ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY ON TRADED MEDICINAL PLANTS AND HERBAL MARKET ANALYSES IN GAZIANTEP/TURKEY

Abstract

Herbal markets are the meeting point of the local people and allow quick information exchange about medicinal plants. In this study, it is aimed both to investigate the traditional uses of medicinal plants traded in Gaziantep herbal markets and to make a detailed evaluation of the selected herbal markets. Data about herbal markets and medicinal plants were collected through semi-structured and open-ended questionnaires from herbalists and customers. Ethnobotanical data were analysed using indices such as; Frequency of Citation (FC), Cultural Importance Index (CI), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), and species Use Value (UV). Totally, 58 species (belonging 30 families) out of which 10 imported were surveyed from 14 selected herbal markets to be used as traditional medicines. Mentha x piperita (147), Thymus sp. (141), and Tilia platyphyllos (132) were determined to have the highest FC values. According to the results of the study, the density of customers in herbal markets, the variety and quality of products sold, and the number of herbal markets has increased in recent years. It has been determined that the average operating age of the herbal market is 34.7 years, the average number of employees is 2.6, and the average annual turnover of the markets is 166,772,888TL (US$42,762,279, currency in 2017).