Ethnopharmacological survey of plants used in folk medicine by the amazigh tribe of ait youssi amkla, morocco

Abstract

Moroccan people tend to rely on medicinal plants as the primary source of healthcare, especially in rural areas. This source has been upgraded through generations thanks to the diversity of the Moroccan culture and the existence of many ethnical groups that transmitted the know-how of the medicinal plants leading to a rich Moroccan pharmacopeia. In this light, this ethnopharmacological study aims to get data on medicinal plants used by the Amazigh tribe, in the region of Ait Youssi Amkla, to treat different ailments. This research was conducted using a questionnaire that includes demographic information of informants and some characteristics of the recorded plants. The information collected was analyzed using Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL), Frequency of Citation (RFC), and Rank Priority Order (ROP). In this survey, 35 plant species belonging to 22 families were inventoried, with the dominance of the Lamiaceae family (43.48%). Fresh leaves or dried ones were found to be the most used parts of the plants to prepare natural remedies, using the decoction as the mode of preparation. The high use value index was assigned to Arbutus unedo L., Artemisia herba-alba Asso (UV= 0.43 each), and Ranunculus calandrinoides (UV= 0.40). According to the Informant Consensus Factor, we noticed that majority of the plants inventoried are dedicated to treating some skin diseases. Besides, Arabis alpina L., Aethionema saxatile (L.) W.T.Aiton and Ranunculus calandrinoides have been registered for the first time as remedies against some skin diseases.