Ethnoveterinary practices of medicinal plants among the Zemmour and Zayane tribes, Middle Atlas, Morocco

Abstract

The widespread usage of medicinal plants in native nations' healthcare practices is a foundation for creating natural drugs. The current study sought to establish thorough ethnoveterinary knowledge of medicinal plants utilized for therapeutic reasons. The field investigation was carried out from January 2016 to December 2020 in the Zemmour and Zayane tribes (Middle Atlas). Three hundred local informants were interviewed, using open-ended and semi-structured interviews. The advantages, coverage, and significance of ethnoveterinary were quantified using a variety of parameters such as informant consensus factor, fidelity level, relative popularity level, rank-order priority, and Jaccard index. A total of 150 species and subspecies belonging to 129 genera and 56 families were employed in ethnoveterinary preparations. The study area's most commonly used ethnoveterinary plant species was Allium sativum L. (16.7%). Leaves are the most frequent plant part used (46.5%). The highest factor informant consensus value was 0.9 for digestive diseases. Artemisia herba-alba Asso and Asparagus officinalis L. Both show a 100% fidelity level for diarrhea and rabies, respectively. Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (rank-order priority = 74) was shown to be the most preferred plant species for fever remedies. The present study demonstrates that local communities in the Middle Atlas have consistent knowledge of ethnoveterinary plants. In this inquiry, we invite the attention of chemists and pharmacologists to further phytochemical and pharmacological studies of medicinal plants having high rank-order priority, fidelity level, and factor informant consensus significance. • Traditional veterinary medicine refers to the collective knowledge of an indigenous community about relationships between people and nature. • The field study was carried out from January 2016 to December 2020 in the Zemmour and Zayane tribes. • A total of 150 plant species belonging to 129 genera and 56 families were found to be used in ethno-veterinary practices • The present study showed that local communities in the Middle Atlas have consistent knowledge of ethno-veterinary plants.