Folk medicine in Düzce Province (Turkey)

The present study was conducted to collect, record, and document local knowledge of medicinal practices in Düzce, a northwestern Anatolian province. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive ethnobotanical study has been reported from this province. Information was acquired through semistructured interviews and personal conversations using a questionnaire and numerous guided field trips with local knowledgeable people. For quantitative analyses and comparisons, recorded data such as informant consensus factor (FIC) and use value (UV) were calculated, respectively. As a result of extensive field studies, 122 taxa were determined as folk medicines; 76 of were wild and 46 were cultivated. The identified medicinal plants were mainly from the family Rosaceae, followed by Compositae, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, and Solanaceae, respectively. Among the preparations used, liquid forms such as infusions (30.2%) or decoctions (16.4%) represented the most favored ways to administer medicinal plants. Dermatological disorders had the highest FIC score with a value of 0.75 followed by skeletomuscular (FIC = 0.7466), gastrointestinal (FIC = 0.6666), immunological (FIC = 0.6615), and respiratory (FIC = 0.6292) system disorders, among others. The most prominent medicinal plants were Urtica dioica (UV = 0.4352), Plantago major (UV = 0.3056), Rubus ulmifolius (UV = 0.2279), and Sambucus ebulus (UV = 0.2279). According to the present study, the number of people who recognize and use the wild plants of Düzce, and those of the rest of Anatolia, is steadily decreasing. The ethnobotanical knowledge cannot be passed to the next generation in its entirety if it is not properly recorded. In addition to this gradual loss of knowledge, modern information pollution and contamination via the popular media highlight the urgent need to record this precious knowledge before it is lost.


Introduction
, who is known as the father of history, drew up a map that survived and came to be known as Orbis Terrarum ad mentem Herodoti. On this map Asia was extensive, as large as Europe; however, what he referred to as Asia was Asia Minor (known as Anatolia in Turkey). His emphasis of Asia Minor was more groundbreaking than he realized; the cultural development of that region was to have a far-reaching impact on the worlds of literature, science, and medicine. Due to its location it serves as a natural bridge between Europe and Asia, and Anatolia is one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world. Ancient Neolithic settlements in Anatolia such as Çatalhöyük, Çayönü, Nevalı Çori, Hacılar, and Göbekli Tepe are considered to be among the earliest settlements in the world (Wheelwright, 1974).
Turkey also has a great variety of natural habitats including the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Sea coasts; the coastal and interior mountain ranges; valleys; large steppes; fertile plains; arid and rocky slopes. Continuous interaction between species and the environment has led to dynamic habitat change over thousands of years, and various habitat types have become living spaces for the rich composition of plant and animal species found in this area. As a result of biological diversity and the above-mentioned dynamism, there are almost 12,000 plant taxa in Turkey. It is generally accepted that the richness of a region's flora is determined by the level of endemism as well as the total number of plant species. Floristic records reveal that there are more than 3000 plant species endemic to Turkey, which constitutes approximately 30% of the total flora (Davis, 1965(Davis, -1985Davis et al., 1988;Güner et al., 2000;Kaya and Raynal, 2001;Yeşilada, 2002;Bulut and Yılmaz, 2010;Özhatay