Ethnopharmacological survey of traditional drugs sold in the Kingdom of Jordan

The results of a survey of present-day traditional medicinal materials conducted in 1998-1999 in the Kingdom of Jordan are reported. The study covered selected markets of medicinal substances of ethnic communities throughout the kingdom, and also included questioning of the sellers about the healing characteristics of the various materials. The survey yielded information on many and varied medicinal substances, of which 304 are identified according to the following classifications: 236 species of plants (77.6%); 30 species of animals (9.8%); 29 kinds of inorganic substances (9.6%); and 9 materials of other or mixed origin (3%). Analysis of the data showed that some substances were of local origin (41.8%), but the majority of the substances (45.4%) were imported from other countries. 12.8% of the substances were both local and imported. These data demonstrate that there is still a flourishing and well-developed trade in these materials - a trade that is the remnant of a rich and ancient medical culture, which is disappearing from the modern world.