Ethnopharmacological Documentation of Medicinal Plants Used in the Traditional Treatment of Hypertension in Tarfaya Province, Morocco

Abstract

The use of plants to treat chronic diseases is part of an ancient Moroccan tradition. This study will present the first relevant documentation on medicinal plants used in the treatment of hypertension in Tarfaya province. This study aimed to collect and document information on medicinal plants traditionally used by the local population of Tarfaya province for the treatment of hypertension. Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted using 150 questionnaires in the study area. Documented data were evaluated using the quantitative ethno-botanical indices of frequency citation (FC) and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC). The results obtained allowed to inventory 52 species of medicinal plants belonging to 29 families traditionally used against hypertension. The species were rich in diverse chemical constituents. The most cited families are Lamiaceae (9 species), Apiaceae (5 species), Compositae (3 species), Leguminosae (3 species) and Myrtaceae (3 species). Ten plants are reported for the first time as used in the treatment of hypertension. The most cited plant species are Allium sativum (RFC = 0.28), Allium cepa (RFC = 0.2), Olea europaea (RFC = 0.18), Searsia tripartita (RFC = 0.16), Ammodaucus leucotrichus (RFC = 0.15) and Myrtus communis (RFC = 0.15). Leaves were the most used organs. The decoction was the dominant method of preparation. This study showed that the inhabitants of Tarfaya use a wide variety of plants for the treatment of hypertension. This work is a source of information that can serve as a basis for phytochemists and pharmacologists interested in research on plants with antihypertensive effect.