Ethno-botanical medicines used for urinary stones in the Urmia, Northwest Iran

IntroductionEthnomedicinal studies are one of the important routes to find potential medicinal plants for drug discovery purposes. In this study, we aimed to consider ethnopharmacological remedies used for urinary stones in Urmia, northwest Iran.MethodsThis work was based on interviews and questionnaires with traditional healers. All the mentioned medicinal herbs were collected and identified with the help of traditional healers in the city and suburb.ResultsThere were 47 traditional healers working in the spice shops (Attari) in Urmia and 35 of them agreed to cooperate with us. 16 medicinal herbs from 13 families were mentioned by traditional healers. Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae were the predominant families with 2 plants most commonly reported. The most commonly used part was the aerial parts (41.1%). Also, the main method of preparation was decoction (72.7%). Five plants were mentioned by more than 70% of traditional healers as treatment for urinary calculi. Alhagi camelorum Fisch had the highest Frequency of Citation (FC) percentage 88% while the least FC percentage was exhibited by Alyssum desertorum Stapf. and Ruta graveolens L. which was 20%.ConclusionPharmacological activities of reported plants in this study were searched in published works all around the globe. Findings show that most of examined in-vitro, in-vivo or human to prevent or treat urinary calculi. Also, for some plants, although no direct evidence exists for urinary calculi, it is likely that they may have an effect on urinary stones because of their active ingredients.