Background: Traditional herbal medicine has a long history in the Persian communities
of Fars province, especially in Fasa County. Despite the longstanding history and robust
culture of traditional medicine in this region, there is no comprehensive study on the
ethnobotanical knowledge of this unique region with residents historically dependent on
medicinal plants. Objective: Hence, the main objective of this study was to identify and
record medicine plants and traditional herbal knowledge of the ethnic communities of Fasa
County in the Fars province of Iran. Methods: Ethnopharmacological data were collected
using semi-structured questionnaires, guided walks, and group interviews during a period
of two years (2021-2022). 45 local informants were selected and interviewed for data
collection. We calculated quantitative factors including informant consensus factors (ICF),
and use reports (UR) for each species. Medicinal plant species were identified through
standard taxonomic methods by botanists. Results: The local communities have
documented 62 medicinal plants across 58 genera from 27 families, which are used to treat
12 different categories of ailments. The most common preparation method was infusion,
followed by decoction and poultice. Dermatological (ICF = 0.93), neurological (0.92), and
digestive (ICF = 0.91) diseases were documented as the most common ailment categories
in this area. Conclusion: The study results indicated that the traditional herbal knowledge
of Fasa County is still rich and it revealed an obvious relationship between the ancient
medicinal culture of this region and Iranian Traditional Medicine. Therefore, evaluation
of the pharmacological activity of highly utilized medicinal plants could result in new
herbal drugs.
