Ethnopharmacological Survey of Medicinal Plants Used by Local Herbalists and Traditional Healers for the Treatment of Cancer in Jordan

Background: As many Jordanians include herbs in their treatment, an ethnopharmacological survey was conducted to identify the most prescribed plants for the treatment of cancer by local herbalists and traditional healers in Jordan, aiming to encourage the prescription that is based on scientific evidence, to tackle some important practices in traditional healing, and to provide candidates for the isolation of new anticancer agents. Methods: Thirty-two Jordanian herbalists and traditional healers were interviewed. Both the use value and frequency of citation were implemented as quantitative methods to demonstrate the relative importance of a chosen species for the treatment of cancer. Furthermore, literature was screened for evidences that supported or opposed the use of the plants of interest. Results: It was revealed that 31 plants are currently used in Jordan for the treatment of cancer, with Curcuma longa and Ephedra foeminea being the most used ones. Conclusion: It was noticed that the use of many prescribed plants could be rationalised by in vitro and/or in vivo studies. However, more attention should be paid by practitioners to some important aspects, such as the method of use and preparation of plants, their interaction with chemotherapeutic agents and the differences in their efficacy against different cancer types.