et al., 2015, 2017. The cultural heritage and richness of the flora have contributed to great diversity of traditional knowledge and practices among local people who use plants in their daily lives. Globally, folk medicine constitutes an essential base for herbal drug research and contributes to the discovery of new molecular drug candidates in modern pharmaceutical research. However, as far as folk medicine is concerned, little research was undertaken in Turkey prior to 2000. The most important pioneering surveys of folk medicines of Anatolia were conducted between 1986 and 1994, and this was the result of collaboration between Turkish and Japanese researchers. The results of this research were published as a series of manuscripts (Yeşilada, 2002). Over the past decade, there has been an increase in ethnobotanical research conducted in Turkey focusing in particular on medicinal plants (Kültür, 2007;Güneş and Özhatay, 2011;Özüdoğru et al., 2011;Özgen et al., 2012;Akaydın et al., 2013;Gürdal and Kültür, 2013;Güler et al., 2015;Mükemre et al., 2015;Özdemir and Alpınar, 2015;Polat et al., 2015;Sargın, 2015;Günbatan et al., 2016;Uzun and Kaya, 2016;Bulut et al., 2017aBulut et al., , 2017bYeşilyurt et al., 2017;Dalar et al., 2018;Sinmez et al., 2018;Tufan et al., 2018;Sargın and Büyükcengiz, 2019).
It is well known that the use of medicinal plants is in rapid decline. This decline has accelerated in recent decades mainly due to the increasing use of modernday synthetic medicines, and there is an urgent need to record traditional knowledge of folk medicine before it is completely lost. Our research thus aims to record the remaining folk medicinal knowledge in various regions of Turkey.
Düzce Province, located in the northwest of Anatolia, an area of rich flora and diverse cultural heritage, is an important ethnobotanical resource (Doğru Koca and Yıldırımlı, 2009). It is located within square A3 according to the grid square system adopted by Davis for Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands; which corresponds to the Euro-Siberian phytogeographical region (Davis, 1965(Davis, -1985. Despite its culture and habitat, only one taxonomic and two minor ethnobotanical reports related to the region were found during an extensive literature review. The taxonomic analysis of the flora of Akçakoca District was carried out by Doğru Koca and Yıldırımlı (2009), and a total of 657 taxa belonging to 103 families were identified. They also stressed that hazelnut is a major source of income for the local people, and, consequentially, the forest areas are progressively being replaced by hazelnut, which contributes to a severe degradation of the floristic composition of the area. During the floristic surveys, the same team also explored the ethnobotanical characteristics of the Akçakoca District of Düzce, and the resulting data showed that 46 taxa have 48 Turkish local names, all of which are used for various purposes in the research area. Twenty-one are used for medicinal purposes, 19 are used for food, and 4 are used for fuel (Yıldırımlı et al., 2009;Doğru Koca and Yıldırımlı, 2010). The latter report (Yeşilada et al., 1999) dealt with the folk medicines of Northwest Anatolia in general; however, only the village of Deredibi-Akçakoca in Düzce was within the scope of the current study and only four traditional remedies were cited.
In light of previous studies and data, Düzce Province with its eight districts was in need of further folk medicinal investigations. The present study was conducted in order to discover the profile of folk medicinal practices in this region. In addition to collecting and recording this precious knowledge before it is lost, the results of this study will provide invaluable information for future research in this area.

