An Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants in Mersin (Turkey).

This comprehensive ethnobotanical study carried out in Mersin province, which is located in the southern part of Anatolia, east of the Mediterranean Sea, compiles details on plants used in folk medicine and ethnopharmacological information obtained through face-to-face interviews. The aim was to collect and identify plants used for therapeutic purposes by local people and to record information on traditional herbal medicine. Plant specimens were collected in numerous excursions. Additionally, informant consensus factor and use value (UV) were calculated for information gathered. This study identifies 93 plant taxa belonging to 43 families and records their usage in folk medicine; 83 taxa are wild and the remaining 10 are cultivated. The most commonly used plants belong to Lamiaceae, representing 15.0% of the total, while the Rosaceae, Malvaceae, Hypericaceae, Asteraceae and Cupressaceae families each represented another 5.4%. As a result of this investigation, we determine 189 medicinal usages of 93 taxa. The UV values indicate that the most important medicine plants are Hypericum perforatum (0.80), Cedrus libani (0.78), Quercus coccifera (0.77), Arum dioscoridis (0.76) and Juniperus drupaceae (0.74). We observed that most of the drugs are prepared using the infusion method (27.6%). As a conclusion, the study finds that traditional folk medicine usage is still common, especially among the rural population of Mersin.

Introduction

The Mediterranean area, which possesses a unique ecology with various natural features, has been inhabited for millennia and is strongly influenced by human–nature relationships (Scherrer et al., 2005). The tradition of using wild plants for medicinal reasons continues in today’s small rural communities, especially among societies that maintain the cultural bridge between past and present. While the recently developed fast communication technologies connect people in seconds and spread data across vast distances, traditional knowledge still holds importance in daily life. Over the past few decades, efforts to preserve traditional knowledge have escalated around the world, especially in Europe and Mediterranean countries (Varga et al., 2019).

Besides being home to many plants in floristic terms, Turkey is rich in traditional herbal medicine, in addition to its cultural, historical and geographical heritage (Bulut et al., 2013). Ethnobotanical studies show that traditional knowledge of medicinal plants still exists in the Mediterranean Region, especially among elderly (Agelet, et al., 2003). Many scientists have focused on such studies and governmental foundations have increased financial support of this kind of research. The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has organized studies across the country in the scope of the “Recording of Traditional Knowledge Based on Biological Diversity Project.”

The Taurus Mountains are one of the highlights of the Mediterranean Region with a rich plant diversity (Everest et al., 2005). Mersin has previously been the subject of this kind of scientific research, such as a study on herbal drugs on herbal markets in Mersin, which was conducted throughout the entire province (Everest et al., 2005). Thorough documentation of the traditional use of medicinal plants across the entirety of Mersin province is not presently available. Three districts (Sargın 2015; Sargın et al., 2015; Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019) and some specific areas of the province have been investigated from an ethnobotanical perspective. Another study investigates a small section of the region (Akaydın et al., 2013); however, as one of the largest cities in Turkey, Mersin needs further investigation from an ethnobotanical perspective.

We aim to record the traditional usage of medicinal plants by conducting an ethnobiological study in Mersin that covers various different altitudes and areas representing all ten of its districts.

To this end, we compare the gathered ethnomedicinal data with previous findings from the Balkan and Mediterranean regions. We highlight new plants and usages from the region for future phytochemical and phytopharmacological studies. With further cultivation studies, these findings may demonstrate the potential for economic development for the benefit of local communities.

Hypothesis of this study tests;

a Traditional knowledge is still being used in villages far from the city and main settlement centers,

b Plants are still being used in the more isolated villages.

Materials and Methods

Mersin is a province in southwestern Anatolia, located at a latitude of 36° 37′ north and a longitude of 33° 35’ east; covering a 15.853 km2 area with a population of 1,814,468 (http://www.tuik.gov.tr) (Figure 1). The majority of the acreage is mountainous (87%) and forestland is 54%. There are ten districts: Anamur, Aydincik, Bozyazi, Camliyayla, Erdemli, Gulnar, Merkez, Silifke, Mut, and Tarsus. This ethnobotanical survey includes 91 villages located in all ten districts of Mersin (Figure 2).

FIGURE 1

Map of mersin (https://tr.wikipedia.org).

FIGURE 2

Map of visited villages of study area.

The territory of the province consists primarily of the high, rugged, rocky Western and Central Taurus Mountains. The highest point in Mersin is Mount Medetsiz (3,585 m) in the Bolkar Mountains. The altitude decreases from northwest toward the south. Kumpet Mountain (2,473 m), Elma Mountain (2,160 m), Alamusa Mountain (2,013 m), Big Egri Mountain (2,025 m), Kızıl Mountain (2,260 m), Naldoken Mountain (1,754 m), and Kabakli Mountain (1,675 m) are the topographic heights from the Bolkar Mountains in the west.

Karaziyaret Mountain, Tol Mountain, Sunturas Mountain, Balkalesi, Ayvagedigi Mountain, Makam Mountain and Kaskaya Mountain are other important elevations heading toward the south. Mersin is connected to Central Anatolia through Gulek Pass (1,050 m) from the northeast and Sertavul Pass (1,610 m) from northwest.

Rivers, streams, atmospheric conditions and the tectonic faults in the region give rise to various plains in the upper reaches of the Taurus Mountains, with altitudes ranging from 700 to 1,500 m. Major plateau areas of Mersin include the highlands of Aslankoy, Gozne, Findikpinari, Sogucak, Bekiralani, Mihrican, Ayvagedigi and Guzelyayla, Camlıyayla, Gulek and Sebil, Sorgun, Kucuk Sorgun, Toros, Kucukfındıklı and Guzeloluk, Balandiz, Uzuncaburc, Gokbelen and Kirobasi, Abanoz, Kas and Besoluk, Bozyazi, Elmagozu and Kozagac, Bardat, Tersakan and Bolyaran, Kozlar, Civi, Dagpazari, Sogutozu and Sertavul (Figure 3). The province is not rich in terms of rivers. The most important rivers are the Goksu and Berdan streams.

FIGURE 3

View of Camliyayla highland.

The climate is Mediterranean with an annual mean temperature of 22°C and a mean rainfall of 1,096 mm per year (Meteroloji Genel Müdürlüğü, 2020).

The primary sources of income in Mersin are industry (40%), agriculture (30%), and trade/business sector (10%).

The main crops of Mersin are wheat, barley and cotton. Mersin plays an important role in greenhouse cultivation of various agricultural products, of which banana production in Anamur is one of the most famous. Citrus trees, tropical fruits and vegetables are also commonly cultivated.

The vegetation of Mersin district presented here is based on the authors’ own observations and field records. Mersin, which is generally covered with maquis or forest vegetation, contains Mediterranean elements. In areas with maquis, plants such as Ceratonia siliqua L., Cistus creticus L., Laurus nobilis L., Myrtus communis L., Nerium oleander L., Paliurus spina-christi P. Mill., Phillyrea latifolia L., and Quercus coccifera L. are widespread. Tree species such as Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold subsp. pallasiana (Lamb.) Holmboe, Cedrus libani A. Rich. var. libani, Abies cilicica (Antoine and Kotschy) Carriere subsp. cilicica, Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb. subsp. excelsa, J. foetidissima Willd., J. oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus, are observed in high altitudes (above 900 m). Lowland forest areas usually consist of Pinus brutia Ten. (Davis, 1965; Davis et al., 1988; Güner et al., 2000).

Mersin province also has significant dune and halophyte vegetation, including taxa such as Cyperus capitatus Vand., Eryngium maritimum L., Euphorbia paralias L., Pancratium maritimum L., Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen, Juncus acutus L. subsp. acutus, J. maritimus Lam., Limonium virgatum (Willd.) Fourr. and Tamarix smyrnensis Bunge (Davis, 1965; Davis et al., 1988; Güner et al., 2000) (Figures 4A–D).

FIGURE 4

(A‐D) Some scenery of Mersin.

Some plants of Mersin are endemic to Turkey; such as Alkanna hispida Hub.-Mor., Anthemis rosea Sm. subsp. carnea (Boiss.) Grierson (Figure 5), Astragalus schottianus Boiss., Centaurea pinetorum Hub.-Mor. (Figure 6), Colchicum balansae Planch., Crocus boissieri Maw, Delphinium dasystachyon Boiss. and Balansa, Eryngium polycephalum Hausskn. ex H. Wolff, Ferulago pauciradiata Boiss. and Heldr., Lamium eriocephalum Benth., Ophrys cilicica Schltr., Origanum boissieri Ietsw., Papaver pilosum Sibth. and Sm. subsp. glabrisepalum Kadereit, Pimpinella isaurica V.A.Matthews subsp. isaurica, Salvia heldreichiana Boiss. ex Benth., and Sideritis cilicica Boiss. and Balansa (Davis, 1965; Davis et al., 1988; Güner et al., 2000).

