Medicinal plants have a long history of different uses and are still of great importance in the daily life of the Kurds living in the Kurdistan province of Iraq. The present review provides comprehensive phytochemical and pharmacological information about medicinal plants growing in the Kodo Mountain area. In fact, no systematic study of the bioresources from this unique region has yet been reported in the scientific literature, even if local villagers have been consuming several plants as nutrition and ethnomedical food for centuries, until today.
The data reported in this paper were obtained through interviews with local herbal healers and people living in villages around the Kodo Mountains. They concern 40 plants belonging to 16 botanical families, which are considered medicinal by the local population. The present study recorded and examined the demographic information given by the study participants, the local names and the parts used of the plants, the preparation and administration techniques, and the treatments for diseases. The most frequently cited families were Asteraceae (32.5 %), Lamiaceae (10 %), Brassicaceae, Malvaceae, and Papaveraceae (7.5 % each). The main parts of the plants used for medicinal purposes were leaves (36 %) and flowers (29.5 %). They were administered as decoctions (42 %), raw (26 %), or powder (14 %). Several important phytochemicals have been isolated from the used plants, including flavonoids (60 %), terpenoids (45 %), phenolic acids (42.5 %), polyphenolic compounds (40 %), and essential oils (30 %). The plant ethnomedicinal and pharmacological uses were supported by their antibacterial (18%, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Papaveraceae), anti-inflammatory (18%, Malvaceae, Asteraceae, Papaveraceae), anti-oxidant (16%, Malvaceae, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Papaveraceae), anti-cancer (9%, Lamiaceae, Papaveraceae, Asteraceae), anti-parasitic (8%, Asteraceae), hepatoprotective (7%, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Papaveraceae, Fabaceae), anti-diabetic (5%, Asteraceae, Fabaceae), anti-fungal (5%, Amaryllidaceae, Umbelliferae, Asphodelaceae, Orchidaceae), anti-spasmodic (4%, Asteraceae, Papaveraceae), and diuretic (3%, Asteraceae, Amaryllidaceae, Plantaginaceae) activities. This study illustrates the significance of traditional medicinal plants that have been utilized for treatment and healing the wounds and curing the illnesses Kurdish tribe in Kodo mountain, north-east part of Kurdistan Region in Iraq, that can be used as reference for further investigations for the researchers in future.
Faiq H.S. Hussain, Soma Majedi, Tola Abdulsattar Faraj, Mehmet Ozdemir, Javed Ahamad, Tariq H. Karim, Kovan Dilawer Issa and Mohammad Q. Mustafa