Herbalist and wild medicinal plants in M'Sila (North Algeria): an ethnopharmacology survey

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The mainaimofthisstudywastoidentify,catalogueanddocumentthe large numberofwildmedicinalplantsusedintheM'Sila region(northernAlgeria)forthetreatmentof severalhumanpathologies.Anothermoreambitiousaimistocontributetoovercomingthelimitsofan orallytransmittedpharmacopoeia,attemptingtoexploitthelargeethnopharmacologypatrimonyofthe region forfurtherpharmacologicalpurposes. Materials andmethods: Our field studywascarriedoutoveraperiodofthreeyears(2008-2010).During this period,herbalistswereinterviewedusingsemi-structuredquestionnairesinvestigatingtheherbalist as aholderofinformation(gender,ageandeducationallevel)andaboutwildmedicinalplants(local name, usesandpartused).Inaddition,therelativeimportancevalueofthespecieswasdeterminedand informant consensusfactor(ICF)wascalculatedforthemedicinalplantsincludedinthestudy. Results: A totalof83herbalistswereinterviewed;mendominatethepracticeoftraditionalmedicinein the region.About41%ofthemarebetween31and40years,andaboutathird(34%)areilliterate.The traditional herbalknowledgeispassedfromgenerationtogenerationintheverbalform,awriting tradition beingalmosttotallyabsent.Theinterviewedherbalistsidentified andrecorded58plants species and50generabelongingto27plantfamilies.LamiaceaeandAsteraceaewerethemost representedplantfamilies.Theaerialpartswerethemostcommonlyusedplantpart,whileinfusion and decoctionwerethemostcommonmethodoftraditionaldrugpreparation. Conclusions: The surveyprovidesaveritablesourceofinformationontheherbalistsandwildmedicinal plants. Plantswhichareusedindifferentpartsoftheworldforthetreatmentofsimilardiseasesmaybe deemed tobeeffectiveinpharmacologicalterms.Thesemedicinalplantsmaybeincorporatedintothe healthcare deliverysystemofthecountry.