Selection of research localities in Düzce
Instead of visiting all of the residential sites, 106 representative towns or villages from different locations in Düzce Province were chosen. Visits for accumulating traditional knowledge of folk medicines were organized between 2008 and 2009. The distance to urban centers, accessibility of health services, population and ethnicity, altitude, diversity of flora, transportation facilities, etc. were all used as criteria for selection of fieldwork locations. In addition, locations and people were chosen according to recommendations gleaned during visits; people who were known locally and especially remote, inaccessible rural areas were prioritized. Traditional uses of plants and other materials and demographic details of all informants were recorded. The localities spotted in the present study were numbered in succession, following the names of the administrative districts they belong to, as follows.

Interview methodology, plant materials, and calculations
The methodology of Sezik et al. (1991) was applied in the field studies, and the questionnaire of Thring and Weitz (2006) was used with some modifications. A structured questionnaire was completed, and direct questions were avoided as much as possible during face-to-face interviews. Open and semistructured interviews were used to collect the information. Since traditional treatments are based on ancestral knowledge and the empirical experiences of local people, only long-established information was sought while interviewing. Accordingly, external knowledge coming from other sources such as television, newspapers, books, etc. was not taken into consideration. Demographic data (sex, age, educational and marital status, employment, ethnicity, duration of residence in the region, etc.) of the interviewees were also recorded.
During the field studies 291 plant materials were collected, and data acquired from each sample included the local name, its uses, parts used, and details of preparation and application. Most of the plants mentioned were reognized by the informants in situ during short field walks and collected for later taxonomic verification. The voucher specimens were deposited in the Herbarium of the Faculty of Pharmacy of Gazi University (GUEF) and the Herbarium of the Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University (AEF). Herbarium numbers were not assigned to cultivated plants. Plant identification was performed by two of the authors (Prof. G. Akaydın and Prof. A.M. Gençler Özkan) by consulting Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands (Davis, 1965(Davis, -1985Davis et al., 1988;Güner et al., 2000) and by comparison with specimens in the above-mentioned herbaria.
Using the formula below, the informant consensus factor (F IC ) was calculated for remedies according to Heinrich (2000), where F IC demonstrates the consistency of the data obtained from informants for a certain illness category. Informant consensus factors range between 0 and 1. A high F IC (close to 1) represents consistency among informants for an illness category. A lower F IC shows disagreement among informants on taxa used for a certain illness, η ur represents the number of citations used in each illness category, and η t indicates the number of taxa used. The following equation was used: F IC = η ur -η t / η ur -1.
The other quantitative method used to compare results in this study was use value (UV). This method was proposed by Phillips et al. (1994) and Prance et al. (1987) and it reveals the relative significance of a taxon utilized by a certain group of informants. In other words, it defines the proportion of utilization of a plant species within an informant sample in a study area (Özüdoğru et al., 2011). It was calculated using the formula UV = ∑ U / N, where U indicates the number of citations for a taxon and N indicates the total number of informants.
When there are many uses reported for a plant species, the UV is high, and this suggests that the species is significantly important. Use values approach zero when there are few utilization reports relevant to the use of a particular plant. However, the UV does not determine whether a plant is used for single or multiple purposes (Musa et al., 2011;Ullah et al., 2014). Quantitative data were calculated by using plant-originated folk medicines only.

Demography
Traditional knowledge of healing was collected from 193 persons; 119 were women (61.7%) and 74 were men (38.3%). Most of the interviewees were older than 50, and most came from families that still lead a traditional land-based lifestyle. Nearly all of the women interviewed were housewives, and the men were mainly farmers or pensioners. The average age of the interviewed persons was 56.7, and 131 informants (67.9%) were above the age of 49. Informants younger than 29 (only 3.6%) had very little knowledge of folk medicines in Düzce. A large proportion of informants (60.1%) were locally born; only 5.1% had resided in Düzce for less than 10 years. In Table  1, information on the educational status of the informants is compiled. The majority were primary school graduates (46.3%), 13.8% of informants were literate, and 29.8% were unschooled and illiterate. As seen in Table 1, the ethnicity of the informants was also collected during the interviews, and 90.1% of respondents stated that they were Turkish. In addition, 15 Abkhazians (7.8%) and a few people from other ethnic groups (2.1%) contributed to this study (this region received migrants from the Caucasus towards the end of the 19th century during the last era of the Ottoman Empire).

