Ethno-botanical medicines used for urinary stones in the Urmia, Northwest Iran

Introduction: Ethnomedicinal studies are one of the important routes to
find potential medicinal plants
for drug discovery purposes. In this study, we aimed to consider ethnopharmacological remedies used for
urinary stones in Urmia, northwest Iran.
Methods: This work was based on interviews and questionnaires with traditional healers. All the
mentioned medicinal herbs were collected and identified with the help of traditional healers in the city
and suburb.
Results: There were 47 traditional healers working in the spice shops (Attari) in Urmia and 35 of them
agreed to cooperate with us. 16 medicinal herbs from 13 families were mentioned by traditional healers.
Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae were the predominant families with 2 plants most commonly
reported. The most commonly used part was the aerial parts (41.1%). Also, the main method of
preparation was decoction (72.7%). Five plants were mentioned by more than 70% of traditional healers as
treatment for urinary calculi. Alhagi camelorum Fisch had the highest Frequency of Citation (FC)
percentage 88% while the least FC percentage was exhibited by Alyssum desertorum Stapf. and Ruta
graveolens L. which was 20%.
Conclusion: Pharmacological activities of reported plants in this study were searched in published works
all around the globe. Findings show that most of examined in-vitro, in-vivo or human to prevent or treat
urinary calculi. Also, for some plants, although no direct evidence exists for urinary calculi, it is likely that
they may have an effect on urinary stones because of their active ingredients