Folk Medicine and the Use of Herbal Plants in the Kingdom of Bahrain PDF

Keywords

Bahrain, folk medicine, herbal plants.

Abstract

A semi-structured questionnaire on the use of medicinal plants in the Kingdom of Bahrain was conducted. The objectives were to (1) determine to what extent herbal plants are used in folk medicine in Bahrain, and (2) compare the results of this study with the results of a previously conducted questionnaire from 1992. Results show that 95.3% of the respondents use herbal plants for medication. However, only 9.9% of males and 6.8% of females collect herbal medicinal plants from the local environment. The results show that 70% of the utilized plants are native while the rest are either introduced cultivated plants or imported from other countries. Also, the results show that the highest number of plants (six species) were used to treat wounds (e.g. Portulaca oleracea L.), and as diuretics (e.g. Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.). Many diseases were treated by one plant species each, including asthma (Datura fastusa L.), and smallpox (Peganwn hrmala L.). The top ailments are stomach upset, followed by constipation, diarrhea, dyspepsia and cold symptoms like cough.