Studies on Folkloric Medicinal Plants Used by Palestinians

An ethnobotanical study was conducted in the Qalqilia district, a semicoastal area in the northern West Bank, Palestine from January 2006 to April 2007. The study aimed at evaluating the current status of the Traditional Arabic Palestinian Herbal Medicine (TAPHM) in the Qalqilia District, determining medicinal plants still in use, their primary health care importance at the household level, economic value, conservation status, and their healing potentials. The work also aimed at documenting and preserving the traditional knowledge associated with the use of medicinal plants before its disappearance. Information was collected from 200 people: 174 women and 26 men, using specially designed questionnaires. The participants included 3 local healers, and 197 well known informants. One hundred and sixteen medicinal plants were reported to be used as a cure for 62 ailments. The studied plants belong to 46 families and 103 genera. The fidelity level (FL), relative popularity level (RPL),and rank order priority (ROP) of the medicinal plants were determined