FIGURE 5

Habit view of endemic Anthemis rosea subsp. carnea.

FIGURE 6

Habit view of endemic Centaurea pinetorum.

Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

As mentioned above, Mersin is one of the most populous provinces of Turkey with a population density of 114.45/km2. Due to the migration mobility in the region, 55,779 people moved into and 61,917 people left the city center between 2017–2018. Regarding the population growth rate, there was a notable population increase in districts close to the city center. The number of men and women living in the province is almost equal, more than half of the population are under the age of 35, 38% are 35–64 and 9% of the population are over 65. The literacy rate is 97.72 (TUIK, 2020).

The villages of Mersin province have different characteristics depending on local geographical features, such as whether they are located at high or low (near the coast) altitudes, or are near to or far from the city. There are also migrant villages and a few semi-nomadic families living in the highlands. Most of the villages in Mersin are Yoruk, alongside villages consisting of Tahtacı, Cretan and Circassian peoples. As all of the participants spoke Turkish (some elderly participants could speak Cretan and Circassian languages in addition to Turkish), we did not experience language or communication problems. Most of the remaining population of these villages is elderly. Although many of them were literate, most were at the level of primary school education.

Data Collection

This study was conducted following the guidelines for best practices in ethnopharmacological research (Heinrich et al., 2018). Ethnobotanical data were collected in face-to-face interviews (Appendix 1) conducted in Turkish with inhabitants of Mersin on several trips to the province between 2018 and 2019. Field work was carried out over a total of 71 days. Plant vouchers were collected in collaboration with the informants. We adhered to The International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics in interviews (International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics with 2008 additions http://ethnobiology.net/code-of-ethics/).

A total of 338 interviews were performed. Of the participants, 247 were male and 91 were female.

The informants’ occupations were farmers, housewives, shepherds, mukhtar (village headmen), labourers (forestry workers) and cafe owners. Interviews were performed in various settings, such as coffee houses, gardens, houses and fields. Experienced adults, patients and local healers were the main source of information about local names, part(s) of plants used, ailments treated, therapeutic effects, methods of preparation and methods of administration. Interviews also covered adverse effects of folk medicines. Although the primary focus of our study was to collect information on the folkloric use of medicinal plants, animal-based remedies were also discussed and recorded.

Collected plants were identified according to “The Flora of Turkey and East Aegean Islands” (Davis, 1965; Davis et al., 1988; Guner et al., 2000) and “Illustrated Flora of Turkey Vol 2” (Güner et al., 2018). Voucher specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Marmara University (MARE) and Herbarium of Konya at Selçuk University (KNYA).

Data Analyses

Informant consensus factor (Trotter and Logan, 1986; Heinrich et al., 1988) was calculated according to the following formula: FIC =Nur–Nt/Nur-1, where Nur refers to the number of citations used in each category and Nt to the number of species used. This method demonstrates the homogeneity of the information: if plants are chosen randomly or if informants do not contribute information about their use, FIC values will be close to zero. If there is a well-defined selection criterion in the community and/or if information is given between the informants’ values, the value will be close to one (Afifi and Abu-Irmaileh, 2000; Abu-Irmaileh and Afifi, 2003). Medicinal plants with higher FIC values are considered to be more likely to be effective in treating a certain disease (Teklehaymanot and Giday, 2007).

A quantitative method called “use value” (UVs), calculated according to the formula UVs (medicinal use value) parameter using the Phillips and Gentry, 1993 formula as modified and used by Thomas et al., 2009:in which UVs is the use value of a given species s, U is is the number of uses of species s listed by the informant i, and ns is the total number of informants.

We used the most common method of dendogram clustering to demonstrate the relationship of the taxa and traditional usages in ten different districts of Mersin. The Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) was used for statistical analysis with v2. (Sokal and Michener, 1958; Bailey, 1994).

The proportion and pairwise-proportion (with Holm adjustment) tests were used to compare the true (population) proportions. These tests were performed in R and the significance level was fixed at 0.05.

Results

Demographic Features of the Informants

Details on the demographic characteristics of the participants were asked in face-to-face interviews. Among 338 participants, 16 were 19–35 years of age, 40 were 36–49, 194 were 50–70 and 88 were over the age of 70. The majority of the respondents were male (247) and 91 were female.

The age of the informants ranged between 19 and 91 years old with a mean age of 68 years.

Among all the participants; 25 were illiterate (7%), 37 were literate (11%), 190 had graduated from elementary school (57%), 43 from middle school (12%), 30 from high school (9%) and 13 from university (4%) (Figures 7A,B, 8A,B).

FIGURE 7

Age groups of participants.

FIGURE 8

(A–B) Educational status of participants.

The occupational groups of the participants consist of farming, animal husbandry, beekeeping, shepherding, retired, tradesmen and housewives. We gained access to four local healers, who can be regarded as practitioners of traditional medicine, for this study.

It should be noted that the reason women informants constituted only one third of the total number is that the study started mostly in the coffeehouses, which were generally in the center of the villages and in Turkey are frequented only by men.

Medicinal Plants and Related Knowledge

The plants used for medicinal treatment of human beings in Mersin are listed in Table 1, while Table 2 shows the plants that see veterinary use. Both are arranged alphabetically by botanical name and include relevant information. Taxonomic changes according to The Plant List (The Plant List, 2013) are shown in parentheses with scientific names in Table 1. In total, 324 plant specimens were collected in the research area during the study period. Among these, 93 medicinal plants belonging to 43 families were identified; of these 83 taxa were wild and 10 were cultivated. The most commonly used medicinal plants were in the Lamiaceae (14 taxa), Rosaceae (5 taxa), Malvaceae (5 taxa), Hypericaceae (5 taxa), Asteraceae (5 taxa) and Cupressaceae (5 taxa) families.

TABLE 1

Folk medicinal plants of Mersin (Turkey).

