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Pharmacognosy 2019
March 11-12, 2019
London, UK
American Journal of Ethnomedicine
ISSN: 2348-9502
Page 52
Pharmacognosy and
Medicinal Plants
7
th
Edition of International Conference on
Am J Ethnomed 2019, Volume 6
DOI: 10.21767/2348-9502-C1-009
Ethnopharmacological profile of traditional plants used
in Morocco by cancer patients as herbal therapeutics
Ait Laaradia M, Oufquir S, Sokar Z
and
Chait A
Université Cadi Ayyad, Morocco
C
ancer is one of the major causes of mortality
throughout the world. In Morocco, cancer patients
are increasing, which indicate that by the year 2020 it
is predicted that cancer will be causing seven out of
10 deaths. To reduce this high mortality rate, medical
research now turns to the discovery of new molecules
that will help to develop natural anticancer drugs. The
current study was designed as a prospective randomized
investigation on different plants used by the patients of
a center for cancer treatment in Morocco. This study
was based on a sample of 600 patients from the Cancer
Institution in Marrakech in a period from September
2017 to march 2018. Among the investigated cases,
201 patients (39%) were identified to regularly use
medical plants and 160 patients among them use plants
along with medical treatment. While 152 patients used
traditional medicine before using conventional modern
drugs. Fifty-five plants have been cited during this study,
of which
Aristolochia longa, Trigonella foenum-graecum,
Cassia absus
and
Nigella sativa
are the mostly used
medicinal plants. Cross-references of all plants identified
in the current scientific literature have revealed species
that have not been documented for cancer treatment
to date. Particular interest has been given to the use of
plants for the treatment of cancer in children and adults.
This data shows that phytotherapy has always been
practiced in Morocco.