Botanical identification of medicinal herbs used in Jeddah

Accurate botanical identification of medicinal herbs has been a great concern in their safety and effective therapeutic use, as it exclusively relies on healers' skills, knowledge, and practices. The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge of the healer's herbs on the correct identification for the species of the most requested herb amongst the public in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to evaluate the healer's knowledge on medicinal herbs botanical identity. A total of 13 herbal specimens mentioned by all healers were considered as common herbs and included in the study. We found that there was a significant correlation between healer's age, nationality, mother tongue, and years of experience on medicinal plants botanical identity. However, healer's educational status and medical herb/plant course do not affect having healers' medicinal plant knowledge.