Medicinal uses of rangeland plants by indigenous communities in ‎the Qaradagh region (Case study: Ahar county, East Azerbaijan ‎province)‎

Indigenous knowledge of medicinal use of rangeland plants is a topic of interest in many countries around the ‎world, including Iran, which is obtained by collecting of information from the natives of a region The aim of this ‎study was to identify medicinal plants and‏ ‏investigate consumption instruction‏ ‏of them in the pastures of Ahar ‎city, which has not been reported before. In this study, data collection was performed using interviews and ‎designed questionnaires, and information such as local name, medicinal properties, method of use and ‎medicinal organs were recorded.‎‏ ‏The results showed that a total of 60 pharmaceutical species belonging to 20 ‎families were identified in the‏ ‏studied region. The largest number of species belonged to the Lamiaceae family ‎with 11 species and the Asteraceae family with10 species. Most plant species were used to treat gastrointestinal ‎diseases and the least used medicinal species were related to skin diseases and wounds. It seems that due to ‎limited resources, the development of employment-generating projects based on the cultivation and ‎development of compatible medicinal plants withthe ecological conditions of the region, can be a good way to ‎preserve existing plant resources and it is an important step towards achieving an oil-free economy.‎