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Ethnobotanical Remedies for Acute Diarrhea in Central Anatolian Villages

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Ethnobotanical Remedies for Acute Diarrhea in Central Anatolian Villages. Acute gastrointestinal illness is a common, life–threatening complication for rural villagers in developing countries such as Turkey. Our study identifies and describes the classification schemes surrounding acute gastrointestinal illness, or diarrhea, and its folk treatments among Central Anatolian villagers. We conducted informal interviews with small groups of rural Turkish villagers in the spring of 2009, using scenarios, recall, free–listing, and ranked saliency techniques to amass information on knowledge and beliefs about diarrhea and its treatments. We also compared treatments from published ethnobotanical studies with 8 of 44 plants still used today. Foods available in the home as well as nearby wild plants were used by 96% of villagers to treat diarrhea. Species in the Rosaceae, Lamiaceae, and Asteraceae families were used most frequently. Villagers blended folk and biomedical concepts to explain their preferences for botanical remedies and to explain the perceived treatment efficacy.

Orta Anadolu Köylerinde Akut İshal için Etnobotanik Tedaviler. Akut gastrointestinal hastalık Türkiye gibi gelişmekte olan ülkelerde kırsal alanda yaşayan köylüler için yaygın ve hayatı tehdit eden bir komplikasyonudur. Çalışmamızda akut gastrointestinal hastalık ya da ishalin Orta Anadolu köylüleri arasında geleneksel tıbbi yöntemler kullanılarak yapılan tedavi biçimleri sınıflandırılmış ve tanımlanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında 2009 yılı baharında, ishal ve ishal tedavileri hakkında inanç ve bilgileri toplamak için anımsatma, yeniden yapılandırma, serbest listeleme, yöntemleriyle gayriresmi sınırlı grup görüşmeler yürütülmüştür. Ayrıca etnobotonikal çalışmalarda basılı olan ve bugün halıhazırda kullanılan 44 bitkiden sekiz tanesi de karşılaştırılmıştır. Evde kullanılan yiyeceklerin yanı sıra civardaki yabani otlar da köylülerin %96’sı tarafından ishali tedavi amaçlı kullanılmaktadır. En sık kullanılan türler arasında gülgiller, ballıbabagiller, papatyagiller bulunmaktadır. Köylüler uyguladıkları bitkisel tedavinin iyileştirici etkisini açıklamak için geleneksel ve biyomedikal tedavi türlerini harmanlamaktadırlar.

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Acknowledgments

Research was funded through a J. William Fulbright Fellowship to Rose, and sponsorship was given by Gazi University through the Pharmacognosy Faculty by İlhan Gürbüz and Ekrem Sezik. Taxonomic experts Zeki Aytaç and Ufuk Özbek from the Botany Department at Gazi University assisted in some species identifications. Sema Demir of the Department of Turkish Folklore helped administer surveys and collect data. At FIU, Rose was funded by NIH NIGMS R25 GM 061347 and an Agroecology grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. People, Organizations, and Society, Grenoble Ecole de Management, Grenoble, France

    Janna L. Rose

  2. Faculty of Literature (Edebiyat Fakültesi), Department of Turkish Folklore (Türk Halk Bilimi Bölümü), Gazi University (Gazi Üniversitesi), Ankara, Turkey

    Evrim Ölçer Özünel

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Bradley C. Bennett

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Rose, J.L., Özünel, E.Ö. & Bennett, B.C. Ethnobotanical Remedies for Acute Diarrhea in Central Anatolian Villages. Econ Bot 67, 137–146 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-013-9233-8

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