Botanical name, family and specimen number	Local name	Plant part used	Ailments treated/Therapeutic effect	Preparation	Administration	UV	Ethnobotanical records from Turkey	Ethnobotanical records from mediterranean region
Abies cilicica (Ant. et Kotschy) Carr.	Iladin	Resin	Wounds	Crushed with olive oil	Ext	0.44	(6, 9, 10, 11) b	—
Pinaceae, MARE 21101	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Achillea sp.
Asteraceae, MARE 21004	Kirkbas	Capitulum	Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.34	—	—
Alcea pallida (Willd.) Waldst. et Kit.	Aysefatma, Ayigulu, Esefatma cicegi, Hasbi cicegi	Flowers	Expectorant, cough	Decoction	Int	0.41	Cough (3)	—
Malvaceae, MARE 20130, 21063							(3) b
Alcea rosea L.a	Aysefatma, Gulhatmi	Flowers	Cough	Decoction	Int	0.15	—	(31, 54) b
Malvaceae, MARE 20173
Arbutus x andrachnoides Link	Sandal	Fruits	Abdominal pain	—	Int	0.24	—	—
Ericaceae, MARE 20175, 21068, 21157
Arum dioscoridis Sm. Araceae, MARE 20056, 20057	Agi otu, Agu, Elkabartan, Tirsin, Yilanbicagi, Yilanekmegi	Fruits leaves	Bee bite	Crushed	Ext	0.76	Hemorrhoids (6, 8, 9)	—
			Abdominal pain	—	Int		(9) b
			Hemorrhoids	—	2 pieces in a day for 2 months, int		—
			Cough	Heated then mixed with olive oil	Ext		—
			Sore throat	Heated then mixed with olive oil	Ext		—
Asparagus acutifolius L.	Kuskonmaz	Aerial parts	Urinary system diseases	Infusion	Int	0.13	(5, 6, 7, 8, 11) b	(15, 17, 22, 35, 41, 44, 49, 51, 54) b
Asparagaceae, MARE 20150, 21162, 21637
Asphodeline lutea (L.) Rchb.	Kecicirisi	Leaves	Burns	—	Wrapped in a cloth, ext	0.11	—	—
Xanthorrhoeaceae, MARE 21645
Asphodelus aestivus Brot.Xanthorrhoeaceae, MARE 21527, 21680	Ciris	Tuber	Wounds	Crushed then added flour	Wrapped in a cloth for 3 days, ext	0.20	Wounds (7)	Wounds (15)
							(5, 7, 8) b	(15) b
Asphodelus fistulous L.	Ciris	Tuber	Wounds	Crushed then mixed with olive oil	Wrapped in a cloth, ext	0.17	—	—
Xanthorrhoeaceae, MARE 20061
Astragalus sp.	Geven, Keven	Resin	Herniated disc	—	Wrapped in a cloth for 3 days, ext	0.24	—	—
Fabaceae, MARE 21046, 21054
Berberis crataegina. DC.	Karamik	Leaves	Diabetes, diarrhea	—	Int	0.17	Diabetes (4)	—
		Stem bark	Diabetes	Decoction	Int		(2, 3, 4, 5) b
Berberidaceae, MARE 21007, 21931		Fruits	Stye	—	Ext		—
							—
Cedrus libani A. Rich. Pinaceae, MARE 20084, 20192, 21104, 21504	Katran, Sedir	Resin	Stomachache	—	Int	0.78	Wounds (3, 10)	—
			Eczema, Warts, wounds	—	Ext		(2, 3, 6, 9, 10) b
Ceratonia siliqua L. Fabaceae, MARE 20170, 21066	Hunnap, Kara armut	Fruits	Cough, Anemia	Boiled (called pekmez)	Int	0.61	Anemia (7,8,9,10)	(17, 22, 28, 35, 36) b
			Appetite	Boiled	Ext		Appetizer (9)
			Abscess	—	—		Cough (1)
							(1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) b
Ceterach officinarum DC.	Altin otu, Yosun cayi	Aerial parts	Stomachache	Infusion	Int	0.10	Stomachache (7) (3, 7, 8, 11) b	(12, 17, 22, 26, 27, 28, 35, 39, 44, 45, 48, 51) b
Aspleniaceae, MARE 21529 [Ceterach officinarum Willd.]
Cichorium intybus L. Asteraceae, MARE 21049, 21060	—	Aerial parts	Stomachache	Infusion	Int	0.09	Stomachache (8), (4, 8) b	(13, 17, 25, 29, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 44, 45, 49, 51, 55) b
Cistus creticus L. Cistaceae, MARE 21119	Karahan	Aerial parts	Antifungal	Decoction	Ext	0.08	(3, 6, 7, 8) b	(15) b
Cistus salviifolius L. Cistaceae, MARE 21013	Karahan	Aerial parts	Antifungal	Decoction	Ext	0.08	(7, 8) b	—
Crataegus monogyna Jacq. subsp. monogyna Rosaceae, MARE 21001, 21914, 21916 (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.)	Alic	Aerial parts	Stomachache, cardiovascular system diseases	Infusion	Int	0.31	Cardiovascular system diseases (9), (3, 4, 6, 8, 9) b	Cardiovascular system diseases (15, 17, 19, 24, 31), Stomachache (35), (12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 24, 25, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 43, 47, 51, 53, 54, 55) b
Cupressus sempervirens L. a (Cupressaceae, MARE 21059, 21303)	Selvi	Cones	Cough	Decoction	Int	0.08	(2, 5) b	(15, 17, 29, 42, 50) b
Cydonia oblonga Mill. Rosaceae, MARE 21084, 21678	Ayva	Leaves	Diarrhea, Stomachache Sore throat	Infusion boiled in water	Int. Wrapped in a cloth, Ext	0.64	Diarrhea (1, 3, 6, 9, 10), (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10) b	Diarrhea (20, 24, 28, 31, 38, 44, 53, 54), Stomachache (31), (12, 17, 21, 28, 31, 37, 39, 40, 42, 46, 52) b
Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich. Cucurbitaceae, MARE 21114, 21663	Cirtatan, cakalkavunu	Fruits juice (fresh), fruits	Haemorrhoids sinusitis rheumatism	— — Heated in the olive oil	Ext. Intranasal drops Ext	0.39	Hemorrhoids (3.8), rheumatism (9), sinusitis (1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11), (1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11) b	Sinusitis (52) (21, 40, 45, 51, 53) b
Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. Equisetaceae, MARE 21087	Kirkkilit	Aerial parts	Diuretic	Infusion	Int	0.13	Edema (3)	Diuretic (17, 25, 28, 53) (17, 23, 24, 25, 28, 40, 50, 53) b
Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. a Rosaceae, MARE 21309	Yenidunya, Malta erigi	Flowers	Sore throat,cough	Infusion	Int	0.32	Cough (1), (1, 9, 10) b	(17, 22, 40, 52) b
Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. Myrtaceae, MARE 21105, 21174, 21891	Kaliptos, Okaliptus, Sitma agaci	Leaves	Cough	Infusion	Int	0.08	(1, 6, 8, 9, 10) b	Cough (21, 25), (15, 17, 25) b
Euphorbia helioscopia L. Euphorbiaceae, MARE 21300	Sutlegen	Latex	Warts	—	Ext	0.63	—	Warts (33), (27, 51) b
Euphorbia kotschyana Fenzl Euphorbiaceae, MARE 21092	Sutlegen	Latex	Warts	—	Ext	0.63	(2) b	—
Euphorbia rigida M. Bieb. Euphorbiaceae, MARE 21318	Sutlegen	Latex	Warts	—	Ext	0.63	Warts (3.9), (3, 6, 8, 9, 10) b	—
Ficus carica L. subsp. carica a , Moraceae, MARE 20180, 21151 [Ficus carica L.]	Incir	Latex	Toothache, warts	—	Ext	0.71	Toothache (6), warts (3, 9), (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10) b	Toothache (41), warts (13, 17, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 44, 50, 52), (13, 15, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 41, 45, 48, 50, 53, 55) b
Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Apiaceae, MARE 21021	Arapsaci, Meletura, Rezene	Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.41	Abdominal pain (3) (1,4,8) b	Abdominal pain (32, 33, 34) (13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55) b
Glaucium flavum Crantz Papaveraceae, MARE 21870	Gogundurme	Latex Aerial parts	Warts wounds	Infusion	Ext. Int	0.07	—	—
Gundelia tournefortii L. var. tournefortii (Asteraceae, MARE 21917) [Gundelia tournefortii L.]	Kengel	Seeds	Stomachache	Roasted, boiled with water (made coffee)	Int	0.23	(8) b	—
Hedera helix L. Araliaceae, MARE 21058	—	Leaves	Abscess	Heated	Ext	0.11	(5) b	(12, 13, 17, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 35, 43, 48, 51, 55) b
Helichrysum compactum Boiss. Asteraceae, MARE 20091	Altinbas, Koyungozu	Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.31	—	—
