olarak analiz region of Erzurum. The ethnobotanical results ettik. Bu bilgileri açık Ve yarı yapılandırılmış include quantitative data on the diversity of medicinal görüşmeler Ve anketler aracılığıyla topladık. Ayrıca plants and other usages documented in districts. Atatürk ÜniVersitesi Herbaryumunda biriktirilen bilgileri içeren bitki örneklerini de topladık. Methods: We quantitatiVely analyzed the diVersity of Sonuçlarımız, etnobotanik indeksler ICF, FL, UV medicinal plants and their uses in these districts. We kullanılarak kantitatif olarak analiz edildi. collected this information through open and semi- structured interviews and questionnaires. We also Bulgular: Bu çalışmada toplam 34 familyaya ait 98 collected samples of plants with the informants which tıbbi bitki belirlenmiştir. Bunlardan 84 takson doğal, were deposited at the Herbarium of the UniVersity of 16 takson ekimi yapılarak yetişmektedir. En yaygın Ataturk. Our results were analyzed quantitatiVely kullanım şekli dekoksiyondur. Bu 98 şifalı bitki tıbbi using ethnobotanical indexes ICF, FL, UV. amaçlar için kullanılır (164 tıbbi tedavi yöntemi kaydettik), bunlardan 58 tanesi aynı zamanda gıda Results: A total of 98 medical plants belonging to 34 olarak Veya başka amaçlar için de kullanılır. families were identified in this study. Amongst these, 84 taxa are wild while 16 taxa are cultiVated. The most common preparations were decoction. These Correspondence 98 medicinal plants are used for medicinal purposes (we recorded 164 medicinal remedies) although, Songül Karakaya* among these, 58 plants are also used as food or for Ahmet Polat other purposes. Özkan Aksakal Yusuf Ziya Sümbüllü Conclusions: The traditional medicine was still Ümit İncekara extensiVe among the people in Erzurum. However, Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of there is a gradual loss of traditional information to the Pharmacy, Atatürk UniVersity, Erzurum 25240, usage of medicinal plants in younger generations. Turkey *Corresponding author: Keywords: Erzurum; ethnobotanical; Eastern [email protected] Anatolia; medicinal plants Ethnobotany Research & Applications 18:13 (2019) Özet Amaç: Bu çalışma, Erzurum'un güney bölgesinde bulunan Çat, Tekman, Hınıs, Karaçoban, Published: 02 May 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.32859/era.18.13.1-18 Ethnobotany Research and Applications 2 Sonuçlar: Geleneksel tıp hala Erzurum'daki insanlar Materials and Methods arasında yaygındı. Bununla birlikte, genç nesillerde Study area şifalı bitkilerin kullanımında kademeli olarak The largest geographical area of Turkey is the geleneksel bilgi kaybı yaşanmaktadır. Eastern Anatolia which is in the inland and enclosed by coastal mountain ranges (Tabata et al. 1994). The Anahtar kelimeler: Erzurum; etnobotanik; Doğu Erzurum proVince is located in the Upper Euphrates Anadolu; şifalı bitkiler Section of Eastern Anatolian area and is the largest city of Eastern Anatolia area with a population of Background 780.847 inhabitants and an area of 25.066 km2, and From a historical perspectiVe, the relationship it is the old lodgement. It states between 40°15' and between mankind and plants are not only limited to 42° 35’ eastbound longitudes and 40° 57' and 39° 10' the usage of plants for food, clothing and shelter but northern latitudes (Figure 1) (Tortum et al. 2015; also concerns their utilization for religious Atabeyoglu et al. 2009). The Erzurum area is ceremonies, ornamentation and healthcare. neighbouring to Ağrı and Kars in the east; ArtVin, Medicinal plants preferentially haVe considerable Rize, and Ardahan in the north; Erzincan and contributions in the healthcare scheme of local Bayburt in the west; Muş and Bingöl in the south. communities as the primary source of medicine for The area belongs to the Iran-Turan Plant Geography the countrified population (Yohannis et al. 2018). Region and it is mostly mountainous, with altitudes According to recent studies (Giday et al. 2016), there ranging from 2000 m a.s.l. and 3000 m or eVen are about 422.000 flowering plants in the world and higher. There are also plains between the plateaus more than 50.000 are utilized medicinally. and the mountains, with altitudes between 1500 and The flora of Turkey includes approximatiVely 11.000 1800 m. The average daily temperature is -8.6 °C in species, 33% of which are endemic, while others are the winter and 19.6 in the summer. Yearly rainfall is relictual or releVant for other biogeographical or 453 mm and generally, it snows for 50 days while the ecological reasons (Arı et al. 2018). Apart from its snow cover lasts for more than 100 days (Atabeyoğlu rich flora, Turkey hosts an extensiVe diVersity of et al. 2009). The research district is located on the habitats since the country is placed at the east of the Anatolian and belongs to the Iran-Turan conjuncture of three biogeographical areas Plant Geography Region and it is located in the B7 (Mediterranean, Iran-Turan and Euro-Siberian). and B8 grid squares in accordance with the Grid HoweVer, this diVersity in plants and habitats has classification system formed by Davis (Davis 1965- decreased due to a Variety of threats oVer the last 40 1985). Erzurum Province is mainly formed of high years (Ozhatay 2006; Ozhatay et al. 2012). lands. For instance, the altitudes of the platforms Turkish people haVe utilized plants for Various relating to the sea leVel are 2000 m and the altitudes purposes since ancient times. In Turkey, above them are 3000 m or higher. There are plains ethnobotanical studies have been carried out since between the plateaus and mountains, with altitudes the Republican period in 1923. In particular, these between 1500 and 1800 meters. The city Erzurum, studies have increased in recent years (Baytop in the South, was erected on the mountain masses 1999). The flora of East Anatolia in Turkey is also of the Karasu-Aras Mountains rich and has maintained a rich diVersity of medicinal (http://www.erzurum.gov.tr/cografi-yapi). Erzurum is plants, which have long been utilized by local the twenty-ninth most crowded province in Turkey. It communities (Polat and Cakılcıoglu 2018). In the is the third largest city of the Eastern Anatolia Region Erzurum proVince, areas such as Ilıca, Uzundere, regarding the population. From 2016, the population Oltu, Senkaya haVe been preViously explored by of the province was 762,021 with 381.138 male and ethnobotanists studying traditional medicine (Sezik 380.883 female. Percentage is as follows: 50,02% 2 et al. 1997; Turan et al. 2003; Ozgen et al. 2004; male, 49,98% female. Erzurum coVers 25,355 km Ozgökçe and Ozcelik 2004; Altundag and Ozturk and there are 30 people per square kilometre in the 2011; Ozgen et al. 2012; Polat et al. 2012; Macit and province. About 1000 people emigrate every year. Köse 2015). NeVertheless, to the best of our The major ethnic group in the region is the Kurdish knowledge, this is the first study that explores the one, although Zaza, Alevist and Turkish groups also utilization of medicinal plants in Çat, Tekman, Hınıs, live in the proVince (TUİK 2018; Buran 2011; Karaçoban and Karayazı. The aim of our study is Kucukugurlu 2012). Our study area is the southern thus to report and analyze the uses of traditional settlements of Erzurum, and mountainous, pasture herbal medicine and other usages of plants in these areas are large and steppe-covered areas. areas. Published: 02 May 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.32859/era.18.13.1-18 Ethnobotany Research and Applications 3 Data collection Ethnobotanical indexes Field research was carried out by collecting We calculated a Variety of ethnobotanical indexes. ethnobotanical knowledge during structured and Specifically, the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) semi-structured interviews (Polat and Çakılcıoğlu (Heinrich 2000) was used to measure the importance 2018) all the informants were natiVes of 17 Villages. of the most commonly used species, according to For each recorded plant was filled a questionnaire informants. It was assessed according to the throughout the conVersations and in addition, Videos, following formula: ICF=Nur−Nt/Nur−1, where Nur photos and records were taken from these people indicates the number of utilization report in each with their permit. InterViews were actualized in category and Nt the number of used species. A high diVersified places (tea houses, gardens, mosques, ICF indicates a high agreement among the farms, houses and fields etc.) (Figure 2). informants about the taxa selected for a particular use category (Table 1). We calculated the use Value Plant materials (UV) index using the formula UV=ΣUi/N, where Ui is The collected plants were made into herbarium the number usage report cited by a considerable for specimens and identified by the authors using “The a taxon and N to the number of sources (Trotter and Flora of Turkey and East Aegean Islands” (DaVis Logan 1986; Tardio and Pardo-de-Santayana 2008; 1965-1985; Davis 1988). The scientific names of the Bano et al. 2014). We also calculated the fidelity level plant species were updated using relevant (FL) index (Friedman et al. 1986) using the formula: databases (http://www.theplantlist.org). Voucher FL (%)=(Np/N)x100 where Np is the number of specimens are stored at the Herbarium of the Faculty informants that asserted the use of a plant species of Science, Ataturk UniVersity. to cure a specific ailment and N is the number of informants that use plants as a medicine to treat any specified illness (Friedman et al. 1986; Alexiades 1996). Figure 1. Location of the study area Published: 02 May 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.32859/era.18.13.1-18 Ethnobotany Research and Applications 4 Figure 2.