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Sefrou city, located in the center of Morocco, is a focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis which constitutes a major public health problem. The majority of the rural local population resorts to herbal medicine to cure this parasitic disease. The aim of this study, which has never been undertaken in Sefrou area, was to document the list of medicinal plants used for treating cutaneous leishmaniasis and to verify if their leishmanicidal activity is mentioned in the literature. The current ethnopharmacological study was conducted using a questionnaire based on informations about anti-cutaneous eruption plants used by the local population and prescribed by the herbalists. The present work has taken into consideration the representation of the plant name (local and scientific), the used part, the mode of preparation and administration. A total of 17 plant species belonging to 12 families were mentioned: the Lamiaceae family was the most represented (29.4%) with 5 species, followed by the Myrtaceae family (11.8%) with 2 species. For the rest of the 10 families, they were represented with the same percent (5.9%) which means one species per family. According to the calculated frequency index (FI), the most recommended species were the following: Lavandula dentata (FI = 93.75%), Berberis hispanica (FI = 87.5%), Cistus salviifolius (IF = 87.5%), Crataegus oxyacantha (FI = 81.25%), and Ephedra altissima (FI = 75%). Leaves (29.4%) and flowers (23.5%) were the favored used parts. Decoction (58.82 %) was the most frequently used method to prepare remedies which are taken externally (64.7%). These medicinal plants can be a source of natural leishmanicidal drugs – some of them have already been confirmed experimentally in the bibliography. More indepth investigations must be undertaken to assess the antileishmanial potential of the inventoried plants.

Les variations temporelles des concentrations en phosphore, celles des abondances bactériennes et de l'activité de la phosphatase alcaline (APA) ont été estimées in situ en chambre benthique placée en deux points du réservoir Sahela (Maroc) durant les mois de septembre et octobre 98. En période de faible oxygénation, nous avons enregistré des élévations relativement faibles des concentrations en orthophosphates (de 0,020 à 0,035 mg. l-1 au point 1 et 0,015 à 0,025 mg. l-1 au point 2) par rapport au phosphore total (0,080 à 0,100 mg. l-1 au point 1 et de 0,035 à 0,040 mg. l-1 au point 2). À cette période, les abondances bactériennes et l'APA montrent des valeurs maximales (8. 106 bact. ml-1 et 0,323 mmol.PNP l-1.h-1 au point 1 et 6.106 bact. ml-1 et 0,438 mmol.PNP l-1.h-1 au point 2 respectivement). L'apparition des conditions anoxiques et la diminution du pH favorisaient la dissolution du phosphore particulaire et la libération du phosphore réactif soluble. Cette libération s'accompagne d'une élévation des abondances de bactéries anaérobies (de 5.106 à 9,2. 106 bact. ml-1 au point 1 et de 3,8.106 à 7,2. 106 bact. ml-1 au point 2) et une diminution progressive d'APA (de 0,200 à 0,025 mmol.PNP l-1.h-1 au point 1 et de 0,125 à 0,077 mmol.PNP l-1.h-1 au point 2). Ce relargage du phosphore à partir du sédiment est accentué par les rejets domestiques et industriels de la ville de Taounate, ce qui accélère le processus d'eutrophisation de ce réservoir., Temporal variations of phosphorus concentrations, bacterial abundance and alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) were estimated in situ in a benthic chamber. The chamber used has a surface of 0.4m2 and a volume of 90 l ; it resembles those used in oceanography, with a tube connecting the interior of the chamber to the lake surface. The water in the chamber was permanently mixed by an electric agitation system. The chamber was placed at two points in the Sahela reservoir (Morocco). Point 1 was located near Guelta El Haila, a site that receives both domestic and industrial effluent, and point 2 was located in the centre of the reservoir. During the two incubations, eight samples were taken over 24 d in September and October 1998 from point 1, and seven samples were taken from point 2 over 29 d in October. After each sampling, an equal volume of water was injected into the chamber to avoid bubble formation.Under low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the benthic chamber, we noticed a relatively small elevation in orthophosphate concentrations (from 0.020 to 0.035 mg×L-1 at point 1 and from 0.015 to 0.025 mg×L-1 at point 2) in relation to total phosphorus (from 0.080 to 0.100 mg×L-1 and from 0.035 to 0.040 mg×L-1 at points 1 and 2 respectively). The low residual oxygenation of hypolimnic layer allowed the oxidation of iron, manganese and led to their binding to phosphorus released from the interstitial water. Dissociation of calcium-phosphorus complexes as a result of a pH decrease may have contributed to phosphorus release. The orthophosphate concentrations were relatively low, a situation that favours the synthesis of alkaline phosphatase by aerobic bacteria and facultative aerobic bacteria. In this period, the bacterial abundance and APA were comparable and showed the maximal values (8. 