Biodiversity Studies
ISSN: 2791- 7347
e-ISSN: 2979-9376

Biodiversity Studies

2022, Vol 1, Num, 2     (Pages: 061-074)

Ethnomedicinal Plants for Kidney Disorders in Iraq and Türkiye

Mena Nihad Akbar AKBAR 1 ,Ebru ÖZDEMİR NATH 1

1 Altınbaş University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, İstanbul, Türkiye

DOI: 10.56494/dnbgt.2022.9
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The purpose of this study is to identify the plant species that are used traditionally as herbal medicines for kidney disorders in both Iraq and Türkiye, as well as to compare their traditional medicine based on the practical use of plants and highlight the same ones. Ethnomedicine is defined as the study or comparison of traditional medicine based on plants` bioactive compounds. Traditional herbal applications for kidney disorders are frequently used among people, as kidneys have a major role in the maintenance of homeostasis of the body, fluid, and electrolyte, and also, have a role to fulfill many metabolic functions. Iraq and Türkiye are homeland for many medicinal plants and it is crucial to understand local medicinal plant uses and their relationship with surrounding areas. To obtain valuable information, approximately 100 ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal articles were scanned. As a result of this study, it has been found that 9 taxa are used for renal disorders in Iraq only while, 30 taxa are used for kidney diseases in Türkiye only, and 5 taxa were found to be effective against renal diseases in both countries. Furthermore, 22 plant families have been recorded in which Apiaceae (4 taxa), Compositae (8 taxa), Malvaceae (3 taxa) and Lamiaceae (3 taxa) were the most used ones. The fact that the same plant species are used for the same disease in both countries will give us an idea about the development of herbal medicine with these plant species in the future.


Keywords : Ethnomedicine, ethnobotany, herbal, kidney disorders, Iraq, Türkiye