Laboratory of Natural Substances, Pharmacology, Environment, Modeling, Health, and Quality of Life (SNAMOPEQ), Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, 30000 Fez, Morocco.
The Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques (ISPITS), 30000 Fez, Morocco.
Front Biosci (Schol Ed). 2023 Mar 13;15(1):4. doi: 10.31083/j.fbs1501004.
Herbal medicine was used since the old time in the treatment of different types of diseases in Sefrou province, Morocco. However, few studies have been carried out to identify local medicinal flora and to scientifically document the knowledge of the traditional use of these medicinal plants by the population. This study aims to investigate the medicinal plants in Sefrou province, record their usage in folk medicine by the population and evaluate the hypotensive effect of selected plants using vascular activity. For that, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted among the Arabs and Amazighs population of Sefrou province from January 2017 to December 2018. The survey was conducted through oral interviews with a structured questionnaire. It covered those who knew and/or used plants for medicinal purposes, retailers, and wholesalers, and also included ecological repartition as well as the mode of administration. Then we selected some plants to evaluate the antihypertensive activity based on the bioassay. A total of 134 medicinal plants belonging to 52 families were identified; 61% are wild species, 49 (36%) are cultivated and 4 (3%) are cultivated as well as spontaneous. Medicinal plants used in Sefrou folk medicine have been investigated for their antihypertensive activity. They were selected based on their usage as cardiotonic, diuretics, and other uses related to the symptoms of hypertension. Most of the plants tested in this study were found to be more sensitive to relaxing contractions induced by noradrenaline. Out of 32 species examined, 14 (44%) showed more than 50% inhibition in isolated rat aortic rings, the vasorelaxant activity of these plants used for the screening was mostly inhibited by pre-treatment with N-ω-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOArg). The plants inventoried are alleged to be active against 104 therapeutic indications. Nine common symptoms are widely treated in indigenous pharmacopeia: gastrointestinal (19 plants), renal (27 plants), broncho-pulmonary system (7 plants), skin (13 species), diabetes (12 plants), cardiovascular (13 plants), eye, ear, nose, teeth, and throat diseases (5 plants); gynecological disorders (6 plants); rheumatism and gnawing pain (11 plants). 14% (19 species) of the plant inventoried are traded on a large scale and scope and more than 90 percent of the medicinal plants purchased from Sefrou go to big cities for export. The expansion of unregulated trade and commercial use of medicinal and aromatic plants poses a major threat to biodiversity in the region. Overall, people in Sefrou hold rich knowledge of herbal medicine. The vasorelaxant activity proved for the documented plants will provide a basis for other preclinical and clinical investigations.
草药在摩洛哥塞夫鲁省治疗各种疾病方面有着悠久的历史。然而，很少有研究对当地药用植物群进行鉴定，也没有对当地药用植物的传统用途进行科学记录。本研究旨在调查塞夫鲁省的药用植物，记录当地居民对这些药用植物的民间医学用途，并使用血管活性评估选定植物的降压作用。为此，我们于 2017 年 1 月至 2018 年 12 月对塞夫鲁省的阿拉伯人和柏柏尔人进行了一项民族植物学调查。该调查通过与结构问卷进行的口头访谈进行。它涵盖了那些了解和/或使用植物进行药用目的的人、零售商和批发商，还包括生态分布以及管理方式。然后，我们根据生物测定法选择了一些植物来评估降压活性。共鉴定出 134 种药用植物，隶属于 52 科；61%为野生种，49 种（36%）为栽培种，4 种（3%）为野生和栽培种。塞夫鲁民间医学中使用的药用植物已被调查其降压活性。它们是根据它们作为强心药、利尿剂和其他与高血压症状相关的用途而被选择的。在本研究中测试的大多数植物对去甲肾上腺素诱导的收缩具有更高的敏感性。在检查的 32 种植物中，有 14 种（44%）在分离的大鼠主动脉环中显示出超过 50%的抑制作用，用于筛选的这些植物的血管舒张活性主要被预先用 N-ω-硝基-L-精氨酸（L-NOArg）处理所抑制。所鉴定的植物据称对 104 种治疗适应症有效。在当地药典中广泛治疗 9 种常见症状：胃肠道（19 种植物）、肾脏（27 种植物）、支气管-肺系统（7 种植物）、皮肤（13 种植物）、糖尿病（12 种植物）、心血管（13 种植物）、眼、耳、鼻、牙和喉疾病（5 种植物）；妇科疾病（6 种植物）；风湿病和磨牙痛（11 种植物）。所鉴定的植物中有 14%（19 种）进行大规模贸易，从塞夫鲁购买的 90%以上的药用植物运往大城市出口。不受监管的贸易和药用芳香植物的商业使用的扩大对该地区的生物多样性构成了重大威胁。总的来说，塞夫鲁人拥有丰富的草药知识。所记录的植物的血管舒张活性将为其他临床前和临床研究提供基础。
