Herbal remedies and traditional knowledge of the Tuareg community in the region of Illizi (Algerian Sahara)

Abstract

This study is the first ethnobotanical investigation of Tuareg communities from the region of Illizi in the Algerian Sahara. The study aims to highlight the unique floristic diversity used in their traditional medicine. Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted with 120 Tuareg nomads, mostly old and illiterate men, using free listing and structured interviews. Field data were organised in Use Reports (URs) and analysed using the Informant Consensus Factor. We identified 118 medicinal plants belonging to 43 botanical families dominated by Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae. The Tuareg use leaves in infusion as the most common preparation method. The species most often mentioned in the surveys are Salvadora persica L., Peganum harmala L. and Anvillea garcinii subsp. radiata (Coss. & Durieu) Anderb. Gastrointestinal system disorders are the ailments most commonly treated with herbal medicine. The treatment of cancer has the highest consensus among the community. This pathology is treated only by Ephedra alata subsp. alenda (Stapf) Trab. The analysis of the results in comparison with the available literature in Algeria and neighbouring countries led us to identify 21 new medicinal plants as well as 65 plants with new uses. We evaluated the originality of the ethnobotanical knowledge of the Tuareg community using a comparative approach with two populations geographically close, the Arabic-speaking nomads of the Algerian steppe and the Egyptian Bedouins with whom they share a nomadic way of life. Plants shared with Algerian nomad neighbours are those available in markets and used also for culinary and aromatic purposes, but plants shared with Bedouin communities are mostly non-cultivated desert plants. We conclude that Tuareg use medicinally many plants specific to their environment in unique ways.