Medicinal plants used traditionally for skin related problems in the South Balkan and East Mediterranean

A review research was conducted to provide an overview of the ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants and traditional medical practices for the treatment of skin disorders in Albania, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. The investigation was focused on the detailed study of 126 ethnobotanical surveys conducted in these areas and the species used for skin ailments were singled out. The bibliographical analysis showed that 948 taxa belonging to 417 different genera and 111 different families are used in the treatment of skin related problems. The majority of the plants belong to the families of Asteraceae (11.3%), Lamiaceae (7,6%), Rosaceae (6,8%), Plantaginaceae (5,3%) and Malvaceae (3.7%). Their usage is internal (decoction, infusion etc.), or external (compress, poultice, ointment etc.) to treat

skin related ailments such as wounds and burns (21.9%), hemorrhoids (15.0%), boils, abscesses and furuncles (8.4%) and eczema (6.0%). Beside

specific skin disorders, numerous species appeared to be used for their antifungal, antimicrobial and antiseptic activity (9.3%). Literature evaluation highlighted that the most commonly used species in all four countries are Plantago major L., Juglans regia L., Urtica dioica L., Hypericum perforatum L. and Plantago lanceolata L. Finally, in order to relate this ethnopharmacological knowledge and trace its expansion and diversification through centuries, a comparison of findings was made with the use of the medicinal species mentioned in Dioscorides’ “De Materia Medica” for skin disorders. Our findings confirm the primary hypothesis that people in Albania, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey are very close related in terms of traditionally using folk medicinal practices.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 December 2021