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Abstract
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.