Ethnobotanical Survey on Plants Used to Manage Febrile Illnesses among Herbalists in Casablanca, Morocco

Abstract

Plants have been recognized since antiquity in Morocco as a heritage and a remedy for a variety of ailments with a diverse range of pharmacological effects. The current work is ethnomedicinal research conducted to collect herbalists’ knowledge about plants utilized in traditional medicine to treat febrile illnesses. In Casablanca, Morocco, 105 herbalists provided information. The data were examined using seven quantitative indices: The Fidelity Level (FL), Use Value (UV), Frequency of Citation (FC), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). During the current investigation, twenty-two different species of medicinal plants from eleven families have been reported as being used to treat fevers. The most recommended plant with a high Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC = 0.15) is Dysphania ambrosioides L., which indicates the importance of this species in controlling fever, especially when it is combined with Citrus × limon (L.) Osbeck (RFC = 0.139). Hence, the use of these plants was compared to the literature review. This research contributed to documenting and preserving important Moroccan traditional herbalists’ knowledge about plants used to cure febrile illnesses.

Ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants used in traditional treatment of respiratory system disorders in the Southeast region of Morocco

“…The analysis of data collected from 235 herbalists and vendors of medicinal plants used in the treatment of respiratory diseases reveals a predominance of men, accounting for 93.2% of the surveyed individuals. The majority of these practitioners have attained only a primary level of education, comprising 48.87% of the respondents, a trend consistent with findings reported by Dagni et al (30). Our survey further highlights that the most prevalent age group falls between 30 and 50 years, encompassing 60.95% of the respondents, with 22.97% being over 50 years old.…”