Hypericum atomarium Boiss. Hypericaceae, MARE 20117	Kantaron	Aerial parts	Wounds	Oleate	Ext	0.44	—	—
Hypericum lydium Boiss. Hypericaceae, MARE 21097	Kantaron	Aerial parts	Wounds	Oleate	Ext	0.32	—	—
Hypericum montbretii Spach Hypericaceae, MARE 20067	Kantaron	Aerial parts	Wounds	Oleate	Ext	0.32	Wounds (7), (7) b	—
Hypericum perforatum L. Hypericaceae, MARE 20080, 20997, 21091, 21549	Kantaron, Koromaz	Aerial parts	Stomach ailments wounds Diaper rash (in babies) Haemorrhoids Rheumatism	Oleate	Int	0.80	Stomach ailments (3)	Hemorrhoids (37, 41, 53, 54)
				Oleate	Ext		Hemorrhoids (1)	Rheumatism (25)
				Oleate	Ext		Diaper rash (1)	Stomach disorders (39, 53)
				Oleate	Ext		Rheumatism (1)	Wounds (13, 15, 25, 26, 38, 41, 46, 51, 54, 55)
				Oleate	Ext		Wounds (3,6,9,10.11), (3,4,9,10.11) b	(13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55) b
Hypericum triquetrifolium Turra Hypericaceae, MARE 21009, 21039, 21109, 21129, 21158, 21178	Gavursakali, Kizilcik	Aerial parts	Rheumatism	Oleate	Ext	0.27	(7,8,9,10) b	—
Juglans regia L. a , Juglandaceae, MARE 20183, 21012	Ceviz	Immature fruits, young shoots	Haemorrhoids Smoking cessation	— — Infusion	Before breakfast, int. Int	0.18	Hemorrhoids (4, 10) (3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) b	Hemorrhoids (17, 37) (13, 16, 17, 22, 24, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 50, 53, 54) b
Juniperus drupacea Labill cupressaceae, MARE 20070, 20165, 21023, 21548	Andiz	Cones	Expectorant, cough, Shortness of breath	Waited in a water then boiled (called pekmez)	Before breakfast, int	0.74	Cough (2)	—
			Anthelmentic	Decoction	Before breakfast, int		Asthma (4, 6, 9, 10)
			Rheumatism	Crushed then mixed with olive oil	Ext		Rheumatism (4), (4, 6, 9, 10, 11) b
Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb.	Ardic	Resin	Stomachache	—	Int	0.51	(1, 3, 6, 9, 10) b	Stomachache (50)
Cupressaceae, MARE 20193, 21003, 21059
Juniperus foetidissima Willd	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cupressaceae, MARE 21061, 21506, 21924	Ardic, Yayli ardic	Resin	Stomachache	—	Int	0.32	(3, 6, 9, 10) b	—
Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus Cupressaceae, MARE 20160, 21103, 21505 (Juniperus oxycedrus L.)	Ardic, Gilik	Immature cones	Expectorant	Crushed with honey	Int	0.71	Stomach ache (3, 10) (3,6,8,9,10.11) b	Rheumatism (25, 27), (15, 17, 27, 54) b
		Cones	Rheumatism	Decoction	First applied beeswax, ext
		Resin	Stomachache	—	Int
		Immature cones	Stomachache	Decoction	Int
Laurus nobilis L. Lauraceae, MARE 20169, 21070	Defne, Teynel	Leaves Fruits	Diabetes Varicose Vein Rheumatism Rheumatism	Decoction Bath Crushed Boiled	Int	0.56	Diabetes (1)	Rheumatism (43, 51) (15, 16, 20, 22, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, 36, 43, 44, 45 ,51, 54, 55) b
					Ext
					Ext		Rheumatism (1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), (1,4,5,6,7,9,10,11) b
					Wrapped in a cloth, ext
Malva parviflora L. Malvaceae, MARE 20088, 21034	Ebegumeci, Gomec	Roots	Abortive	—	Ext	0.38	—	—
Malva sylvestris L.	Ebegumeci, Gomec	Roots	Abortive	—	Ext	0.38	Abdominal pain (5)	Abdominal pain (32, 33, 44, 45)
Malvaceae, MARE 21951		Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Maseration in water added flour	Wrapped in a cloth, ext		(1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) b	Abortive (12), (12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 48, 50, 51, 53) b
Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. typhoides (Briq.) Harley var. typhoides	Yarpiz	Leaves	Diarrhea	Infusion	Int. Wrapped in a cloth, ext	0.34	Rheumatism (3)	(50) b
Lamiaceae, MARE 21016, 21125 [Mentha longifolia subsp. typhoides (Briq.) Harley]			Rheumatism Abscess	Crushed	Wrapped in a cloth, ext			(3) b
Mentha x piperita L. a	Nane	Leaves	Nausea, Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.68	Abdominal pain (1)	Abdominal pain (31)
Lamiaceae, MARE 21016							Nausea (1, 9) (1, 9, 10) b	Nausea (43), (17, 21, 28, 31, 39, 40, 43, 53, 55) b
Micromeria myrtifolia Boiss. et Hohen.	Topuklu cay	Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.34	(9, 10, 11) b	—
Lamiaceae, MARE 21553
Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis	Hambelez, Mersin, Merta, Murt	Fruits	Diabetes	—	Eaten	0.38	Diabetes (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10)	(15, 25, 32, 33, 35, 53) b
Myrtaceae, MARE 20149, 20181, 21075, 21132 [Myrtus communis L.]		Leaves	Constipation	Infusion	Int		Purgative (4), (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10) b
Nerium oleander L. Apocynaceae, MARE 20166, 21088, 21130	Agi, Sindila, Zakkum	Flowers	Rheumatism	Oleate	Ext	0.21	(1, 2, 6, 7, 9) b	(13., 51) b
Olea europaea L. var. europaea a , Oleaceae, MARE 21052, 21336 [Olea europaea L.]	Elya, Zeytin	Fruits leaves	Constipation	Oil	Int	0.70	Mouth sore (1,9,10), (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10) b	Burns (17, 22, 25, 44, 50)
			Burns	Oil	Ext			Constipation (17, 22, 25)
			Earache	Oil	Eardrops			Earache (28, 29, 52)
			Mouth sore Aphtha	Boiled in water	Gargle			(12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 44, 45, 48, 50, 53, 54) b
				Chewed	Ext			—
Origanum majorana L. a	Mercankosk	Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.69	(3, 4, 9, 10, 11) b	Abdominal pain (34)
Lamiaceae, MARE 21551								(22, 28, 34, 43, 48, 54, 55) b
Origanum syriacum L. var. bevanii (Holmes) Ietswaart	Kekik	Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Decoction	Int., half glass of water	0.71	Stomachache (9, 10)
Lamiaceae, MARE 20078, 20082, 20103, 21166, 21330 [Origanum syriacum subsp. bevanii (Holmes) Greuter et Burdet]			Stomachache	Infusion	Int		(9.10) b
Origanum vulgare L.	Arigani, Kekik, Merdus	Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Decoction	Int	0.66	(11) b	Abdominal pain (31, 33)
Lamiaceae, MARE 21020			Stomachache, Cough	Infusion	Int			Cough (25, 33, 37, 38, 43, 46), Stomachache (24, 43), (13, 15, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26, 28, 31, 35, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 46, 48, 50, 54, 55) b
Paliurus spina-christi Mill.	Calti, Calti dikeni	Fruits	Cough, kidney stones	Decoction	Int	0.38	Kidney stones (7, 9)	(31, 42) b
Rhamnaceae, MARE 20075, 20159, 21010							(4, 5, 7, 9, 10) b
Papaver macrostomum Boiss. et A. Huet	Gelincik, Lale	Petals	Cough	Waited in water 10 days	Int	0.31	(1) b	—
Papaveraceae, MARE 21930
Papaver rhoeas L.	Gelincik, Lale	Petals	Cough	Waited in water 10 days	Int	0.52	(6, 7) b	Cough (26, 27, 31)
Papaveraceae, MARE 21725								(22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34, 35, 36, 39, 44, 45, 48,51) b
Phillyrea latifolia L.	Akcakesme, Kesme	Leaves	Kidney stones	Infusion	Int	0.19	—	—
Oleaceae, MARE 21067, 21134, 21295, 21507
Pinus brutia Ten.Pinaceae, MARE 20155, 21556	Cam		Cough	Crushed with sugar	Eaten before breakfast, int	0.63	Cough (1, 7)	—
		Young shoots Resin	Stomach ulcer	Decoction	Before breakfast for 40 days, int		Shortness of breath (3, 9)
			Shortness of breath	—	Eaten 1 teaspoon, int		Ulcer (9, 10)
