Ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants across health-related disease groups in Taza Province, Northern Morocco

Authors

  • Badia El Aarage Laboratory of Natural Resources and Environment, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Taza, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Taza-Gare, Taza B.P. 1223, Morocco.
  • Issam Ghabbour Laboratory of Natural Resources and Environment, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Taza, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Taza-Gare, Taza B.P. 1223, Morocco https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5969-4233
  • Fatine Elhlou Biotechnology, Conservation and Valorization of Natural Resources Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.
  • Abdelmajid Khabbach Biotechnology, Conservation and Valorization of Natural Resources Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.
  • Khalil Hammani Laboratory of Natural Resources and Environment, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Taza, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Taza-Gare, Taza B.P. 1223, Morocco
  • Nabil Ghabbour Laboratory of Natural Resources and Environment, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Taza, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Taza-Gare, Taza B.P. 1223, Morocco https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5822-5224

Abstract

Background: Taza province in northern Morocco is ecologically diverse, resulting in a wide variety of flora. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices are a useful tool for highlighting the importance of local medicinal species and contributing to the conservation and sustainable dissemination of traditional phytotherapeutic practices in this area.

Methods: This study statistically analyzed 58 medicinal plant taxa reported by 186 informants across 10 communes in Taza Province, based on an ethnobotanical survey conducted between March and September 2025. The data were processed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software. Several indices were calculated: Citation Frequency (CF), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Informant Agreement Ratio (IAR). Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed.

Results: These medicinal plants cover 35 therapeutic uses, belonging to 12 disease groups. Mentha pulegium L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., and Calamintha nepeta subsp. spruneri (Boiss.) Nyman has the highest RFC values (1). Mentha pulegium L. has the highest usage value (UV) (3.011), and 36 species achieve a maximum fidelity level (FL) of 100%. The disease categories with the highest ICF and IAR are, respectively, infectious and parasitic diseases (IAR = 0.987; ICF = 0.993) and digestive diseases (ICF = IAR = 0.98). PCA revealed a clear structuring of both disease categories and plant species according to ethnobotanical indices, distinguishing between highly cited, widely used, and therapeutically specific taxa, as well as between disease groups characterized by high species diversity and those with strong informant consensus.

Conclusions: The findings of this study document the important role of medicinal plants in the traditional therapeutic practices reported by the local population of Taza Province. They also highlight the importance of preserving local ethnobotanical knowledge and ensuring its transmission, in order to promote the sustainable management of plant resources.

Keywords: Ethnobotanical survey, Medicinal plants, Therapeutic uses, Disease groups, Ethnobotanical indices, Taza province.

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Published

2026-09-19

How to Cite

El Aarage, B., Ghabbour, I., Elhlou, F., Khabbach, A., Hammani, K., & Ghabbour, N. (2026). Ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants across health-related disease groups in Taza Province, Northern Morocco. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 35, 1–30. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/8679

Issue

Vol. 35 (2026)

Section

Research

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