Investigating folk remedies for infertility in Palestine

Researchers from An-Najah National University in Palestine conducted a study of herbal remedies used by local Palestinian traditional healers to treat infertility in men and women. Their findings were published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• The researchers created a semi-structured questionnaire to conduct an ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants for treating infertility in the West Bank area.
• Using this questionnaire, the researchers interviewed 51 traditional healers from rural areas in 9 Palestinian regions.
• They then gathered plants used as herbal remedies under the supervision of the healers.
• From the questionnaire, the researchers identified a number of plants used to treat infertility.
  • 31 plants were used to treat infertility in males.
  • 24 plants were used to treat infertility in females.
• The researchers identified the herbal remedies with the highest Frequency of Citation (FC).
  • For males, plant remedies with the highest FC were Ferula hermonis roots at 96.08 percent, Phlomis brachyodon leaves at 88.24 percent and Phoenix dactylifera pollen grains at 86.27 percent.
  • For females, remedies with the highest FC were Ceratonia siliqua leaves at 98.04 percent, Anastatica hierochuntica fruits at 88.24 percent and Parietaria judaica leaves at 84.31 percent.

The researchers concluded that the data they gathered could be used for further ethnopharmacological investigations into traditional plant remedies that can be developed into effective treatments for infertility.

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Journal Reference:

Jaradat N, Zaid A N. HERBAL REMEDIES USED FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFERTILITY IN MAKES AND FEMALES BY TRADITIONAL HEALERS IN THE RURAL AREAS OF THE WEST BANK/PALESTINE. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 19(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2617-2