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Background: This is the first ethnobotanical study focused on medicinal plants traditionally recommended by traditional healers (THs) of Eastern Morocco. In this work, we documented the medicinal plants recommended by THs and highlighted the value and importance of medicinal plants recommended by specialist healers. Methods: A quali-quantitative ethnobotanical method has been performed, snowball sampling and structured interviews were used to evaluate the traditional plant knowledge by traditional healers in the study area. Species identification was performed and verified from the African Plant Database and Plant List. Two Relative Cultural Importance indices were used for this analysis “Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Frequency of Citation (FC)”. Results: A total of 135 plants were inventoried in our surveys. These species belong to 64 families and were reported to be used to treat 23 different categories of ailments. The botanical profile of the plants listed is dominated by LAMIACEAE’s Family with 12 species, followed by FABACEAE (11 species) and ASTERACEAE (10 species). In the category of the digestive system, nutrition problems and nervous system problems seem to be the predominant diseases treated. The Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) results indicated that cancer and gastrointestinal disorders had a higher concordance among informants (ICF = 0.60 and 0.58 respectively). Conclusion: Our results, showed that the Traditional healers, in Eastern Morocco, hold impressive knowledge related to the use of medicinal plants. This observation is reflected in the high number of medicinal plants recommended for the medication of the population. Furthermore, the consistency of healers in this area of study is justified by the ICF values.

Thymelaea microphylla Coss. et Dur (T. microphylla), a medicinal herb that grows in arid and desert pastures, has been traditionally utilized by Moroccans to treat many diseases, including kidney failure. This study aims to evaluate the nephroprotective effect against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity (GM), and thus the antioxidant activity of an aqueous extract rich in flavonoids from the aerial part of T. microphylla (APTM). The antioxidant activity of APTM was assessed using the 2-2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging test and the β-carotene bleaching assay. The nephroprotective effect of this extract was evaluated in two doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg in GM-exposed male rats. Acute toxicity of the APTM was tested out on Swiss albino mice using 2000 mg/kg as the dose limit. The findings showed that the aqueous extract of APTM is abundant in total polyphenols and flavonoids and has significant antioxidant properties against DPPH radicals and β-carotene oxidation. According to the acute toxicity research findings, the administered doses of the APTM extract do not cause toxicity and death. A significant increase in the serum concentrations of creatinine, urea, uric acid, sodium, chloride, calcium, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT), and alkaline phosphatase, as well as an increase in urinary volume, water consumption, and relative kidney weight, were all caused by the administration of GM to rats. In addition, a significant reduction in urinary concentrations of creatinine, uric acid, urea, and albumin, and thus the clearance of creatinine and weight gain were observed in rats injected with GM. Also, the administration of GM dramatically raised the malondialdehyde level in the kidneys. Likewise, rats that had been poisoned with GM had histological kidney abnormalities. However, the daily treatment of APTM aqueous extract to rats given GM injections dramatically improved the biochemical and histological parameters affected by GM administration in rats. Finally, APTM extract enhanced GM’s biochemical and histological indicators of nephrotoxicity, supporting its use as an ethnomedicinal.

Ziziphus lotus (L.) Lam. (Z. lotus) is a medicinal plant species that is widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean basin. Moroccans traditionally use it to treat many illnesses thanks to its beneficial medicinal properties. The purpose of this study is to assess the anti-hyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities of a flavonoid-rich aqueous extract of Z. lotus fruits (ZLF). The 2-2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay and the β-carotene bleaching test were used to determine the antioxidant activity of ZLF. The anti-hyperlipidemic effect of the aqueous extract of ZLF (200 and 400 mg/kg) was evaluated in albino mice exposed to the chronic high-fat diet, based on lipid profile, blood sugar, and changes in growth performance. The results showed that the aqueous extract of ZLF rich in flavonoids (2242.89 ± 25 µg QE (quercitin equivalent)/mg), and has a considerable antioxidant power against DPPH radicals (IC50 = 116 ± 0.02 µg/mL) and β-carotene oxidation. The aqueous extract of ZLF also showed a significant anti-hyperlipidemic effect by improving abnormal changes in lipid profile and blood glucose levels in albino mice exposed to a chronic high-fat diet. Our findings suggest that the anti-hyperlipidemic activities of ZLF aqueous extract are correlated with its flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. Therefore, the aqueous extract of ZLF could be an essential therapeutic candidate for hyperlipidemia patients, thanks to its richness in bioactive molecules.