Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharmacological Study of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Used in the Treatment of Respiratory System Disorders in the Moroccan Rif

Abstract

Background: The aim of these studies was to assess the potential of the Rif (northern Morocco) with regard to medicinal and aromatic plants used in the treatment of respiratory system diseases. Methods: The ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies were conducted in the Rif region for two campaigns (June 30th, 2016 to June 1st, 2018). In total, 674 local traditional healers were interviewed. Information was collected using open-ended and semi-structured interviews, analyzed and compared by quantitative ethnobotanical indices such as family importance value (FIV), relative frequency of citation (RFC), plant part value (PPV), fidelity level (FL) and informant consensus factor (ICF) were used to analyze the obtained data. Results: The study identified a total of 41 medicinal plant species belonging to 22 botanical families. The most important family is that of the Lamiaceae represented by 8 species. Concerning the diseases treated, Asthma have the highest ICF (0.97), the leaf was considered the most used part of the plant (PPV=0.482) and the majority of the remedies were prepared in the form of decoction. Conclusions: The results of these present studies showed the existence of indigenous ethnomedicinal knowledge of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Rif to treat respiratory system diseases. Further research on phytochemical and pharmacological should be considered to discover new drugs from these documented plants. Keywords: Rif; Morocco; medicinal and aromatic plants; respiratory system diseases, Ethnobotany.