		Immature cones	Cough	Boiled with milk	Ext		(1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15) b
			Diaper rush (babies)	Heated then mixed with olive oil	Ext		—
		Immature cones	Shortness of breath	Decoction	Int		—
		Terebinthine	Fracture	—	Ext		—
Pistacia terebinthus L. subsp. palaestina (Boiss.) Engler	Menegic	Fruits	Cough	Roasted the boiled with water (made coffee)	Int	0.27	(3, 5, 6) b	—
Anacardiaceae, MARE 21005, 20101, 21057, 21159, 21176		Latex	Wounds	—	Ext
Plantago lanceolata L. Plantaginaceae, MARE 21877	Kirksinir otu, Pisikuyrugu	Leaves	Rheumatism, wounds, abscess	Crushed	Wrapped in a cloth, wait for	0.71	Wounds (3, 6, 8)	Abscess (25, 27)
							(3, 5, 8) b	Rheumatism (50)
							—	Wounds (24, 25, 26, 44, 53), (13, 16, 17, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 44, 48, 50, 54) b
Plantago major L. subsp. intermedia (Gilib.) lange	Kirksinir otu	Leaves	Rheumatism, wounds	Crushed	Wrapped in a cloth, wait for 10 min, ext	0.71	Wounds (3, 9)	—
Plantaginaceae, MARE 20184							(3, 9, 10) b
Polygonum cognatum Meisn.	Madimak	Aerial parts	Kidney stones	Infusion	Int	0.10	—	—
Polygonaceae, MARE 21923, 21939
Primula vulgaris Huds. subsp. vulgaris	Ezrail meneksesi, Sari menekse	Flowers	Cold	Infusion	Int	0.09	—	(16, 31, 50) b
Primulaceae, MARE 21697 [Primula vulgaris Huds.]
Punica granatum L. a	Nar	Seeds	Diarrhea	Boiled for 2–3 h	Int	0.52	Diarrhea (3,6,7,8)	Diarrhea (22.54)
Lythraceae, MARE 21659		Exocarp	Diarrhea	Infusion	Int		(6.8) b	(17,, 22, 28, 35, 48) b
Quercus coccifera L. Fagaceae, MARE 21008, 21074	Kotoprini, Piynar	Fruits, roots	Enuresis (in child)	Decoction	Int	0.77	Burns (1,3,9)	(12, 41, 52) b
			Wounds	Decoction (added olive oil)	Ext		Wounds (9)
			Burns	Decoction	Int		(3,4,6) b
			Menstrual pain	Decoction	Ext		—
Rhus coriaria L. Anacardiaceae, MARE 20171, 21041, 21055, 21100, 21128	Sumak	Fruits	Foot odor	—	Put in socks, ext	0.72	Foot odor (9)	(15, 51) b
		Leaves and fruits	Tinea pedis	Bath	Ext		Gingivitis (9)
		Leaves	Gingivitis	Infusion	Gargle		Toothache (10)
		Aerial parts	Pelade	Infusion	Ext		(4,6,9,10.11) b
		—	Skin diseases	Decoction	Ext		—
		—	Eczema	Decoction	Ext		—
		—	Toothache	Decoction	Gargle		—
Rosa canina L.	Itburnu, Kusburnu	Fruits	Diabetes	Decoction	Int	0.16	Diabetes (6)	Diabetes (15)
Rosaceae, MARE 21911							(6, 8, 9, 10) b	(12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 27, 28, 31, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 44, 46, 51, 52, 53, 54) b
Rosmarinus officinalis L. a	Arizmari, Biberiye	Leaves	Stomach diseases	Infusion	Int	0.38	(1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11) b	Stomach diseases (54)
Lamiaceae, MARE 20083, 20148, 21069, 21131, 21338								(12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 35, 36, 40, 41, 43, 44, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54) b
Rubus sanctus Schreb. Rosaceae, MARE 21555	Bogurtlen	Roots, leaves	Kidney ailments	Decoction	Int	0.44	Diabetes (1.8)	Diabetes (1, 8), (15, 41) b
			Diabetes, Emenagog	Infusion	Gargle		Kidney ailments (9)
			Sore throat	Crushed	Ext		Menstrual pains (9)
			Burns	—	—		(1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11) b
Rumex sp.	Kalmik cayi, Cerkez cayi	Aerial parts	Cardiovascular system diseases	Boiled in milk	Int	0.24	—	—
Polygonaceae, MARE 21668 a
Ruscus aculeatus L. var. aculeatus	Kandak	Fruits	Haemorrhoids	Infusion	Int	0.39	Kidney stones (6)	(13, 22, 27, 28, 51) b
Asparagaceae, MARE 20100 [Ruscus aculeatus L.]		Roots	Kidney stones	Decoction	Int
Salvia fruticosa Mill.	Adacayi, Faskomila	Aerial parts	Cold	Infusion	Int	0.53	Cold (7)	(15) b
Lamiaceae, MARE 20092							(4, 5, 7) b
Salvia viridis L.	Esek cayi	Aerial parts	Stomachache	Infusion	Int	0.37	Stomachache (6)	—
Lamiaceae, MARE 21668, 21710, 21712
Sambucus nigra L.	Kokarot, Bandirik	Fruits	Haemorrhoids	—	Int	0.13	(8, 9, 10) b	Hemorrhoids (17, 25, 27, 29)
Adoxaceae, MARE 21002								(13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54,55) b
Sideritis cilicica Boiss. et Balansa	Dag cayi	Aerial parts	Cold	Infusion	Int	0.61	—
Lamiaceae, MARE 21552
Sideritis congesta P. H. Davis et Hub.-Mor	Dag cayi	Arial parts	Cold, Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.61	(4, 11) b	—
Lamiaceae, MARE 20101a, 21,520
Solanum nigrum L. subsp. schultesii (Opiz) Wessely	Boncuklu gogundurme	Leaves	Wounds	Boiled in water added flour	Ext	0.29	(8) b	(36) b
Solanaceae, MARE 20186 [Solanum decipiens opiz]
Stachys lavandulifolia vahl var. lavandulifolia	Tuylu cay	Aerial parts	Cold	Infusion	Int	0.17	Cold (9.10)	—
Lamiaceae, MARE 21933 [Stachys lavandulifolia vahl]							(5,9,10,11) b
Tamarix smyrnensis Bunge	Ilgin	Stem bark	Antipyretic	Decoction	Int	0.31	(3) b	—
Tamaricaeae, MARE 21146
Teucrium polium L.	Aci yavsan	Aerial parts	Abdominal pain	Infusion	Int	0.65	Abdominal pain (3)	Stomachache (38)
Lamiaceae, MARE 20090, 20196, 21011, 21018			Stomachache	Crushed with olive oil added flour, wrapped in a cloth, infusion	Ext., Int		Stomachache (1, 5, 10, 11), (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11) b	(38, 50) b
Tilia rubra DC. subsp. caucasica (Rupr.) V. Engl	Ihlamur	Flowers	Cold	Decoction	Int	0.31	Common cold (1)	—
Malvaceae, MARE 20098			Cough	Infusion	Int
Tribulus terrestris L.	Devecokerten, demirpitirak, Ucdis	Aerial parts	Cardiovascular system diseases, kidney ailments	Decoction	Int	0.44	(3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11) b	(15) b
Zygophyllaceae, MARE 20059, 21024, 21136			Enuresis	Infusion	Int
Urginea maritima (L.) Baker	Zipcik sogani, zibgin	Bulbus	Rheumatism	Sliced	Wrapped in a cloth, ext	0.37	Rheumatism (4,9,10)	(17, 22, 27, 40, 51) b
Asparagaceae, MARE 21089 [Drimia maritima (L.) Stearn]							(9, 10) b
Urtica urens L.	Isirgan	Leaves	Rheumatism	Crushed	Wrapped in a cloth, ext	0.61	Rheumatism (4)	Diuretic (17)
Urticaceae, MARE 21297, 21510		Aerial parts	Diuretic	Infusion	Int		(1, 4, 9) b	Rheumatism (17, 22, 36, 44) (12, 14, 17, 19, 22, 27, 28, 35, 36, 44, 48, 51) b
Verbascum sp.	Paskulak, Sigirkulagi, Salkaba	Flowers	Stomachache	Infusion	Int	0.62	(1, 9, 10) b	(38, 50) b
Scrophulariaceae, MARE 21026			Constipation	Decoction	Int
Viscum album L. subsp. abietis (Wiesb.) Abromeit	Govelek	Whole plants	Cardiovascular system diseases	Decoction	Int	0.36	(6, 9, 10) b	—
Santalaceae, MARE 21006, 21081
Viscum album L. subsp. album	Govelek	Whole plants	Cardiovascular system diseases	Infusion	Int	0.36	(3, 4, 5) b	Heart problems (19)
Santalaceae, MARE 21027, 21147 [Viscum album L.]								(12, 13, 19, 24, 43, 48, 50, 54) b
Vitex agnus-castus L.	Hayit	Fruits	Cardiovascular system diseases	Infusion	Int	0.17	(1, 5, 7, 9, 10) b	(42) b
Lamiaceae, MARE 21073, 21124, 21179		Leaves	Fertility (in women)	Infusion	Int
Xanthium strumarium L. subsp. cavanillesii (Schouw) D. Löve et P. Dansereau	Pitirak	Aerial parts	Wounds	Crushed	Wrapped in a cloth, ext. Wrapped in a cloth, ext	0.40	—	—
Asteraceae, MARE 21083 [Xanthium orientale subsp. italicum (Moretti) Greuter]		Leaves	Abscess	Crushed

