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Tar has been employed by humans since antiquity due to its importance and benefits. Up until now, it is still used in traditional medicine in different countries including Morocco. Using a quantitative research method, this study sheds light on the traditional properties and usage of tar from various social class perspectives in Morocco. To collect data about the general knowledge about tar, three groups of people were given an ethnobotanical questionnaire: general population, herbalists, and tar producers. An online survey was delivered to the general population, while a semi-structured questionnaire was employed to interview the other groups.The online participants were evenly split into two groups according to their gender. Also, there were twelve males for every one female for the herbalists, whereas the producers were entirely males. Tar usage was roughly the same across all three categories. Participants mentioned Juniperus sp., Cedrus sp., and more, herbalists mentioned Eucalyptus sp., Olea sp., and the producers mentioned Yew. For tar production, the online participants and herbalists knew the procedure with a percentage of 21% and 40% respectively, followed by 100% for producers. In this study, producers have more information and understanding about tar production than herbalists, who have a better knowledge about tar usage. Furthermore, medicinal tar is an intriguing product that deserves to be respected.

International audience; Wood tar, extracted by dry distillation, has been used in human and veterinary medicine since ancient times. This is particularly the case of tars from conifers in the Mediterranean region, where they are still produced and used for these purposes. The ONGUENT project is focused on the multi-disciplinary investigation of the production and use of medicinal tar in a systemic way, from the plant raw material to the end product and its use, on both sides of the Mediterranean today and in the past, by characterizing their chemical composition and by assessing their actual medicinal effects, or toxicity. This poster deals with different space-times: medieval and post-medieval Provence (France) and current Atlas mountains (Morocco). From an ethnoarchaeological perspective, the aim of this research is to provide a better understanding of past technical processes and knowledges, throught the observation and analysis of current productions. It highlights the diversity of plant species from Pinaceae, Cupressaceae, and Taxodiaceae families exploited and the wide range of techniques using fire to extract tar from the wooden material (direct or indired-fired kilns, pots etc.). The recording of depositional and post-depositional processes helps in return to better interpret archaeological data.

The richness and diversity of the Moroccan Saharan flora constitutes a veritable phytogenetic reservoir with a flora that includes more than 500 aromatic and medicinal species, many of which remain unexploited. Among these plants we find Atremisia herba alba in the region of Guelmim (Sahara of Morocco) which has a great potential in phytomass and which deserves to be better valued. The objective of this work is the comparative study of the yield and chemical composition of the essential oil derived from Artemisia herba alba in Guelmim region (Sahara of Morocco) according to the date of harvest as well as the determination of its antibacterial and antifungal activity towards eleven microorganisms. Essential oils yields expressed in ml compared with 100 g of dry matter of Artemisia herba alba harvested in March, June, September and December (2015) are respectively 1.62; 0.95; 0.64 and 1.85 %. Chromatographic analyses of essential oils revealed the predominance of camphor, cis-b-terpineol, camphene, trans-thujone and trans-verbenol whose rates vary according to the plant phenological stage. The essential oil of Artemisia herba-alba collected during March was the most active against all microorganisms tested.

Clonal eucalyptus are highly valued in Morocco and in the Mediterranean basin for the production of industrial wood, but nothing is known about their ability to resist xylophagous plants. This study aims to investigate the chemical defenses response of eucalyptus trees to artificially attacks by young larvae of Phoracantha recurva by assessing changes in essential oil production and composition of leaves from Eucalyptus grandis and its clone 977. Fungicidal and termicidal essential oil activities were evaluated to value their biocidal properties. In the Northwest region of Morocco, six of vigorous eucalyptus-trees were selected for each wood species studied. In contrast to a control tree without infection, three from each species were artificially infested in three part of the trunk by hatched larvae of P. recurva. After two months, the most important cambial reaction was observed with E. grandis compared to clone 977. For both species, the primary reaction is less important compared to the reaction of deep tissues. The essential oils recovered by hydrodistillation show that the infested trees have the highest average yield. Arian parties are 1.51% and 2.36% respectively for E. grandis and its clone 977, after infestation, we can observe a decrease of the production of essential in the leaves, respectively 1% and 1.5% for E. grandis and its clone 977. The analysis of the chemical composition by GC-MS method of essential oils shows that the leaves of infested trees of E. grandis and its clone 977, have specific constituents resulting from infestation such as Endo-fenchol, trans-carveol, Nerol and Spathulenol. Equally, this analysis revealed that the attacked trees hemi-synthesized more components compared to their controls. However, the evaluation of fungicidal and termiticidal activities showed that the essentials oil of the clone 977 is more active compared to the parental species E. grandis.

