Medicinal plants used to treat acute digestive system problems in the region of Fez-Meknes in Morocco: An ethnopharmacological survey

Authors

  • Imane Es-Safi Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment, Agrifood and Health, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, FSDM-Fez, Morocco. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4571-9089
  • Hamza Mechchate Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment, Agrifood and Health, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, FSDM-Fez, Morocco.
  • Amal Amaghnouje Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment, Agrifood and Health, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, FSDM-Fez, Morocco.
  • Fatima Zahra Jawhari Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment, Agrifood and Health, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, FSDM-Fez, Morocco.
  • Amina Bari Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment, Agrifood and Health, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, FSDM-Fez, Morocco.
  • Pierfrancesco Cerruti Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB-CNR), Naples, Italy
  • Maurizio Avella Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Polymers (ICTP-CNR), Naples, Italy
  • Andriy Grafov Laboratory of Inorganic chemistry, Department of chemistry, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • Dalila Bousta Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment, Agrifood and Health, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, FSDM-Fez, Morocco.

Keywords:

, Ethnobotanical survey, Digestive system problems, Medicinal plants, Morocco.

Abstract

Background: In Morocco, acute digestive system problems appear to be a famous daily ill which the most population deal with using medicinal plants. This work aims to inventory the plants used to deal with acute digestive system problems in the region of Fez-Meknes.

Methods: A survey was carried out by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 423 interviews (108 of them are traditional health practitioners) were conducted. Botanical information about identified plants was carefully collected. Data were analyzed through the relative frequency of citation (RFC).

Results: All respondents informed about the effectiveness of the medicinal plants and confirmed successful multiple uses of them. In total, 50 species belonging to 23 families were reported. The most-reported plant families were Lamiaceae (12 species), Apiaceae (10 species), Fabaceae, and Asteraceae (5 species). The most frequently used plants to treat digestive system acute problems based on their RFC values were: Foeniculum vulgare (8.58), Carum carvi (5.11) Glycyrrhiza glabra (4.56) Ammondaucus leucotrichus, Trigonella foenum-graecum, (4.20), Coriandrum sativum (4.01). The use of medicinal plants in the acute digestive system problems, according to the interviewed people, concerned six categories:  Acute ache, digestion problems; intestinal comfort; bloating, diarrhea, and constipation.

Conclusion: Knowledge of medicinal plants used to treat acute digestive system problems was solid. Indeed, all the local population used medicinal plants as a first choice to deal with it. This study represents a useful inventory to preserve and spread this knowledge.

Keywords: Ethnopharmacological survey; Digestive system problems; Medicinal plants; Morocco; Acute ache; digestion problems; intestinal comfort; bloating, diarrhea; constipation.

Downloads

Published

2020-09-18

How to Cite

Es-Safi, I., Mechchate, H., Amaghnouje, A., Jawhari, F. Z., Bari, A., Cerruti, P., Avella, M., Grafov, A., & Bousta, D. (2020). Medicinal plants used to treat acute digestive system problems in the region of Fez-Meknes in Morocco: An ethnopharmacological survey. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 20, 1–14. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/2201

Issue

Vol. 20 (2020)

Section

Research

License

All articles are copyrighted by the first author and are published online by license from the first author. Articles are intended for free public distribution and discussion without charge. Accuracy of the content is the responsibility of the authors.

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.