Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used for treating diabetes in Agadir Ida Outanane region, Southwestern Morocco

Abstract

In Morocco, diabetes affects 6.6% of men and women nation-wide and is higher in urban areas. Medicinal plants are used commonly by local people of Morocco for treating diabetes. The aim of this study was to identify plants species used for curing diabetes in the Agadir Ida Outanane region, Southwest Morocco. Data were collected by semi-structured and structured interviews. 400 interviews were conducted with knowledgeable villagers. The obtained data were analyzed through fidelity level (FL: 0-100%), use value (UV) and relative frequency of citation (RFC: 0-1). This ethnobotanical survey has identified 22 species belonging to 14 families distributed. The most represented families are Lamiaceae and Asteraceae. Three plants species, Cladanthus mixtus (L.) Chevall, Pulicaria mauritanica Batt., and Salvia aegyptiaca L., are mentioned for the first time for traditional treatment of diabetes. The most frequently cited plant species are Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels, Cistus creticus L., Globularia alypum L., Olea europaea L. This survey shows that traditional medicine is still used and constituted a very rich heritage in Agadir Ida Outanane region. The collected data may help for archiving and conservation of traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants in the study area. In addition, it forms a basis for preliminary information required for future phytochemical investigation on the most used plants.