Int.; Internal use. Ext.; External use. Adm.: Administration.

Cultivated plant.

Different usage, the new plant uses were marked as bold.

(1) Akaydin et al., 2013, (2) Ari et al., 2018, (3) Bulut et al., 2017, (4) Everest and Ozturk, 2005, (5) Fakir et al., 2016, (6) Gunes et al., 2017, (7) Gurdal and Kultur, 2013, (8) Guzel et al., 2015, (9) Sargin, 2015, (10) Sargin and Buyukcengiz, 2019, (11) Yesilada et al., 1993, (12) Agelet and Vallès, 2003, (13) Akerreta et al., 2007a, (14) Akerreta et al., 2007b, (15) Axiotis et al., 2018, (16) Bellia and Pieroni, 20,015, (17) Benítez et al., 2010, (18) Benítez et al., 2012, (19) Calvo and Cavero, 2014, (20) Calvo et al., 2011, (21) Camejo-Rodrigues et al., 2003, (22) Carrió and Vallès, 2012, (23) Cavero et al., 2011a, (24) Cavero et al., 2011b, (25) Cornara et al., 2009, (26) De Natale and Pollio, 2007, (27) González et al., 2010, (28) Gras et al., 2019, (29) Guarrera et al., 2005, (30) Łuczaj et al., 2019, (31) Matejic et al., 2020, (32) Mattalia et al., 2020a, (33) Mattalia et al., 2020b, (34) Mattalia et al., 2020c, (35) Mautone et al., 2019, (36) Menale and Muoio, 2014, (37) Mustafa et al., 2012, (38) Mustafa et al., 2015, (39) Mustafa et al., 2020, (40) Novais et al., 2004, (41) Papageorgiou et al., 2020, (42) Parada et al., 2009, (43) Petrakou et al., 2020, (44) Pieroni, 2000, (45) Pieroni et al., 2002, (46) Pieroni, 2017, (47) Rigat et al., 2007, (48) Rigat et al., 2013, (49) Sansanelli et al., 2017, (50) Sari´c-Kundali´c et al., 2010, (51) Tuttolomondo et al., 2014, (52) Viegi, et al., 2003, (53)Vinagre et al., 2019, (54) Vitasović Kosić et al., 2017, (55) Zivkovic et al., 2020.

TABLE 2

The plants used in veterinary medicine in Mersin (Turkey).

Botanical name, family and specimen number	Local name	Plant part used	Ailments treated/Therapeutic effect	Preparation	Administration	UV	Similar usage in literature
Euphorbia helioscopia L.	Sutlegen	Latex	Warts, wounds	—	Ext	0.41	Wounds (52)
Euphorbiaceae, MARE 21300			Snakebite (for goat)	—	Int
Glaucium flavum Crantz	Okuzbogurden	Aerail parts	Emetic	—	Int	0.07	—
Papaveraceae, MARE 21870
Juniperus foetidissima Willd.	Ardic, Yayli ardic	Aerial parts	Antiseptic (after birth)	—	Ext	0.13	—
Cupressaceae, MARE 21061, 21506, 21924
Hypericum perforatum L.	Kantaron	Aerial parts	Wounds	Oleat	Ext	0.47	Wounds (29.52)
Hypericaceae, MARE 20080, 20997, 21091, 21549
Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. typhoides (Briq.) Harley var. typhoides	Yarpiz	Aerial parts	Anthelmintic	Infusion	Int	0.24	—
Lamiaceae, MARE 21016, 21125 [Mentha longifolia subsp. typhoides (Briq.) Harley]
Nerium oleander L.	Agu, Sindilag, Zakkum	Flowers	Scabies	Decoction	Ext	0.31	(52) b
Apocynaceae, MARE 20166, 21088, 21130
Punica granatum L. a	Nar	Exocarp	Diarrhea	Infusion	Int	0.31	—
Lythraceae, MARE 21659
Rhus coriaria L.	Sumak	Young shoots	Diarrhea	—	Int	0.50	—
Anacardiaceae, MARE 20171, 21041, 21055, 21100, 21128
Salix alba L.	Sogut	Young shoots	Diarrhea	—	Int	0.09	(52) b
Salicaceae, MARE 20137

Int.; Internal use. Ext.; External use.

Cultivated plant.

Different usage; the new plant uses were marked as bold.

The UV data is summarized in the statistical data analysis section. Amongst the most commonly used plants were Hypericum species. During our interviews, participants shared that they learned about using the oleate of Hypericum species for external wound treatment from their ancestors, emphasizing that it was even used for sword wounds in ancient times. We even observed that many of the participants’ kept this oleate in their homes.

The fruit of Arum dioscoridis Sm, is the leading herb used in the treatment of haemorrhoids in the region. The leaves are boiled and consumed as food while fruits are used as toys.

We recorded that the latex of Euphorbia helioscopia L., E. kotschyana Fenzl, E. rigida M. Bieb., Glaucium flavum Crantz and Ficus carica L. are used for the treatment of warts in the region. F. carica latex is also used for toothaches.

Molasses “pekmez” prepared from the fruits of C. siliqua and J. drupaceae, which are very common in the flora of the region, was traditional product used in children and adults, especially in upper respiratory tract diseases, and was also sold in the local markets.

Female participants over 60 years of age, who contributed to our research in the region, mentioned that the roots of Malva species were previously used to terminate pregnancies when birth control methods were not common, and that their mothers frequently applied this method.

Helichrysum compactum Boiss., S. cilicica and S. congesta P. H. Davis et Hub.-Mor. are endemic species of the region with therapeutic usages (presented in Table 1). S. cilicica and S. congesta were the most consumed herbal teas in the region and are cultivated in the gardens of some participants.

Gundelia tournefortii L. var, tournefortii and Pistacia terebinthus L. subsp. palaestina (Boiss.) Engler were used to prepare a special traditional coffee. In addition, fruits of P. terebinthus were used as a snack and sold in local bazaars.

M.communis is used in treatments for diabetes and constipation, and its fruits are also consumed as a snack. Another application we recorded in almost every village in our study was its usage during cemetery visits.

Euphorbia helioscopia L., Glaucium flavum Crantz, J. foetidissima, H. perforatum, N. oleander, Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. typhoides (Briq.) Harley var. typhoides, Punica granatum L. and Rhus coriaria L. are used in the treatment of both humans and animals. Among the medicinal plants used for veterinary purposes, we found that only Salix alba L. is used exclusively for the treatment of animals (Table 2).

Plant Parts Used and Methods of Preparation

The parts of plants used for medicinal purposes were aerial parts (26.8%), leaves (18.4%), fruits (15.1%) and flowers (7%). The main preparation methods using these parts were infusion (27.6%), direct application (22.2% without any preparation procedure), decoction (18.9%), application after crushing (11.4%), and other less common methods (19.9%).

A total of 189 drugs were recorded in this study. Most were used internally (55.7%) (Table 1, Table 2). Olive oil, flour, honey and sugar were used as additional ingredients in the preparation of these remedies.

The medicinal plants used in multiherbal recipes containing two or more species are presented in Table 3. A decoction prepared from R. coriaria and Q. coccifera is used in the treatment of warts and a mixture prepared from P. brutia and H. perforatum is used in stomach disorders.

TABLE 3

Multiherbal recipes used as folk medicine in Mersin.

Recipe	Plant	Plant part used	Ailments treated, therapeutic effect	Preparation	Administration
1	Rhus coriaria	Leaves	Warts Decoction Ext.	Stomach ailments crushed and mixed with oleat	Before breakfast 1 × 1, int.
	Quercus coccifera	Roots
	Pinus brutia	Resin
	Hypericum perforatum	Aerial parts

Plant Names

Local names of medicinal plants are also recorded in this study. The names of the all plants in Turkish, as well as some Cretan plant names, were recorded during the study. Some of these plants have vernacular names that are also used for different plant species, potentially leading to complications. These are presented in Table 4, where we see that in some cases different species of the same genus have the same common names.

TABLE 4

The same vernacular name was used for more than one plant species.

