Chaachouay Noureddine, Belhaj Souad, El Khomsi Mostafa, Benkhnigue Ouafae, Zidane Lahcen
Keywords:
Medicinal plants, Digestive system diseases, Ethnomedicine, Traditional medicine
Plants have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years, and many modern medicines are still derived from plant compounds or inspired by them. This study was carried out in the Rif of Morocco to discover medicinal plants used to treat digestive system diseases, along with associated ethnomedicinal details. An ethnomedicinal review of plant species was conducted from July 2016 to July 2018, using semi-structured interviews with 732 traditional healers as informants. The results were examined using various quantitative indices, such as family cultural importance, salience index, plant part value, informant agreement ratio, and fidelity level, applied in the statistical analysis. Medicinal herb species were collected, catalogued, and deposited at the Plant, Animal Production, and Agro-industry Laboratory. 87 plant species were identified, spread over 73 genera and 42 families. Apiaceae, with 10 species, was the most commonly used family. The most common illnesses listed were gastric ulcers (IAR = 0.97). The majority of herbal treatments were formulated from decoctions (42.12%). The leaf was the most frequently used plant part (PPV = 0.344), and the most commonly recommended medicinal species by local traditional healers were Thymus saturejoides Coss. (SI = 0.240). According to this study, traditional healers in the Moroccan Rif region rely on medicinal herbs. Further investigation into these documented plants phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties is necessary to identify novel drugs and explore the potential complementarity between traditional and modern medicine.
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Our sincere gratitude goes out to the guides and residents of the Rif region for their invaluable assistance. We would also like to thank everyone who contributed to bringing this product to fruition.