The pectin polysaccharides from leaves of Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels, collected from Stidia area in the west coast of northern Algeria, were investigated by using sequential extractions and the resulting fractions were analysed for monosaccharide composition and chemical structure. Water-soluble pectic (ALS-WSP) and chelating-soluble pectic (ALS-CSP) fractions were obtained, de-esterified and fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography and characterized by sugar analysis combined with methylation analysis and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The data reveal the presence of altering homogalacturonan (HG) and rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) in both pectin fraction. The rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) are consisted of a disaccharide repeating unit [→ α-D-GalpA-1,2-α-L-Rhap-1,4 →] backbone, with side chains contained highly branched α-(1 → 5)-linked arabinan and short linear β-(1 → 4)-linked galactan, attached to O-4 of the rhamnosyl residues.

An ethnobotanical study was carried out in the Saïda region among herbalists to evaluate the use of Salvia argentea (L.), a plant species native from North Africa belonging to the Lamiaceae family. Forty-two herbalists were interviewed individually, aged between 30 and 70 years, all males, 52.38% of them having received a secondary education level and having performing their duties for more than a decade. This study showed that Salvia argentea is used specifically in the treatment of diseases of the respiratory system. The leaves are the most commonly used part, usually in the form of powder and exclusively administered orally. The preliminary results of the physicochemical characterization and the phytochemical screening of the powdered leaves of Salvia argentea attest to their safety and confer them a guarantee of phytotherapeutic quality.

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This ethnopharmacological survey is a first study to assess the traditional uses of Salvia argentea by the local people of Saida, located in the north-western region of Algeria. This plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, orig-inating from North Africa, is still relatively little studied in Algeria and has no application in conventional medicine. Out of a total of 500 people from the local population interviewed individually, 405 people, including 304 women and 101 men, reported using S. argentea, aged 20 to 90 years, 34.57% of whom are illiterate. Thus, the survey showed that S. argentea is generally used in the treatment of respiratory diseases (93.33%). The leaves are the most commonly used part (87.41%), prepared mainly in powder form (71.60%) and administered exclusively orally (99.51%). The survey collected very valuable information on the traditional therapeutic uses of S. argentea by the study population and for the national pharmacopoeia. This collected information can be considered as a starting point for modern scientific re-search in order to discover new natural molecules with therapeutic interests.