Ethnobotanical Study of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Gouraya’s National Park (Bejaia- Algeria)

Abstract

SINCE ancient times, humans have used plants for medicine, food, and shelter. The trend towards the use of traditional medicinal plants is increasing in many developed and developing countries due to their local abundance, cultural significance, and low cost of procurement. In Algeria, phytotherapy is widespread and forms an integral part of the culture of the local population, but unfortunately, no traditional Algerian pharmacopoeia has been established. This ethnobotanical study was carried out in Gouraya’s National Park (GNP) (Bejaia, Algeria), based on a survey of 50 indigenous men and women. The interviews focused on the profile (gender, age, level of education) and on the plants and their uses (botanical family, vernacular names, and mode of use). Results reveal the use of 24 plant species belonging to 18 families for the treatment of various diseases. The collected data were analyzed by calculating family important value, Lamiaceae is the most represented (FIV = 0.88), higher use value (0.96=UV), and the relative frequency of citation (RFC= 0.62) were reported for Olea europeae.44% of the respondents were illiterate. While those with higher education represented only 02% of the group. The majority (64%) of the local population in the study area has traditional knowledge of medicinal plants to treat various human ailments. Most plants had been involved in the treatment of digestive disorders (36%). This study also revealed that leaves are the most commonly used parts and that infusion is the most common mode of preparation in therapeutic treatment.