Ethnobotanical study on traditional use of medicinal plants in Pčinja district, South-East Serbia

Ethnobotany is an important source of information for the discovery of new drugs. The spreading of traditional knowledge depends on various factors such as personal attitudes, culture, publicity in the worldwide web, or increasing demand of patients for alternative or complementary therapy [1]. Our study provides ethnobotanical information on medicinal plant uses in the Pčinja district, South-East Serbia. A survey was performed using questionnaires with 113 informants (72.6% female, 27.4% male). The informants provided data for 82 medicinal plants belonging to 43 families. Lamiaceae, Asteraceae and Rosaceae were the predominant locally used families. The species with the highest use value were Hypericum perforatum, Mentha piperita, Chamomilla recutita, Achillea millefolium and Salvia officinalis. The most frequently reported medicinal uses were ones for treating respiratory problems, gastrointestinal ailments and diseases of endocrine glands, metabolism and nutrition. Usually, the administration was primarily oral followed by topical applications. All different plant parts were utilized, however leaves were the most exploited parts of the plants. According to the results, folk medicine in Pčinja district, South-East Serbia, relies mainly on well-known plants showing a slight reduction in the ethnobotanical knowledge in this area.

Acknowledgements: To Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Serbia, project number 46013.

Keywords: Ethnobotany, medicinal plants, South-East Serbia.

References:

[1] Menković N, Šavikin K, Zdunić G, Milosavljević S, Živković J. Medicinal Plants in Northern Montenegro: Traditional Knowledge, Quality, and Resources. In: Pieroni A, Quave CL, editors. Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans. Springer 2014: 197 – 228