Abstract
As a result of study of the medieval Azerbaijani manuscripts of the 10-18th centuries written in Old Azeri, Persian and Arabic, the total number of plant species described in these sources has been established for the first time. The primary fund of Medieval Azerbaijan phytopharmacology included 724 species of plants. Data from the medieval manuscripts about medicinal properties of the plant species have been studied. It has been established that these plants were used to treat numerous diseases including: infectious diseases of external tissues (150 species); urinary diseases (92); diseases of liver and biliary tract (73); pneumonia and pleurisy (71); cardiovascular diseases (63), etc. The results of comparative analyses indicate that out of identified 724 species, 256 (60.7%) are no longer used in modern phytothera-py. These “forgotten” medicinal plants may be broadly applied in modern medicine once they have been clinically and experimentally tested.
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F. U. Alakbarov
F. U. Alakbarov is Head Scientific Officer, expert in the Oriental and Folk Medicine, Institute of Manuscripts of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, 8 Istiglaliyat str., Baku, 370001, Azerbaijan.