Analysis of flora of the medicinal plants of the Atyrau region

Abstract

Medicinal plants are important sources of biologically active substances and phytopreparations for the prevention and treatment of diseases. In Kazakhstan, the regions of the Western Kazakhstan remain poorly studied in relation to wild medicinal plants. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the species composition of medicinal plants of the flora of the Atyrau region and their ranking by life forms, ecological groups, the degree of distribution and possibility of application in medical practice. Based on the analysis of literary sources and the results of own field studies in the Atyrau region, 177 species of medicinal plants belonging to 118 genera and 46 families are identified. The largest number of species of medicinal plants is noted in Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Fabaceae and Polygonaceae families. According to the degree of distribution, 4 groups of plants are identified: i) widespread plants, but growing sporadically, not forming thickets (128 species); ii) rare and endangered plants, not to be harvested for raw materials (11 species); iii) plants, forming small thickets (23 taxa); iv) plants, forming significant thickets suitable for industrial harvesting (15 taxa). Among the medicinal plants of the Atyrau region, 6 ecological groups were identified in relation to humidification conditions: hydrophytes, hygrophytes, mesophytes, mesoxerophytes, xerosesophytes and xerophytes. 8 groups of life forms are defined. The largest number of species is concentrated in the group of perennial herbaceous plants — 105 taxa. 128 taxa are allocated for use in folk medicine, 49 species — in official medicine. 12 pharmaceutical-therapeutic groups of plants for treatment of diseases of various etiologies are identified.