Ethnopharmacy
According to data drawn from the questionnaires, almost all informants (97.0%) found folk medicines useful and efficient. Substantial amounts of folk medicinal plants were collected from their natural habitats around the villages (85.5%) where the informants live, and some were purchased from the market (14.5%). In cases of disease, approximately one-third of the informants (29.5%) said that they consult directly with a doctor instead of using traditional medicines, 5.8% rely on homemade local remedies, and the majority (64.7%) prefer to use both options ( Table 2). The rate of people that rely solely on local folk medicines is in decline, which strongly suggests a decreasing reliance on traditional knowledge as a consequence of the increasing accessibility of modern health services.
In this study, although all the ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal data were recorded, the primary focus was on plant species used medicinally by the inhabitants of Düzce Provence. Results show that 135 plant taxa from 55 families are used for ethnobotanical purposes (including medicine and food for humans or domestic animals, etc.) in Düzce Province. When spices and exotic plants such as Cinnamomum verum, Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, Lawsonia inermis, Piper nigrum, Salvia officinalis, and Zingiber  (Davis, 1965(Davis, -1985Davis et al., 1988;Güner et al., 2000), which includes all taxa that grow in Turkey: native, cultivated, hybrid, and naturalized. The Latin names of these identified taxa were updated according to The Plant List (http://www.theplantlist.org/). The plants used for animal health are presented in Table 3. The use of exotic plants for the treatment of diseases in Düzce is given in Table 4. Additionally, animal products (Table 5) and other materials (Table 6) used as folk medicine in Düzce are listed.
According to the data, in 65.1% (69 dwelling units) of the localities, there were people who had information on folk medicine. One of the most important characteristics of folk medicines is access to the plants used; they must grow in or around the nearby region (Yeşilada and Sezik, 2003). If a plant does not grow in the region any longer, its use as folk medicine is eventually forgotten.
Among the medicinal plants listed in Supplement Table, the uses recorded for 54 taxa and 2 genera are reported here for the first time. Some interesting implementations are also described for nonherbal folk remedies in Tables  5 and 6, such as the ingestion of snake meat for eczema, applying heated adobe brick to the painful area as a treatment for kidney diseases and urinary tract infections, and wrapping cheesecloth soaked in vinegar around the head for headache relief.
Zootherapeutical folk medicinal treatments (the use of animals, animal body parts, and some byproducts of animal metabolism as medicinal resources for the treatment of illnesses or to relieve symptoms) were among the most interesting findings of this study and are listed in Table 5. As noted, natural beehive products such as honey, beeswax, and propolis have been used for many health complaints, in particular for dermatological problems, sores, and wounds. This has been frequently observed in traditional therapeutic practices from around the world for thousands of years. Additionally, the importance of honey as an indispensable excipient for dispensing folk remedies is confirmed once again by this study with use in more than 20 herbal preparations (Supplement Table, Table3-5). The production and use of "mad honey", which is derived from the nectar of Rhododendron species commonly found in the region and contains a high concentration of grayanotoxin, were also observed and recorded during field work in Düzce. In the northern part of Turkey, mad honey is a popular folk medicine used in particular to treat gastrointestinal and genital/sexual problems, in addition to hypertension, arthritis, and diabetes. It is very interesting to note that although it has been known to be poisonous (producing symptoms such as chills, fainting, loss of consciousness, sweating, bradycardia, hypotension, and arrhythmia) since ancient times, its crucial role as a folk medicine has never faltered (Costa-Neto, 2005;Demircan et al., 2009;Yeşilada, 2015). Although local native plants are the mainstay of traditional medicine in Düzce, all other materials recorded during the fieldwork and listed in Tables 4-6 provide evidence of the creative trial-and-error basis of folk medicine.
During each interview, the informants were asked if there were any harmful effects from the reported folk medicines where no statements on harmful effects were stated. Informants provided some warnings such as "causes constipation" (Rubus serpens) or "should not be ingested by individuals who have stomach diseases" (Sambucus ebulus), and these warnings are recorded in Supplement Table. The ailments named by local people during the fieldwork were categorized into 14 groups, and Table 7represents the F IC values of these categories. Dermatological disorders had the highest F IC score (F IC = 0.7500) followed by skeletomuscular (F IC = 0.7466), gastrointestinal (F IC = 0.6666), immunological (F IC = 0.6615), and respiratory (F IC = 0.6292) system disorders, respectively. The UVs of the folk medicinal plants were calculated and are listed in Supplement Table. The plants with the top three UVs are Urtica dioica (UV = 0.4352), Plantago major (UV = 0.3056), Rubus ulmifolius (UV = 0.2279), and Sambucus ebulus (UV = 0.2279). These are followed by Prunus laurocerasus, Rubus serpens, Rosa canina, and Juglans regia, respectively. These values provide insight into the homogeneity of the information, consensus in the selection and use of plants, and the relative importance of locally known species.  Against inflamed wounds; (E) melted and put inside a piece of muslin, then applied to affected area while still warm and kept covered. Against earache; (E): directly applied and wrapped on the ear or burned in conical mouth of a funnel, and the smoke is transferred into the ear by the help of the small opening at the end of the narrow stem of funnel.

45
Fleshy underlayer of freshly flayed sheep skin Against fractures; (E) after setting of fractured bones, applied to affected area with a towel. In the case of swelling the meat has to be replaced with new meat. 104 In Düzce, the most frequently used plant parts are leaves (38.1%), followed by fruits (19.2%), and trunks/branches (9.6%); medicinal use of roots and other subterranean parts is more limited (12.4%) in the region (Table 8).
In accordance with the common characteristics of Turkish folk medicine, the inhabitants of Düzce also use simple prescriptions with only one or two ingredients. However, more complex formulas are occasionally used. According to the field studies, 67.8% of the folk medicines are used internally, the remaining 32.1% are used externally (Figure 3), and 22.7% of medicinal plants are applied to the affected area or directly ingested fresh and unprocessed (e.g., leaves of Plantago lanceolata, Beta vulgaris, and Brassica oleracea).
On the other hand, some remedies entail a more complex preparation processes (Table 9). With regard Snail Against lichen infections and all kind of itching; (E) snail is put on the affected area until the slime is smeared. 68 Leech For removing impure blood; 4-5 leeches are attached to the legs, knees twice a year. This application also improves the eyesight.

