Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological study of medicinal plants used in treating some liver diseases in the Al-Haouz Rehamna region (Morocco)

Abstract

Background: Medicinal plants have always been important in therapeutic and preventive folk medical remedies for humans and cattle. Plants are also quite important in today's global economy. Objectives: This study is part of the development of plant resources in the Al-Haouz Rehamna region. Its general objective was to inventory the medicinal plants used in traditional pharmacopeia against certain liver diseases. Methods: Ethnobotanical field surveys were conducted using 1700 questionnaire forms. Ethnobotanical indices such as the informant agreement ratio (IAR), the family use value (FUV), the use-value (UV), and the Plant Part Value (PPV) were employed in the data analysis rate. Results: The findings enabled us to classify 86 medicinal plants into 79 genera and 37 families, among which four predominate: Asteraceae (17), Lamiaceae (9), and Fabaceae (8 species), and Apiaceae (7). Among the reported species, 21 are toxic, and the population of the said region widely uses ten: Ridolfia segetum (Guss.) Moris, Curcuma longa L., Ononis natrix L., Rhamnus alaternus L., Cladanthus arabicus (L.) Cass, Rhaponcticum acaule (L.) DC, Corrigiola telephiifolia Pourr, Cynara cardunculus L., Cicer arietinum L. and Aframomum melegueta K. Schum. The main parts used are leaves (PPV=0.183) and seeds (PPV= 0.165). A decoction is the most used method (34.88%). The recipes are mainly administered orally and rarely by the cutaneous route as a poultice on the abdomen. The diversity of therapies identified in the study area is a cultural richness. Conclusion: Thus, the data reported by this study could be a precious reference of data for this region and could be a basis for further study in the field of phytochemistry to produce and identify new natural drugs that could be endowed with interesting hepatoprotective properties in the treatment or prevention of certain liver diseases. Keywords: Ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, traditional medicine, liver disease, hepatoprotective, toxicity, Al-Haouz Rehamna, Morocco.