Background: since early times, the people of Morocco use medicinal plants as traditional medicine to treat diabetes. However, little studies have been made in the past to properly document and promote the traditional knowledge. This study was carried out in the Rif (North of Morocco), it aimed to identify medicinal plant used by the local people to treat diabetic problems, together with the associated ethnomedicinal knowledge. Materials and Methods:The ethnomedical information collected was from 582 traditional healers using semi-structured interviews, free listing and focus group. Family use value (FUV), use value (UV), plant part value (PPV) and informant agreement ratio (IAR) were employed in data analysis. Medicinal plants were collected, identified and kept at the natural resources and biodiversity laboratory, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra.Results: During the present study 30 medicinal plant species belonging to 14 families has been documented. The most frequent ailments reported were type 1diabetes. The majority of the remedies were prepared from infusion. Leaves were the most frequently used plant part and Rosmarinus officinalis L. was the species most commonly prescribed by local herbalists. Conclusions:The results of this study showed that people Arabs and Imazighen living in the Rif of Morocco are still dependent on medicinal plants. The documented medicinal plants can serve as a basis for further studies on the regions, medicinal plants knowledge and for future phytochemical and pharmacological studies.

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Context: Medicinal and aromatic plants are used by people for various purposes, whether for health care, beauty, or as a food source. Aims: To valorize the knowledge about their uses, therapeutic, cosmetic, and food. Methods: The ethnobotanical study was conducted from November 1, 2019, to March 1, 2021, in the Moulay Yacoub region. A total of 407 local informants were interviewed. The methodological approach was open-ended and semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions based on therapeutic, cosmetic, and dietary criteria. Quantitative analyses were performed using basic statistics, use value (UV), family use value (FUV), plant part value (PPV), and informant agreement ratio (IAR). Results: A total of 104 plant species belonging to 46 families were identified. The majority of plants are used in phytotherapy (78.30%). The most frequent ailments reported were digestive (IAR = 0.9). The most used method of preparation was infusion (42.68%), the leaves were the most used part of the plant (PPV = 0.45), and Anchusa italica Retz (UV = 0.196) was the most commonly prescribed species by local herbalists, and Oleaceae (FUV = 0.16) was the most dominant family. Conclusions: This study showed the richness of the plants and the consistency of the knowledge of the natives on medicinal and aromatic plants. As part of this study, we are currently working on plants with curative effects to prove their efficacy in animal models, including Anchusa italica Retz, which was widely cited in this ethnobotanical study. Authors invite scientists to conduct further phytochemical and pharmacological research on medicinal plants from this region based on this study.

Context: Diabetes mellitus is considered one of the scourges of the third millennium in the world for several years. Aims: To evaluate, identify and preserve the experiences gained over the centuries. It is about therapeutic use of medicinal plants exploited for the treatment of diabetes, and to clarify its toxicities, in order to sensitize the population of the High Atlas Central (HAC) of Morocco not only on the risk but also the benefit of the use of phytotherapy. Methods: The surveys ethnopharmacological were conducted 834 the interviewees, using semi-structured survey, by application of quantitative indices such as Consensus index (CI %), Use value (UVi), family UV (FUV), relative frequency of citation (RFC), plant part value (PPV), and informant consensus factor (ICF) to assess the exact value of medicinal plants (MP). Results: We found that 144 medicinal plants in 121 genera and 52 plant families were traditionally used to treat diabetes, of which seven species were endemic to the study area, and 32 were being cited first ever to treating diabetes. In addition, we collected toxicological information on 99 antidiabetic plants, of which 41 species showed no toxic activity and 43 were toxic and sometimes lethal in high doses. The Ranunculaceae family showed the highest use value (FUV =0.139). Leaves were the most used plant parts (PPV =0.282) and infusion was the dominant method of preparation. The frequently used species were Olea europaea L. (UVi =0.172), Salvia officinalis L. (UVi =0.156) and Euphorbia resinifera Berg (UVi =0.150). Conclusions: These results are a rich source of information. They contribute to the knowledge of the antidiabetic medicinal flora of our study area, and to the preservation of the local popular know-how of the word that tends to disappear. They may also represent a database that consists of purifying and identifying the characterization of active compounds of herbal extracts with antidiabetic activity.

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