An ethnopharmacological survey of plants used in traditional diabetes treatment in south-eastern Algeria (Ouargla province)
Résumé
An ethnopharmacological survey was performed in the Ouargla region (northeast of Algerian Sahara) to document ethnomedicinal knowledge and to catalogue the medicinal plants used to treat diabetes mellitus. We conducted in-person interviews of 289 diabetic patients, 25 herbalists and 10 healers in eight different areas of the Ouargla region. The results indicate that phytotherapy was always practiced to treat disease (60.90%), especially diabetes. Among the type 2 diabetes interviewees, 58 patients (44.27%) used only medicinal plants. Seventy-nine percent of plant users (176) were satisfied with herbal medicine i.e. 74% of the men and only 45.90% of the women. This could be explained by a high education level for the women. A total of 67 plant species that belong to 32 families were mentioned and were used to prepare 130 different formulations for treating diabetes and foot ulcers. Among the 13 most frequently cited species, only 3 were cultivated. More than 34 of the species are wild septentrional Sahara species. Thirteen species (19.40%) are endemic; three of them are reported for the first time as hypoglycaemic plants: Matricaria pubescens, Oudneya africana and Rhanterium adpressum. For nine species, we could not locate experimental data on anti-diabetic activity. Sixty six species are used to treat diabetes, while fifty one are used to treat symptoms that might be related to diabetes (especially foot ulcers). Anvillea radiata, Ammodaucus leucotrichus, Artemisia herba-alba and Citrullus colocynthis have the highest values of relative frequency citation (RFC), informant consensus factor (Fic) and use value (UV). They are the most used plant to decrease level of blood glucose and to treat foot ulcer. The new endemic plant species highlighted in the study could reveal an interest for further phytochemical and pharmacological studies