Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological study of spontaneous medicinal plants used in the treatment of viral respiratory diseases in the Prerif, Morocco.

Viral respiratory infections (common cold, flu, sinusitis, bronchiolitis etc.) are among the most common infections in the world with severe symptoms. In Morocco, the therapeutic indications of medicinal plants are very present to treat several diseases including respiratory system. The objective of our study is to identify and document medicinal plants used in traditional medicine to treat viral respiratory infections and alleviate their symptoms in order to generate interest for future studies in verifying the efficacy of these traditional medicines and their conservation. The information acquired from 81 questionnaires and the floristic identification allowed us to identify 26 spontaneous species, belonging to 14 families, used as traditional therapies for viral respiratory diseases in the Prerif. The herbs are the most used life form. The results also showed that leaves were the most commonly used plant parts and the most of the herbal medicines which were prepared in the form of infusions and administered orally. Documented data was evaluated using use value (UV), family importance value (FIV) and relative frequency citation (RCF).

Author(s): EL AMANE Salma

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