Local name	Botanical names, family and specimen numbers
Aysefatma	Alcea pallida (Willd.) Waldst. et Kit.	Alcea rosea L.	—	—
	Malvaceae, MARE 20130, 21063	Malvaceae, MARE 20173
Sutlegen	Euphorbia helioscopia L	Euphorbia kotschyana Fenzl	Euphorbia rigida M. Bieb	—
	Euphorbiaceae, MARE 21300	Euphorbiaceae, MARE 21092	Euphorbiaceae, MARE 21318
Kantaron	Hypericum atomarium Boiss	Hypericum lydium Boiss.	Hypericum montbretii Spach	Hypericum perforatum L.
	Hypericaceae, MARE 20117	Hypericaceae, MARE 21097	Hypericaceae, MARE 20067	Hypericaceae, MARE 20080, 20997, 21091, 21549
Ardic	Juniperus foetidissima willd	Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus	Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb.	—
	Cupressaceae, MARE 21061, 21506, 21924	Cupressaceae, MARE 20160, 21103, 21505 (Juniperus oxycedrus L.)	Cupressaceae, MARE 20193, 21003, 21059
Ebegumeci	Malva parviflora L.	Malva sylvestris L	—	—
	Malvaceae, MARE 20088, 21034	Malvaceae, MARE 21951
Gomec	Malva parviflora L.	Malva sylvestris L.	—	—
	Malvaceae, MARE 20088, 21034	Malvaceae, MARE 21951
Kekik	Origanum syriacum L. var. bevanii (Holmes) Ietswaart	Origanum vulgare L.	—	—
	Lamiaceae, MARE 20078, 20082, 20103, 21166, 21330 [Origanum syriacum subsp. bevanii (Holmes) Greuter et Burdet]	Lamiaceae, MARE 21020
Kirksinir otu	Plantago lanceolata L	Plantago major L. subsp. intermedia (Gilib.) lange	—	—
	Plantaginaceae, MARE 21877	Plantaginaceae, MARE 20184
Dag cayi	Sideritis cilicica Boiss. et Balansa	Sideritis congesta P. H. Davis et Hub.-Mor.	—	—
	Lamiaceae, MARE 21552	Lamiaceae, MARE 20101a, 21,520
Govelek	Viscum album L. subsp. abietis (wiesb.) Abromeit	Viscum album L. subsp. album	—	—
	Loranthaceae, MARE 21006, 21081	Santalaceae, MARE 21027, 21147 (Viscum album L.)

Statistical Data Analysis

Analysis of the diversity and similarity among districts, based on the ten districts, using species abundance and amount of information on treatment usage, was carried out by hierarchical clustering (Figure 9). The analysis resulted in five main clusters at the truncation point of 20. Erdemli, Mut, Gulnar and Silifke, which are close to one another, showed greater similarity among themselves. Similarly, Aydincik and Bozyazi, which are proximate to one another, also displayed very similar characteristics. Interestingly, there was a close similarity between Anamur and Camliyayla, despite them being far apart. Merkez and Tarsus were both different from the other districts, but Tarsus was the most distinct among the districts.

FIGURE 9

Dendogram showing UPGMA clustering (with Euclide distance) of districts (those where over 10 interviews were carried out).

The proportion test was used to compare the true (population) proportion of the population who recognize and use these species in the various districts. The proportions are given below: 1-Camliyayla (0.72), 2-Tarsus (0.82), 3-Merkez (0.88), 4-Mut (0.66), 5-Anamur (0.60), 6-Silifke (0.91), 7-Gülnar (0.92) and 8-Erdemli (0.86). Bozyazı and Aydıncık districts wasn’t included.

The p-value was 0.0005773 < 0.05. We conclude that there is a significant difference between the districts in terms of awareness of the species. The pairwise comparison with Holm adjustment was conducted to detect the differences between the districts. The difference between 5–3 (p value = 0.044) and 5–6 (p value = 0.042) are significant. This result indicates that the major source of difference was the district (Anamur). We can interpret this to mean that Anamur uses fewer species in the traditional treatments than the other districts.

The proportion test was also used to compare the true (population) UV index for the species. As a result of our analysis, the plants with the highest UV values are H. perforatum (0.80), C. libani (0.78), Q. coccifera (0.77), Arum dioscoridis (0.76) and J. drupaceae (0.74), which are presented in Table 1.

After analysis, the p-value is obtained as 0.4423 > 0.05. It is concluded that there is no significant difference between the five most commonly used species in terms of UV.

According to the FIC results, gastrointestinal system diseases (mainly stomach ailments) had the highest value at 0.77, followed by skin and subcutaneous tissues (mainly wound healing) at 0.72, circulatory system (mainly haemorrhoids) at 0.60, respiratory system (mainly cold) at 0.57, urinary/genital system (0.41), musculo-skeletal (mainly rheumatism, 0.44) and finally metabolism (mainly diabetes, 0.35) disorders (Table 5).

TABLE 5

FIC values of category of ailments.

Ailment categories	Informant consensus factor (FIC)
Gastrointestinal system	0.77
Skin and subcutaneous tissues	0.72
Circulatory system	0.64
Respiratory system	0.57
Bones, joints, etc.	0.44
Genito-urinary system	0.41
Metabolism	0.35
Infectious diseases	0.29
Sensory organs	0.14
Veterinary uses	0.51

Folk Remedies and Related Knowledge Originating From Animals

This research determines that some animals, which constitute an important part of biological diversity, are used for medical purposes in addition to plants used as traditional folk medicine in Mersin. Because animal-based folk remedies are a part of traditional therapy, we present them in this study alongside plants. The folk remedies derived from animals (n = 110) recorded during fieldwork via interviews with informants are presented in Table 6.

TABLE 6

Animal-based folk remedies used in Mersin for treating human diseases.

Remedy	Preparation and administration	Ailments treated/Therapeutic effect	Similar usage in literature
Bee’s wax	Ext	Bruises	(1) a
Camel milk	Boiled, per oral, int	Cough	—
Catfish	Externally applied	Fracture	—
Chicken tail	Ext	Abortive	—
Donkey’s milk	Per oral, int	Cough (in children)	1
Donkey urine	Ext	Scorpion sting	(1) a
Jay	Consumed, int	Speech delay	—
Porcupine	Consumed, int	Haemorrhoids	—
Pork	Consumed, int	Cracked heels	—
Rabbit lard	Dropped into the ear, ext	Earache	—
Snail shell	Ext	Wounds	—
Snake skin	Applied on scalp, ext	Headache	—
	Applied on skin, ext	Acne
Talpa	Consumed, int	Goiter	—

1 Pieroni et al., 2011.

Different usage.

We observed that local people dealing with animal husbandry and hunting as a hobby in the area reaching from villages near the coast to the slopes of the Taurus Mountains were more knowledgeable in this regard.

We found that the use of hedgehog meat for haemorrhoid treatment is very common in the region. The participants added that it is very tasty alongside its therapeutic properties. In addition to the use of animals or animal products for human health, it is very common to use tortoize shell against the evil eye, especially among Yoruks. Furthermore, women and young girls of the village were said to knit with hair from the tails of horses when they could not find thread in Camliyayla, where needle lace is a common traditional handicraft. For this reason, the owners of white horses have to keep their horses tied up in their barns.

We were also informed that the calabash (Lagenaria sp.), known as “Kaplankabak” in the Gülnar area, is used as an instrument to make sound that keeps predators away to protect people living in tents. A piece of tanned goat skin is stretched across the calabash and a rope is inserted into a hole in the skin. An intense noise is produced when the rope is pulled (Supplementary Video S1).

Discussion

Comparison With Previous Studies

Comprehensive ethnobotanical studies previously carried out in neighboring areas (Yeşilada et al., 1993; Everest and Ozturk, 2005; Akaydın et al., 2013; Arı et al., 2018; Gürdal and Kültür, 2013; Güzel et al., 2015; Sargin, 2015; Fakir et al., 2016; Bulut et al., 2017; Güneş et al., 2017; Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019) found that P. brutia was the most commonly used herbal medicinal plant at ten localities in Mersin and its environs. Our findings compared with previous studies can be seen in Table 1, Table 2.

In previous studies, widely distributed species A. cilicica, C. libani, C. siliqua, H. perforatum, J. drupaceae, J. oxycedrus, L. nobilis, M. communis and O. syriacum subsp. bevanii were found to be the major plants used in traditional folk medicines. The most commonly used method for preparation in Mersin is infusion (Akaydın et al., 2013; Sargin, 2015; Sargın et al., 2015; Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019).

Sargın et al., 2015; Sargin, 2015; Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019 noted that the fruits of C. siliqua and J. drupaceae in particular were used for “molasses” in the region. In addition, L. nobilis, locally known as “teynel,” is commonly used for medicinal purposes. Its leaves are used as a spice and during summer in the process of drying fruits to be eaten in winter. The plant is also commonly used in herbal soaps and sold in local markets. Our results agree with these previous findings.

Sargın et al., 2015; Sargin, 2015, Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019 collected species belonging to the genera Dactylorhiza, Ophrys, Orchis and Serapias and noted that they were used in salep and ice cream production. Unfortunately, we were not able to collect these plants, although we also received information on their usage. We are able to contribute information not recorded previously on the widely cultivated plant Citrus lemon L. (Osbeck), which is used to make ice cream in Kaleburcu village under the leadership of the mukhtar.

