Medicinal plants sold in Konya herbalists and used parts

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Many medicinal plants have been used for different purposes in pharmaceutical, food, perfumery and cosmetics in our country for ancient times. Several important points should be considered about these plants under the name of their cultivation, harvest, sale and consumption. In our country, these plants are generally collected carelessly, sold by people who do not have enough knowledge about its trade and usage and consumed unconsciously. In this case, even the medicinal plants which are beneficial to health can become quite harmful for people. High quality medicinal plants should be provided continuously in order to have herbal products with desired properties, Therefore, cultivation techniques, area and collection methods become more important. In Konya the number and variety of medicinal plants sold in herbalists is increasing day by day. Herbalists have a great variety of medicinal plants. However, it appears that most herbalists do not have sufficient knowledge about the properties of these medicinal plants. In this research, medicinal plants and their drugs sold in Konya herbalists in the summers of 2008 and 2009 were investigated and their varieties were determined. Medicinal plants sold were classified in two groups based on the interest of public as highly demanded (such as linen, black seed, thyme, nettle and chamomile) and limitedly demanded. In this study, it was determined that most of the drugs found in Konya herbalists consisted of different vegetal organs such as leaf, seed, fruit, flower, root, trunk, rhizome and bulbs and dried parts. There is no information on drugs about their storage period and how to use them. Unless this control deficiency is put down, it can lead to various public health problems.

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Medicinal Plants , Konya , Herbalist

Erciyes University Journal Of The Institute Of Science an‎d Technology

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Erciyes University Journal Of The Institute Of Science an‎d Technology