Medicinal Plants for Treatment of Neonatal Jaundice by Community of Attars (Traditional Healers) of Several Urban Areas in Mazandaran Province, Northern of Iran

Aims: This study aimed to determine the use of specific medicinal plants based on traditional medicine from community of Attars (Traditional healers) in the province of Mazandaran (North Iran).

Place and Duration of Study: The province of Mazandaran in north Iran, between March until July 2015.

Methodology: Eighty-eight Traditional healers consisting of 62 men (70.5%) and 26 women (29.5%) from among the community of Attars (i.e. The Owners of shops, selling medicinal plants, providing traditional medications and some time act as traditional healer) of the province of Mazandaran in north Iran were randomly selected using questionnaires from March until July 2015.

Results: In this study, 50 plant species belonging to 29 plant families were recommended for treating neonatal jaundice. Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae were the most commonly used plant families. The five main plants with the highest reported use included: Contoneaster discolor, Descurainia sophia, Cichorium intybus, Alhagi camelorum, and Fumaria parviflora. The most important reason for prescribing medicinal herbs was to help detoxify the body, and the most important reason that people visit Attaries (i.e., shops selling medicinal plants, providing traditional medications) to receive remedies was stated as the lower side effects of these traditional remedies.

Conclusion: This study shows that numerous medicinal plants are recommended for treating neonatal jaundice in Mazandaran province by Attars (Traditional healers). To the best of our knowledge, the wide range of herbs used for the treatment of neonatal jaundice has not been previously reported in any other study as extensively as shown here. Naturally, it is necessary to perform comprehensive studies on the above-mentioned medicinal plants to make use of these herbal remedies.