Respiratory tract infections continue to be a major health challenge worldwide especially due to the increasingly fast development of resistance to the drugs currently in use. Many plant species are traditionally used for respiratory illness treatment, and some have been investigated for their efficacy with positive results. A total of 91 plant species belonging to 82 genera and 48 families were documented and identified as respiratory system herbal remedies in Northern Peru. Most species used were Asteraceae (15 species, 16.67%), followed by Lamiaceae and Fabaceae (8.89% and 5.56%). The majority of respiratory disorder herbal preparations were prepared from the leaves of plants (27.69%), while the whole plant (18.46%), flowers (13.85%) and stems (17.69%) were used less frequently. In almost 55% of the cases fresh plant material was used to prepare remedies. About 86% of the remedies wer...

Respiratory tract infections continue to be a major health challenge worldwide especially due to the increasingly fast development of resistance to the drugs currently in use. Many plant species are traditionally used for respiratory illness treatment, and some have been investigated for their efficacy with positive results. A total of 91 plant species belonging to 82 genera and 48 families were documented and identified as respiratory system herbal remedies in Northern Peru. Most species used were Asteraceae (15 species, 16.67%), followed by Lamiaceae and Fabaceae (8.89% and 5.56%). The majority of respiratory disorder herbal preparations were prepared from the leaves of plants (27.69%), while the whole plant (18.46%), flowers (13.85%) and stems (17.69%) were used less frequently. In almost 55% of the cases fresh plant material was used to prepare remedies. About 86% of the remedies wer...