Moroccan Medicinal Plants Used to Treat Cancer: Ethnomedicinal Study and Insights into Pharmacological Evidence

Abstract

Cancer is one of the major medical challenges, with an unacceptably high death toll worldwide. In Morocco, medicinal plants continue to play a pivotal therapeutic role despite the development of modern sanitation systems. In the current study, an ethnobotanical survey was carried out at the Moroccan national institute of oncology, Rabat, and we aimed at (1) establishing an exhaustive inventory of indigenous knowledge of Moroccan medicinal plants used to manage cancer and (2) confirming the reported ethnopharmacological uses through bibliometric review. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted with 291 cancer patients at the Moroccan National Institute of Oncology, Rabat, during a period of 4 months, from February to May 2019, through semistructured interviews. Ethnobotanical indices, including informant consensus factor (FIC), use report (UR), relative frequency citation (RFC), botanical family use value (FUV), fidelity level (FL), and index of agreement on remedies (IAR), were employed in data analyses. The survey revealed that 39 medicinal plants belonging to 27 botanical families and 38 genera were used to treat cancer. The most used ethnospecies were Aristolochia longa with the highest RFC value (0.096), followed by Nigella sativa, Ephedra alata, Euphorbia resinifera, and Lavandula dentata, éwith RFC values of 0.072, 0.054, 0.044, and 0.044, respectively. In regard to the plant families, Lamiaceae contributed the highest number of plants with five species (FUV = 0.034), followed by Asteraceae (4 species; FUV = 0.020), and Fabaceae (4 species; FUV = 0.020). The leaves are the most popular plant part used by the studied population against cancer; otherwise, decoction was the most commonly used method for remedy preparation and the highest FIC was noticed for uterine cancer treatment (0.86). Considering these findings, further investigations into the recorded plant species should be performed to assess phytochemical constituents and pharmaceutical benefits in order to identify their active compounds for any drug formulations.

Ethnobotanical Uses and Pharmacological Activities of Moroccan Ephedra Species

“…E. alata is one of the medicinal plants used to treat cancer in Morocco 14 , 66 and in other countries, such as Algeria and Palestine (East Jerusalem) 89 , 90 . Methanolic or ethanolic extracts made from the plant have revealed marked inhibitory effects on the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines in vitro .…”

“…Toxic plants found in northeastern Morocco have been inventoried as well [20]. Other studies cover different local areas or they are concerned with specific pathology or disorders, such as the Moroccan plants used to treat cancers [14,66], skin affections [67], kidney diseases [68], or cardiovascular diseases [69]. Some Moroccan plants have been largely studied, such as the endemic argan [Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels], which is well known for its famous oil extracted from argan seeds [70].…”

Ethnobotanical appraisal of indigenous medicinal plants used in the Taounate region (Northern Morocco): Qualitative and quantitative approaches

“…It covers about 4.500 species spanning 940 genera and 135 plant families, with the Rif and Atlas mountains are the crucial zones for endemic species (Chaachouay et al 2022). The recording of indigenous knowledge through ethnobotanical studies holds paramount importance for the conservation and effective utilization of biological resources (El Hachlafi et al, 2022). Establishing the local names and indigenous uses of plants carries substantial societal benefits .…”

Combination of Chemically-Characterized Essential Oils from Eucalyptus polybractea, Ormenis mixta, and Lavandula burnatii: Optimization of a New Complete Antibacterial Formulation Using Simplex-Centroid Mixture Design

“…In this context, we selected three medicinal plants to test the single and combined antibacterial efect of their EOs on pathogenic strains. Tese plants were chosen based on our previous ethnobotanical surveys which have demonstrated their therapeutic and culinary virtues [11][12][13][14]. In addition, some in vitro studies have revealed their signifcant antimicrobial abilities [8,15,16].…”