The knowledge of the plants that are used may provide insight on their properties for further exploration. This study aimed to identify and collect data about medicinal plants used in traditional medicine by the population of the provincial region of Taza, Morocco. An ethnobotanical survey was carried out among 200 informants, competent villagers, herbalists, and traditional healers from the provincial region of Taza city through direct interviews using a structured questionnaire. The survey reported 55 plant species belonging to 28 families used in the folk medicine. Informants’ results showed that the most frequently used plants were Origanum compactum, Mentha pulegium, Rosmarinus officinalis L., Aloysia citrodora, Calamintha officinalis Moench, and Artemisia herba-alba Asso., with a relative frequency of citation of 76%, 72%, 60%, 42%, 40%, and 30%, respectively. Moreover, in this study, the Lamiaceae family was the most commonly reported plant family, and the leaves were the most frequently used parts of the plants; otherwise, decoction and infusion were the most used modes in the preparation of remedies from medicinal plants in the traditional medicine. The sociodemographic characteristics showed that women use medicinal plants slightly more than men, the illiterate people use the medicinal plant the most, and old people have more information about the medicinal plants than the new generations. The region of Taza of Morocco has an important floristic biodiversity of medicinal plants which are used in traditional medicine practice. This result provides a good database for pharmacological screening in the search for new plants that can contain new bioactive molecules that can be used as a bioactive ingredient of medicament or as a biological alternative in pharmacology.

Article de synthèse Phytothérapie traditionnelleRésumé : Une enquête ethnobotanique a permis de retenir quelques plantes de la région de Meknès-Tafilalet utilisées traditionnellement dans le traitement du diabète, Thymelaea hirsuta, Chénopodium ambroiside, Mentha pulégium, Teucrium polium, Arthemisia absintium, Olea europea, Ruta montana, Buxus simpervirens, Cinnamumum cassia, Carum carvi, Marrubium vulgare. Des études préliminai-res ont démontré une activité hypoglycémiante de l'extrait aqueux de ces plantes sur des rats normoglycémiques. Cet article est une contribution à la standardisation de ces plantes dans la médecine traditionnelle. Mots clés : Médecine traditionnelle -Diabète -Plantes médicinales Ethnopharmacological survey of some plants used for the treatment of diabetes in the region of Meknès-Tafilalet (Morocco)Abstract: A survey ethnobotanical allowed to retain some plants in the region of Meknes-Tafilalet traditionally used to treat diabetes, Thymelaea hirsuta, Chenopodium ambroiside, Mentha pulegium, Teucrium Polium, Arthemisia absintium, Olea europea, Ruta montana, Buxus simpervirens, cassia cinnamumum, Carum carvi, Marrubium vulgare. Preliminary studies have shown an activity of aqueous extract of these plants on rats normoglycaemia. This article is a contribution to the standardization of these plants in traditional medicine

Buthus occitanus (B.occitanus) is one of the most dangerous scorpions in the world. Despite the involvement of B.occitanus scorpion in severe cases of envenomation in Morocco, no study has focused yet on the proteomic composition of the Moroccan B.occitanus scorpion venom. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic techniques are commonly used in the study of scorpion venoms. The implementation of top-down and bottom-up approaches for proteomic analyses facilitates screening by allowing a global view of the structural aspects of such complex matrices. Here, we provide a partial overview of the venom of B.occitanus, in order to explore the diversity of its toxins and hereafter understand their effects. To this end, a combination of top-down and bottomup approaches was applied using nano-high liquid chromatography coupled to nano-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS). TheLC-MS results showed that B.occitanus venom contains around 200 molecular masses ranging from 1868 to 16,720 Da, the most representative of which are those between 5000 and 8000 Da. Interestingly, combined top-down and bottom-up LC-MS/MS results allowed the identification of several toxins, which were mainly those acting on ion channels, including those targeting sodium (NaScTxs), potassium (KScTxs), chloride (ClScTxs) and calcium channels (CaScTx), as well as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), amphipathic peptides, myotropic neuropeptides and hypothetical secreted proteins. This study reveals the molecular diversity of B.occitanus scorpion venom and identifies components that may have useful pharmacological activities.

Abstract.-Crude, aqueous, ethanol extracts and essential oils of aerial parts of Dysphania ambrosioides were investigated for their in vitro antimicrobial properties. The plant was collected from Agouray village near Meknès city of Morocco. D. ambrosioides is widely used as traditional folk medicine in Morocco. The main components in the oil were α-terpinene (61.04%), 4-carene (13.55%) and pcymene (12.94%). The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against 12 microorganisms using the disc-diffusion assay, well in agar method, minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values. The different extracts tested had no antimicrobial effect against the test microorganisms whereas the essential oil had inhibitory effects on the growth of bacteria, yeasts and fungi.

Évaluer in vitro l'activité antibactérienne de l'huile essentielle et l'extrait de Teucrium capitatium L (Tighircht) et de l'extrait de la plante Silène vulgaris (lkhiyata) de la région d'elhajeb (Maroc central) sur les différentes souches testées : Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aureginosa. Le choix de ces souches bactériennes c'était pour deux raisons : _ Leur large impact pathologique dû à leur pouvoir pathogène en relation avec des problèmes plus généraux de résistance aux antibiotiques habituels _ Une étude ethnobotanique qui a montré l'utilisation de deux plantes par la population d'el hajeb (Maroc central)-dans le cadre de la médecine traditionnelle-comme remède pour plusieurs pathologies causé par ces souches. Méthodologies et Résultats : La méthode de diffusion en milieu solide et la macrométhode de dilution en milieu liquide de l'extrait actif ont été utilisées pour les tests antibactériens. Nos résultats ont montrés un effet inhibiteur très important contre Staphylococcus aureus méti Set méti R (gram+), tandis que les autres n'ont pas des activités microbiennes (gram-). La plus forte activité a été obtenue vis-à-vis de staphylocoque aureus meti S avec une concentration minimale inhibitrice de 15,87 ul/ml. Des tests comparatifs de l'activité ont été réalisés avec des différents disques d'antibiotiques. Conclusion et Application : Les activités antibactériennes sont confirmées. En effet, elle est bactéricide contre les staphylocoques méti S et bactériostatique contre les staphylocoques méti R. Les résultats des tests de comparaison des diamètres d'inhibition de l'huile essentielle des feuilles de Tencrium capitatum L à ceux des disques de pénicilline et de gentamicine a provoqué une inhibition supérieure. Les valeurs de la CMI, de la CMB et des diamètres d'inhibition des tests de comparaison montrent que les souches de Staphylococcus testées sont très sensibles à l'essence de Teucrium capitaium L .Cette étude permet, encore une fois, la mise en valeur de l'exploitation des huiles essentielles dans les domaines, pharmaceutique et médicales.