2, 35
Chicken gizzard skin Against urinary tract diseases (burning symptoms of kidney stones, etc.); (I) the peeled skin of the gizzard is dried, pounded with lemon juice, mixed with hot water, and ingested.

89, 106
Snake meat Against eczema; (I) ingested. 31 Dried snake skin Against psoriasis; (I) powdered; mixed with mad honey to form pills and then swallowed for one week 83 Water of yogurt Against diarrhea; (I) two full tablespoons are consumed every day until complete recovery. 80 Egg yolk Against burns; (E) mixed with unsalted cattle butter, cooked until the color turns to brown (bulama), applied to affected area and wrapped 97 (E) External use, (I) internal use.  to these methods, tisanes (infusion 30.2% or decoction 16.4%) represent the most favored way to administer medicinal plants. In general, comminuted dried plant material is used for preparing these liquid folk medicines. Some taste correctors like honey are preferably added to powdered materials used for oral administration. For decoctions and infusions in particular, it is a common practice to leave the preparations in a cool place (e.g., on the outer windowsill) overnight before use, as it is believed to enhance the effectiveness of the remedy (e.g., medicines prepared from Olea europaea, Allium cepa, Chelidonium majus, and Juglans regia). Among the data obtained by this study, there are some preparations used in ointment form for dermatological problems. The powdered or crushed plant parts (e.g., Sambucus ebulus, Lawsonia inermis, or Plantago sp. leaves) are mixed with readily available excipients such as pine resin, olive oil, or butter for ointment preparation. For the treatment of acne, eczema, or pain, taking a medicated bath is a common practice in the region. A warm infusion or decoction prepared from plant parts (e.g., subterranean parts of Hypericum androsaemum or leaves of Juglans regia) is used as a bath. In some cases, the sap obtained by squeezing certain parts of the plants (e.g., bulb of Allium cepa, fruits of Ecballium elaterium and  Sambucus ebulus, and root of Dioscorea communis) and the latex derived by scratching the plants (e.g., root and stem of Chelidonium majus or branches of Ficus carica) are used either directly without any processing or after some mixing procedures.

Literature survey
To the beut of our knowledge A literature review showed that there was no previous comprehensive study of folk medicines in Düzce. However, as mentioned above, there was a report from Akçakoca District (Doğru Koca and Yıldırımlı, 2010 Koca and Yıldırımlı, 2010) and kuşyüreği in the rest of the province. Local names are not used for scientific accounts, as they lack homogeneity and consistency; however, they are indispensable for ethnobotanical research used to disseminate information on new beneficial plants or new uses of well-known plants. Strictly speaking, for ethnobotanical fieldwork, local names may offer a first step towards authentication of the taxa. Additionally, they provide a useful and easy way to communicate with locals in a particular area. Hence, the collection and preservation of local plant names is an important part of an ethnobotanical study along with researching valuable facts about the plants (Singh, 2008).
These two studies reveal results that confirm one another with respect to the use of some plants in folk medicine: for example, the use of Brassica oleracea and Prunus laurocerasus for rheumatism; Sambucus ebulus for constipation; Mentha longifolia for hemorrhoids; Mespilus germanica for diarrhea; Rubus sanctus, R. serpens, and R. ulmifolius for wounds; and Urtica dioica for cancer. There are also some minor differences in the indications for use of the folk medicines. For example, Doğru Koca and Yıldırımlı wrote that Smilax excelsa, Morus alba, and Morus nigra are used against diabetes, and Mespilus germanica and Rubus sp. are used for stomachache. However, according to our data, S. excelsa is used for stomachache; M. alba and M. nigra for eczema, wounds, coughs as expectorants, and as cholesterol-lowering remedies; M. germanica for inflammation, rheumatism, and as a mixture for bruises; and Rubus sp. for many other health problems. Since all the districts of Düzce including Akçakoca were within  the scope our study, it included most of the information presented by the study conducted in Akçakoca. However, there has been some erosion of information as a result of the five-year time gap separating the two studies. This erosion highlights the need to record information before it is lost forever (Doğru Koca and Yıldırımlı, 2010).

