A scientific article titled "Ethnobotany of desert medicinal plants and their sustainable ethnomedicinal utilization," co-authored by Professor Sayyara Ibadullayeva — acting director of the Institute of Botany PLE of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Center for Plant Diversity and Applied Research — together with foreign scientists, has been published in The Science of Nature, a Q2-quartile international journal indexed in the Web of Science database.

The article notes that local communities living in desert and semi-desert areas possess rich traditional knowledge related to the use of medicinal plants, which has become the primary form of their primary healthcare. Extensive ethnobotanical research conducted in desert ecosystems revealed that local knowledge, sustainable resource use, and community well-being could be enhanced by preserving healing traditions.

Within the framework of the study, data on medicinal plants were collected from spring 2022 onward through semi-structured interviews, field interviews, direct observations, group discussions, and surveys. The results obtained were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative indicators in order to assess the knowledge of the local population in the field of primary healthcare. In this process, ethnobotanical indices such as Use Value (UV), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), and Cultural Value Index (CVI) were employed.

As a result of the research conducted jointly with foreign scientists, approximately 111 plant species belonging to 26 families found in deserts — including Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Euphorbiaceae — were documented. It should be noted that species belonging to the genera Tribulus, Tecomella, and Tamarix are the most widely used plants. For medicinal purposes, mainly the leaves are used, and plant-based traditional remedies are most often prepared and applied in the form of raw material, powder, and paste. The article notes that the folk tradition based on an ethnomedicinal approach in primary healthcare practices serves as an indicator not only of improving community well-being but also of the necessity of sustainable use of natural resources.

 

DOI:10.1007/s00114-026-02123-1