This work had done the object of the chemical quality study and the evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal activity of the Cotula cinerea essential oil from South Morocco. The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of the aerial part of the plant had been analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. The essence of Cotula cinerea is characterized by dominance of the 3-iso-thujanol followed by Santolina triene and camphor. The antimicrobial activity of Cotula cinerea essential oils had been estimated vis-à-vis of four bacterial strains, three molds and four reference woods rot fungi. The essential oil of this species showed a strong antimicrobial power against the tested microorganisms.

Essential oils from Juniperus thurifera, Juniperus oxycedrus and Juniperus phoenicea (Cupressaceae) collected in various areas in Morocco were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by CG and CG/ SM. Twenty-four components were identified in the essential oils from the branches of Juniperus thurifera, forty seven from Juniperus oxycedrus and twenty-six from Juniperus phoenicea. The majority components obtained are pinenes and especially â-pinene (36.3%) for the essential oils from the branches of Juniperus thurifera and á-pinene for those of Juniperus oxycedrus (52.1%) and Juniperus phoenicea (64.2%). The antioxidant properties of oils were determined by the DPPH method and were compared to that found for the reference compound (BHT) and for other essential oils.

International audience; Deodarone [2,2,6-trimethyl-6-(4-methylcyclohex-3-enyl)-tetrahydro-4-pyrone] is a sesquiterpene tetrahydro-γ-pyrone related to bisabolene and atlantone, first isolated from Cedrus deodora essential oil. With respect to the stereochemistry of the asymmetric carbons C4 and C8, two diastereoisomers may be distinguished. Identification and quantification of both diastereoisomers in wood and tar oils from C. atlantica has been achieved using 13C NMR spectroscopy, in combination with GC (polar column). The contents of (4R,8R)- and (4R,8S)-deodarone varied between 1.1-2.8% and 1.0-3.0%, respectively.

As part of the valorization of medicinal and aromatic plants in South Morocco, we studied the effect of provenance on the yield, chemical composition and antibacterial and antifungal activity of essential oils of Ammodaucus leucotrichus subsp. leucotrichus. The essential oils obtained by hydro-distillation of the fruits were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The most abundant compounds identified varied depending on the origin of the plant: perillaldehyde (69.9% to 88.7%), limonene (8.3% to 16.6%) and α-pinene (1.4% to 7.1%). The oils analyzed all displayed strong antimicrobial activity against all the microorganisms tested.

Cinq souches rhizobactériennes ont été testées pour leur effet sur la croissance des plants de Cedrus atlantica Manetti en pépinière forestière avant transplantation sur le terrain. Les résultats obtenus ont montré un effet significatif des souches bactériennes sur la croissance de semis de cèdre et seules les deux Pseudomonas fluorescens A6RI et TGI252 ont stimulé significativement la longueur de la tige, le diamètre au collet, le poids sec des racines et le nombre de racines courtes. Cela nous permettra d’envisager la mise au point de cette technique pour la production de plants de qualité., The beneficial effect of five rhizobacterial strains on the growth of Cedrus atlantica plants was evaluated at forest nursery before out-planting. The obtained results showed a significant effect of bacterial strains on cedar seedlings growth and only Pseudomonas fluorescens A6RI and TGI252 significantly increased stem length, neck diameter, root dry weight and number of root tips. It will allow us to adapt this technology for the production of quality plants.

National audience; The beneficial effect of five rhizobacterial strains on the growth of Cedrus atlantica plants was evaluated at forest nursery before out-planting. The obtained results showed a significant effect of bacterial strains on cedar seedlings growth and only Pseudomonas fluorescens A6RI and TGI252 significantly increased stem length, neck diameter, root dry weight and number of root tips. It will allow us to adapt this technology for the production of quality plants.; Cinq souches rhizobactériennes ont été testées pour leur effet sur la croissance des plants de Cedrus atlantica Manetti en pépinière forestière avant transplantation sur le terrain. Les résultats obtenus ont montré un effet significatif des souches bactériennes sur la croissance de semis de cèdre et seules les deux Pseudomonas fluorescens A6RI et TGI252 ont stimulé significativement la longueur de la tige, le diamètre au collet, le poids sec des racines et le nombre de racines courtes. Cela nous permettra d’envisager la mise au point de cette technique pour la production de plants de qualité.