Besides corroborating previous data in our study, we record new 36 plant taxa with medicinal usages in Mersin (Table 1). Furthermore, nine plants used for applications in animal health were also recorded in this study for the first time in this region.

Plants that have been recorded in previous ethnobotanical studies in Turkey and other Balkan and Mediterranean countries are also presented in Table 1, Table 2 (Agelet and Vallès, 2003; Akerreta et al., 2007a; Akerreta et al., 2007b; Axiotis et al., 2018; Bellia and Pieroni, 2015; Benítez et al., 2010; Benítez et al., 2012; Calvo and Cavero, 2014; Calvo et al., 2011; Camejo-Rodrigues et al., 2003; Carrió and Vallès, 2012; Cavero et al., 2011a; Cavero et al., 2011b; Cornara et al., 2009; De Natale and Pollio, 2007; González et al., 2010; Gras et al., 2019; Guarrera et al., 2005; Łuczaj et al., 2019; Matejic et al., 2020; Mattalia et al., 2020a; Mattalia et al., 2020b; Mattalia et al., 2020c; Mautone et al., 2019; Menale and Muoio, 2014; Mustafa et al., 2012; Mustafa et al., 2015; Mustafa et al., 2020; Novais et al., 2004, Papageorgiou et al., 2020; Parada et al., 2009; Petrakou et al., 2020; Pieroni, 2000; Pieroni et al., 2002; Pieroni, 2017; Rigat et al., 2007; Rigat et al., 2013; Sansanelli et al., 2017; Sari´c-Kundali´c et al., 2010; Tuttolomondo et al., 2014; Vinagre et al., 2019; Vitasović Kosić et al., 2017; Zivkovic et al., 2020) The medicinal uses of the species in Mersin were compatible with previous findings; such as Asphodelus aestivus Brot. (wounds), Cydonia oblonga Mill. (diarrhea and stomach-ache), Ecballium elaterium (L.). A. Rich. (sinusitis), Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. (diuretic), Ficus carica L. (wart), Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (abdominal pain), H. perforatum (wound and haemorrhoids), Juglans regia L. (haemorrhoids), L. nobilis (rheumatism), M. sylvestris L. (abdominal pain), Mentha x piperita L. (abdominal pain), P. lanceolata L. (wounds), Punica granatum (diarrhea), Rosa canina L. (diabetes) and Urtica urens L. (rheumatism). Further studies on some of the listed species support the folkloric uses of these plants with new evidence: the wound-healing properties of P. brutia have been shown (Cetin et al., 2013); H. perforatum has been predominantly used for treating depression, wounds and ulcers (EMA 2006 https://www.ema.europa); Rosa canina has been studied for antidiabetic properties (Rahimi et al., 2020); and the antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcerogenic properties of Cydonia oblonga have been investigated (Zhouet al., 2014).

To the best of our knowledge; usages of Arbutus x andrachnoides Link, Asphodeline lutea (L.) Rchb., Asphodelus fistulous L., Cistus salviifolius L., G. flavum, H. compactum, H. atomarium Boiss., H. lydium Boiss., Phillyrea latifolia, Polygonum cognatum Meisn. and S. cilicica have been recorded for the first time in the region, these new applications are indicated in bold in Table 1; however, of the folk medicinal plants with veterinary uses (Table 2), Euphorbia helioscopia, H. perforatum, N. oleander and S. alba have also been listed in other studies in the field (Guarrera et al., 2005; Viegi et al., 2003).

Harmful Effects of Medicinal Plants

The harmful effects of the medicinal plants were also discussed during the interviews. The informants stated that E. elaterium and Drimia maritima (L.) Stearn should be used carefully due to side effects and contra-indications.

In addition, we recorded that the fruits of Atropa belladonna L., a medicinal plant that is not used medicinally in the region, were eaten by T. G. (age 23), who had seen his father eat this plant to quench his thirst in Inkoyu. T.G. said that he ate many fruits of this plant while he was traveling with his cousin, but his cousin only tasted it. He noted that he experienced poisoning (hallucinations, dry mouth, poor vision) in the hours after consuming the fruit and that he had to go to a hospital far from the village.

Review of Local Plant Names

In our research, we also found some local plant names not recorded in other studies (Akaydın et al., 2013; Sargin, 2015; Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019). These are: Akcakesme, Altinbas, Aysefatma, Ayigulu, Boncuklu Gogundurme, Esefatma cicegi, Ezrail meneksesi, Gomec, Hasbi cicegi, Ilgin Kandak, Karahan, Kecirisi, Kesme, Kuskonmaz, Madimak, Pisikuyrugu, Sari menekse, Selvi, and Yosun cayi. Some vernacular names of the medicinal plants recorded for the first time in Turkey in this study include Boncuklu gogundurme, Esefatma cicegi, Ezrail meneksesi and Yosun cayi (Tuzlacı, 2011).

Although Turkish is spoken in all settlements in the region, some villages were established after migration events. For example, a village of Circassian immigrants has preserved their language and the elders speak Circassian among themselves. There is also a village formed by Cretan immigrants after the population exchange with Greece. The villagers speak Cretan among themselves, which allowed us to record the Cretan names of some plants during our research. Greek plant names are recorded and transcribed in the Latin alphabet. Some of these names were included in a study conducted on the island of Lemnos (Papageorgiou et al., 2020).

Review of Traditional Healing With Animals

Comparing our limited data on zootherapy in the Balkans and the Mediterranean region with the study of Pieroni et al., 2011; we find that the use of donkey milk against cough is common, unlike the use of donkey urine and beeswax. Though limited, we believe these data will contribute to future studies to be conducted by the experts in this field.

Quantitative Findings

Comparing our UV values with those of other studies conducted in Mersin, we see that while C. libani was 0.64 in our study, Sargın et al., 2015 recorded a value of 0.36 for this plant. Our value for Q. coccifera was 0.77 UV, but 0.50 in the study of Akaydın et al., 2013. Another high UV value in our study was 0.87 for T. polium (0.71), which was determined to be 0.57 and 0.35, respectively, in previous studies (Akaydın et al., 2013; Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019). H. perforatum, which has the highest value in our study, was calculated as 0.53 in Sargın, 2015 and 0.42 in Akaydın et al., 2013.

FIC (ICF) values have also been investigated for Mersin in previous studies and were found to be highest for analgesics (0.78), cardiovascular diseases (0.76) and kidney problems (0.70) (Sargın et al., 2015); while another study had the highest value (0.74) for haemorrhoids, followed by gastrointestinal diseases, nutrition disorders, obesity (0.53) and cardiovascular diseases (0.51) (Sargın 2015). In a recent study the highest FIC value calculated was for the treatment category of livestock diseases (0.78), followed by analgesics (0.67) and kidney problems (0.62) (Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019). In another study carried out in Mersin (Akaydın et al., 2013), the FIC ratios recorded were: respiratory system (0.88), gastrointestinal diseases (0.79), dermatological disorders (0.76) and urinary disorders (0.69).

The most common usages of the plants we found were for stomach disorders, wound, haemorrhoids and colds, although the previous studies found different rates of usage (Akaydın et al., 2013; Sargin et al., 2015; Sargın 2015; Sargin and Büyükcengiz, 2019).

Conclusion

In this comprehensive ethnobotanical study which for the first time evaluates the entire province, we find that 93 folk medicinal plants belonging to 43 families are still being used in Mersin. Among these, the medicinal usages of 36 taxa are new records in Mersin. The usage of nine taxa in veterinary medicine are also recorded. People living in rural areas who could also benefit from modern facilities and technology, maintain a connection, which we regard as a cultural bridge in this study, to traditional knowledge in their daily lives. We also note that the younger generation living in villages more freely shared their knowledge while participating in the study. Although we can say that the transfer of traditional knowledge continues despite visual and electronic culture and the increased use of technology reaching even the most remote villages, we must also note that if this research had been carried out a few decades ago, it would have obtained more comprehensive results in terms of the use of traditional knowledge based on botanical diversity. A connection between the old and young generations that is key to the preservation of important knowledge was established during the interviews. Performing ethnobotanical studies could revitalize this bridge of knowledge between old and new generations and help form solid foundation for its preservation. As a conclusion, study also demonstrates that a historically and culturally important province with a rich flora such as Mersin has great potential as a source of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge.