Journal of Erhnopharmacology. 35 ( I99 1) I 9 I - I96 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. Short Communication I91 Traditional medicine in Turkey I. Folk medicine in Northeast Anatolia E. Sezik”, M. Tabatab, E. Yesilada”, G. Hondab, K. Gotoc and Y. Ikeshirod “Gazi University. Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, Ankara (Turkey). ‘Kyo~o University, Faculty of Phar- maceutical Sciences, Kyoto 606. “Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Kyoto. 601-13. “Niigata College of Pharmacy. Niigata. 950-21 /Japan) (Accepted August 21, 1991) Introduction Turkey has one of the most extensive floras in continental Europe with more than 9000 flowering plant species (Davis, 1965-1984), as compared to 12,000 species for the whole of Europe. Because of its strategic position, Anatolia (Asiatic Turkey, Anadolu) has served as a bridge between the East and the West. A number of human races and tribes have come to settle in Turkey from various lands, bringing in different cultures, religions and customs for many centuries. As a result of the cultural diversity and the richness of the flora, there is a great accumulation of knowledge of traditional medicine in this region. Unfortunately, this knowledge is rapidly being lost with the modernization of society, especially by the development of road communication, the migration of people from villages to cities, and the influx of modern medicine. The purpose of this study was to collect reliable information about the remaining traditional medicine in this region of Anatolia, before it was completely lost. Few rigorous surveys on traditional medicine have been conducted in Turkey. In previous studies, data col- lected from different regions were either presented merely as a list of plants and their uses (Qbukcu and t)zhatay, 1987), or the local use of the plants Correspondence to: E. Sezik. Gazi University, Faculty of Phar- macy. Department of Pharmacognosy. Ankara, Turkey. in certain districts was reported primarily as part of floristic studies (Alpinar, 1979; Yildirimli, 1985; ozcelik, 1987; Tonbul and Altan, 1989), or the utilization of the plants was mentioned without citing any region in an encyclopedic book (Baytop, 1984). Turkey is divided into seven geographical regions, each of which has different physical and climatic features, to some extent. As a reflection of these features, the flora as well as the kind of plants in folkloric use show regional differences. In this paper, the result of field study of the folk medicine in Northeast Anatolia is presented and discussed. In this region, behind the narrow coastal area by the Black Sea, a long range of high mountains lies close and parallel to the sea. The height of the mountains decreases towards the western part. The most outstanding feature of this region is its ample rainfall, which lasts all year round. In the western portion of Ordu Province (Fig. 1) and in the inner areas, however, rainfall mostly occurs in the spring. Since the winters are not very severe and the summers are cool, the region usually has a humid climate with frequent rains. As a result, the northern mountain slopes facing the sea are covered with forests (Fig. 1). Methodology Information on the utilization of plants was col- 0378-8741/$03.50 0 1991 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. Published and Printed in Ireland