106 bact. ml-1 and 0.323 mmol. PNP l-1.h-1 (phosphate nitrophenol) in point 1 and 6. 106 bact. ml-1and 0.438 mmol. PNP l-1.h-1 in point 2 respectively). The lack of a significant correlation between total APA and bacterial abundance at the two sampling points is probably due to the decrease of aerobic bacteria followed by a repopulation with anaerobic bacteria. However, the relative contribution of two bacterial populations that have different sizes, as at points 1 and 2, showed that the majority of total APA was produced by bacteria that are attached to organic matter. Therefore we suggest that attached bacteria contribute more than free bacteria to APA production.The beginning of anoxic conditions and the decrease in pH favored the dissolution of particulate phosphorus and the liberation of reactive phosphorus. We noted an elevation in orthophosphate concentrations (from 0.035 to 0.050 mg×L-1 at point 1 and stabilised at 0.025 mg×L-1 at point 2) and total phosphorus (from 0.100 to 0.150 mg×L-1 at point 1 and from 0.040 to 0.050 mg×L-1 at point 2). This liberation followed an increase in anaerobic bacterial abundance (from 5×106 to 9.2×106 bact×mL-1 at point 1 and from 3.8×106 to 7.2×106 bact×mL-1 at point 2) and the progressive decrease in APA (from 0.200 to 0.025 mmol PNP L-1 ×h-1 at point 1 and from 0.125 to 0.077 mmol PNP L-1 ×h-1 at point 2). The anaerobic bacteria did not activate their alkaline phosphatase and the synthesis of their enzyme was progressively inhibited by a de-repression phenomenon caused by high phosphorus concentrations.We conclude that low oxygen and a decrease in pH favoured the release of phosphorus by dissolution of chemical complexes: calcium-phosphorus, iron-phosphorus, manganese-phosphorus and aluminium-phosphorus. This release is also the result of bacterial phosphatase activity to which fixed bacteria contributed the most. The release of phosphorus from water-sediment interface is further amplified by phosphate import from domestic and industrial waste waters originating from Taounate, which accelerates the eutrophication process in this reservoir.

L'impact du zooplancton métazoaire sur le phytoplancton et les protozoaires ciliés a été mesuré durant la période de juillet à décembre 1999 dans le réservoir Sahela sous climat méditerranéen semi-aride.Les expériences ont été réalisées à l'aide de chambres de diffusion immergées in situ pendant 7 heures en absence (chambres témoins) et en présence (chambres expérimentales) du zooplancton.Les résultats indiquent que la mortalité moyenne à 4 m des algues est de 0,13 + 0,03 h-1, et celle des protozoaires ciliés de 0,07 + 0,03 h-1. Cryptomonas ovata et Halteria grandinella ont subi la plus forte prédation, respectivement, 0,31 + 0,14 h-1 et 0,11 + 0,04 h-1 à 4 m. Toutefois, les algues de grande taille (Pediastrum sp, Ceratium hirundinella et Peridinium cinctum) n'ont été que très peu ou pas consommées., The Sahela reservoir, located in Taounate at 90 km from Fès, lying at an altitude of 325 m, was built to provide drinking water for the population of Taounate and to contribute to irrigate neighbouring farming perimeters.In order to assess the impact of metazoan zooplankton on phytoplankton and protozoan ciliates in the Sahela reservoir under semi-arid climate, we conducted experiments during the period from July to December 1999 at the deepest point in the lake (15 m).Sampling and measurements were carried out in diffusion chambers submerged in situ over a period of 7 h without (control chambers) and with (experimental chambers) zooplankton. During these experiments, counts were conducted on phytoplankton and ciliates to determine the abundance and the mortality of these organisms due to zooplankton in each diffusion chambers at t=0 and t=7 h incubation. The metazooplankton were counted and dry weight of each taxa was calculated.In summer the highest zooplankton biomass (150 µg·L-1) mainly composed of cyclopoid Tropocyclops prasinus, caused mortality of the small-sized ciliates, such as Halteria grandinella (0.10 h-1). In Autumn, the zooplankton biomass (75 µg·l-1), dominated by Daphnia longispina, induced a higher mortality for phytoplankton (0.10 h-1) than for ciliates (0.05 h-1). In Winter, the zooplankton biomass (100 µg·L-1), also represented by Daphnia longispina, had a low impact on ciliate mortality (< 0.02 h-1).The study showed that a heavy predation by the metazoan zooplankton was exerted on small-sized phytoplankton and ciliates and clearly demonstrated the relationships between protozoans and metazoan zooplankton to transfering the matter and energy in aquatic food webs.