Ethnobotanical Study of Spontaneous Medicinal Plants Gouraya’s National Park (Bejaia- Algeria)

Abstract

INCE ancient times, humans have used plants for medicine, food, and shelter. The trend towards the use of traditional medicinal plants is increasing in many developed and developing countries due to their local abundance, cultural significance, and low cost of procurement. In Algeria, phytotherapy is widespread and forms an integral part of the culture of the local population, but unfortunately, no traditional Algerian pharmacopoeia has been established. This ethnobotanical study was carried out in Gouraya's National Park (GNP) (Bejaia, Algeria), based on a survey of 50 indigenous men and women. The interviews focused on the profile (gender, age, level of education) and on the plants and their uses (botanical family, vernacular names, and mode of use). Results reveal the use of 24 plant species belonging to 18 families for the treatment of various diseases. The collected data were analyzed by calculating family important value, Lamiaceae is the most represented (FIV = 0.88), higher use value (0.96=UV), and the relative frequency of citation (RFC= 0.62) were reported for Olea europeae .44% of the respondents were illiterate. While those with higher education represented only 02% of the group. The majority (64%) of the local population in the study area has traditional knowledge of medicinal plants to treat various human ailments. Most plants had been involved in the treatment of digestive disorders (36%). This study also revealed that leaves are the most commonly used parts and that infusion is the most common mode of preparation in therapeutic treatment.

Valorization of local ethnobotanical knowledge in Ouled Ben Abdelkader region, Northwest of Algeria

“…Among these botanical taxa many wild and cultivated species have traditionally been used by the local populations in traditional medicine (Baba Aïssa 2011, Yahi & Benhouhou 2011. According to the geographical distribution of this flora, every region of Algeria has its own traditional medicine based on locally available plants, thus, the traditional use of medicinal plants by the indigenous populations in various regions of the country were the subject of several publications (Bendif et al 2020, Chermat & Gharzouli 2015, Dahmane et al 2023, Hadj Ali et al 2023, Lakhdari et al 2016, Mechaala et al 2022, Merouane et al 2022, Ouadeh et al 2021, Ouelbani et al 2016. However, Ouled Ben Abdelkader, a region known by its high floristic diversity and rich traditional knowledge, remains unexplored up-to-date, and has not been the subject of any ethnobotanical research.…”