Notes on nonmedicinal uses
In addition to the recorded medicinal uses, Juglans regia and Cornus mas are used for fishing, Equisetum telmateia and Prunus laurocerasus as animal feed, Juglans regia and Sambucus ebulus as dyes, and the branches of Corylus maxima in basket production. On the other hand, some plant species not listed in Supplement This overlapping of uses proves the close relationship between health and nutrition, which is quite well known in traditional societies and deserves to be one of the major components of ethnopharmaceutical research (Pieroni, 2000;Amini Rad et al., 2017).

Discussion
The findings of the present research revealed that in 34.9% of the localities visited there was no longer anyone who had knowledge of local folk medicines in Düzce. This observation is an important indicator of the current decline in knowledge. During conversations with locals in almost all of the locations, some of the older inhabitants of the neighborhood were honored for preparing and practicing folk medicines. However, after the deaths of these people, locals said that they began to lose interest in traditional medicines, and today they generally go to nearby healthcare institutions for healthcare. Finally, folk medicinal knowledge is not being transferred to future generations and is receiving little attention. Several fundamental factors such as rural depopulation, easy transportation to larger town centers, the proliferation of healthcare services, younger generations that are unaware, and industrialization are contributing to the disappearance of this precious knowledge. In addition, due to environmental deterioration, the aforementioned plants are not able to survive in their habitats. Consequently, plants become locally extinct, and the regional uses of these plants are forgotten. Another important finding of this study was the deterioration of local folk medicinal knowledge. It was noted that even in the farthest villages, the information gleaned from newspapers and magazines, books making erroneous claims, and exaggerated advertisements in various media is misleading and misinforms the public regarding the use of medicinal plants. In this respect, trends may have an impact, as when interesting exotic plants and inferior or nonmedicinal native plants are introduced and promoted by popular laymen who lack professional knowledge. Meanwhile, humble local folk medicines fall out of use and the continuing knowledge of their uses is threatened (Thomas, 2011).
In some villages visited during fieldwork, residents were collecting particular plants as a result of the unsubstantiated claims of quacks in order to treat their health problems. This observation was a striking example of the negative influence of misinformation on both deeply rooted traditions and public health. In addition to providing inflated and unscientific claims, such laymen always use the vernacular names of the plants, which is often misleading, as some plant names have several synonyms. In fact, quite often, a synonym of one plant name may be the common name of another plant in a different part of the country (Tuzlacı, 2006). For example, during the field work, people in the villages were collecting Fraxinus excelsior instead of Platanus orientalis, which known as çınar in nearly every part of Turkey, apart from villages in Düzce, in the hopes of healing arthritis. Moreover, locals praised the healing effects of some nonnative plants, which were unknown to them until recently.
During the field work phase of this comprehensive study, it took a long time to separate the genuine traditional knowledge from the contaminated information. As a result of our field experiences it should be noted that field researchers in ethnopharmacology need to be extremely cautious and alert to information pollution caused by easily accessible and ever-increasing press and broadcast media sources and to examine the source of the information presented by locals.
In brief, the intrusion of quackery into folk medicinal traditions causes contamination and information pollution. Additionally, globalization has radically altered the interactions and integration of people on a global scale. Because of this, the boundaries between societies and cultures are noticeably dissolving. This study also shows that multiple factors may be involved in changes to folk medicinal knowledge and the gradual decline in the identification of native plant species. In recent decades, uncurbed commercialization of plants and plant products alleged to be healthy has confused the population. In Turkey, as in much of the world, printed and visual media commonly employ strategies of misleading and misinforming the public about medicinal plants. This malpractice leaves the population vulnerable to abuse by unethical media hype and sales techniques. The current study does not measure any effective outcomes or reveal any concrete cause-and-effect findings. However, it emphasizes the need for in-depth studies designed to unveil the prevalence of such promotional activities and their effects on folk medicinal lore and public health in Turkey (Islam and Farah, 2007).
It was observed that the number of people who know of and use the wild plants in Düzce, as well as in the rest of Anatolia, is decreasing day by day and very swiftly. Hence, ethnobotanical knowledge cannot be transferred in its entirety to future generations and it begins to diminish. The above-mentioned information pollution also highlights the urgent need to record this valuable knowledge before it becomes extinct. It is quite important for Turkey, which is rich in plant diversity, culture, and history, to record the folk medicinal knowledge as soon as possible through fieldwork of rigorous scientific quality. It is also very important for these studies to be carried out by independent and specialist research groups in order to produce accurate information; ethnobotanical studies of scientific quality could be the source for countless studies and the development of new medicines. Therefore, folk medicinal research, which could be the basis for further studies, is far more important than it was in the past and should be conducted more intensely and rapidly throughout the country, prioritizing the regions that have not been previously studied.
In conclusion, the wisdom, beliefs, traditions, practices, institutions, and world views conceived and fostered by local groups generate local knowledge. Occasionally this type of knowledge has been viewed as outdated, primitive, and without any potential to solve the principal problems of modern society. Others believe that the applicability and value of local knowledge must be evaluated through scientific methods for the well-being of the modern individual struggling with economic, social, and environmental uncertainties. To support this idea, there is a vast archive of ethnoliterature studies demonstrating the importance and usefulness of local knowledge for community health, nutrition, cultural heritage, and other social challenges. However, local knowledge should not be regarded as a panacea for all of the problems we have. Rather, it should complement scientific research (Vandebroek et al., 2011).
Over the past few decades, researchers have focused on developing new pharmaceuticals from herbal medicines or botanical sources following the guidance of ethnobotanical records. The research and development processes for conventional drugs are very expensive and difficult because of the high risk of failure and huge investments required. The success rate of developing a new drug from an herbal preparation with a long history of folk medicinal usage should hypothetically be higher than rates for drugs developed from chemical synthesis. Diabetes; (I) squeezed and the juice is kept in a cool place overnight. A half-full tea glass is consumed every day.
To pass kidney stones; (I) bulb is ingested.

