Folk medicinal plants of Yeniçağa (Bolu-Türkiye)

Abstract This ethnobotanical pharmaceutical study was carried out in the Yeniçağa district of Bolu Province, situated in northwest Anatolia. Our objectives were to gather and identify taxa utilized by locals for medicinal purposes, and to provide insights into traditional folk medicine practices. The collecting of plants took place during several excursions made between May 2017 and September 2018. The collected data were organized based on use reports (UR). As well, calculations were made for the cultural importance index (CI) and informative consensus factor (F IC ) of the data. The study identified 92 plant taxa belonging to 34 families utilized as folk medicine. According to the URs, the findings indicate that plants were predominantly employed for treating wounds, colds, diabetes, headaches, diarrhea and as sedatives. The CI values revealed that the most prominent medicinal plant species were Hypericum perforatum L. (0.59), Thymus longicaulis subsp. longicaulis C. Presl. (0.59), Rubus aetnicus Weston (0.55), Rosa canina L. (0.51), and Papaver rhoeas L. (0.49). The most prevalent families included Asteraceae (17.4%), Lamiaceae (10.9%) and Rosaceae (7.6%). Neurological system disorders (0.87), endocrine/metabolic and nutritional system disorders (0.85), skin disorders (0.84), respiratory system disorders (0.80) and cardiovascular system disorders (0.79) had the highest FIC values. Within the research area, 12 taxa were recorded for the first time as being used medicinally in Türkiye. Traditional medicine remains prevalent within the community, particularly in rural villages of the research area.