This survey was conducted on 4 tribes (Ababda, Bisharia, Nubian and Rashayda) live in the south of the Nile and the Eastern Desert of Egypt with the aim to document and compare the traditional herbal medicines and assess the relationships among these tribes. A total of 180 interviews were conducted with the Bedouins and herb healers. Thirty-nine species belonged to 36 genera and 27 families were employed. Fabaceae and Poaceae and Rutaceae were the species-rich families. The used wild species comprised 43.6%, cultivated species (38.5%) and the imported from herbalist shops (17.9%). The leaves were the most used parts (31%), followed by stems and fruits with about 22% each. Distinct species included Acacia nilotica is used in the treatment of dental pain with use value 33.3%, Cymbopogon schoenanthus subsp. proximus in treatment of both cough or headache with use values 35 and 30.6% and a combination of Acacia nilotica with Lawsonia inermis in the treatment of sore throat with use value 22.2%. The highest similarity was recorded between Nubian and Rashayda tribes (55.3%), Ababda and Bisharia (46.8%). Diarrhea and headache were the most popular diseases with 7 different treatments, cough and dental pains with 6 treatments.
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Subject: Biology and Life Sciences - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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