80
Against diabetes; (I) pounded bulb is boiled with water for 3 min and every day one glass of this extract is consumed.

62
To treat the dislocated bones of foot or arm; (E) seeds of black olive and the bulb are pounded together to prepare a paste, applied to the affected joint, and left covered overnight.

58
Cough and sore throat; (I) grated bulb is squeezed to obtain its juice, 1-2 half-full tea glasses of juice are mixed with honey and consumed after meals for 3 days. To ease congestion in chest; (I) infusion is consumed. 37

As a panacea; (I) infusion is consumed. 86
Beta vulgaris L. * Against excessive tearing, watery eyes; (E) leaves are boiled, eyes are exposed to the vapor.

83, 84
To treat diarrhea; (I) strong tea is consumed on an empty stomach.

62
Against cough and as an expectorant: (I) "pekmez" is prepared and mixed with fresh butter evenly, then ingested.

35
To treat anemia; (I) pekmez, jam, or fresh fruit is ingested. 83 Against aphtha and herpes infections in mouth; (E) "pekmez" is used for gargling on an empty stomach in the mornings.  Against pains; (E) boiled in water, affected area is exposed to the vapor.

46
Against knee pain; (E) heated and applied to knee and covered. 35 Against rheumatism and herniated disk; (E) fresh leaf is applied directly to the affected area and covered.

2, 89
Against intestinal cancer; (I) infusion prepared with leaves dried 68 in shade is consumed.

45
As a local anesthetic before ear-piercing; (E) area to be pierced is rubbed and prickled by a fresh leaf.

2, 89
As a local anesthetic before injection; (E) injection area is rubbed and prickled by a fresh leaf.

82
Against wounds; (E) pounded fresh leaves are applied to affected area. Stops bleeding, heals the wound.

77
Against female infertility; (E) boiled in water, patient sits over the vapor.

37
As a panacea; (I) infusion is consumed. Stimulates the blood circulation.

82
As a panacea; (I) a meal is prepared and ingested.