A survey of medicinal plants used by herbalists in Taza (Northern Morocco) to manage various ailments

The present study aims at identifying and documenting medicinal plants used traditionally by the population in Taza (Northern Morocco) to manage various diseases. Validated questionnaires were administered to herbalists from different districts! of the study area. Interviews and structured conversations were used to collect relevant information. Samples of medicinal plants were requested and identified, and the use value was calculated. In total, 104 medicinal plants belonging to 47 different families are used by the population to treat various human diseases in Taza. The most cited families are Lamiaceae (19.4%), Fabaceae (9.57%), Asteraceae (7.05%) and Apiaceae (6.3%). In this region, the most frequently used plants include!Lavandulla officinalis, Origanum compactum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Nigella sativa, Rubia peregrina, Myrtus communis and Matricaria chamomilla. Seeds/fruits (30.77%) are the most common part used, followed by leaves (19.66%) and aerial parts (17.95%). The most remedies are administered orally (72.87%) and prepared with an aqueous base, preferentially as powder (43.31%), decoction (31.50%) or infusion (19.69%). Herbal remedies are used to treat 18 pathological groups of diseases; of these, digestive disorders are the most cited by herbalists. This study showed that local knowledge of medicinal plants still exists in Taza and herbalists appear to play an important role in primary health care services in the surveyed area. These results underscores the need for more future scientific research on these medicinal plants to determine their efficacy and their safety.