A study of variables affecting the consumption of medicinal plant products in urban communities, north of Iran

Medicinal plants have a special place in Iranian people’s culture, and they show a growing tendency to use natural, harmless products daily. Understanding consumers’ tastes and attitudes can contribute to proper planning for the production, marketing, and use of medicinal plants. This study aimed at determining factors affecting the consumption of medicinal plants in urban communities in the north of Iran. The instruments used in the study were a questionnaire and a face-to-face interview. The study population included 384 households selected from three districts of Gorgan City, Iran, using the simple sampling method (equal chance to select samples from the community). The collected data were analyzed using an ordinal logit model in SPSS software. The dependent variable was the monthly consumption of medicinal plant products, and the independent variables were household costs, household income, education, advertisement, plant prices, and availability. The results showed that financial power, medicinal plant quality, awareness and knowledge of medicinal plants, and preference of medicinal plants over chemical drugs with a significance level of 95% ( p value