Kurds treasure nutritious and natural mountain herbs
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The mountains of the Kurdistan have hidden nutritional gems in the springtime — vitamin and fiber-filled edible herbs.
Hundreds of Kurdish men and women head for the hills and mountains in the Kurdistan Region during spring to forage.
The health desk of Rudaw Media Network arranged an excursion for the students of the Rawanduz Pharmacy Institute.
"There is no doubt that they have health benefits. Some of them have been proven by our forefathers and some are proven by scientific research in academic centers. Then their possible uses were identified. Therefore it’s the duty of academic centers to take care of them," said Dlawar Gallali, the dean of the institute.
The plants include gundelia (kangir), rheum ribes (rewas) and arum (kardu), where the students learned about the benefits of the herbs.
"Our students will conduct scientific research for their graduation. Their professors and supervisors direct them to conduct research in nature. This year we will have a festival; in it we will showcase some projects related to spring herbs," added Gallali.
They went to the heights of Bradost in Erbil province to find rheum ribes.
A Kurdish herbal expert with an MA from the United Kingdom also accompanied the group.
"Rewas has a lot of water content. Despite water, it’s full of nutrients. Concerning the minerals, it has a big amount of potassium and Vitamin C compared to other vegetables," the clinical pharmacist Rawaz Dilzar explained.
Rewas is comprised of a base, leaves, stem and the blossom.
"It’s full of fiber which benefits cleaning the colon and helps digest foods. Concerning the minerals and vitamins, it has Vitamin K. We can get 37 percent of our needed for Vitamin K in 100g of rewas. In addition to Vitamin K, it has a huge amount of Vitamin C," said Rawaz.
Only before summer temperatures increase will the herbs be edible, they'll soon harden and not taste good.
Reporting by Aras Bradosty