Medicinal Plants Used to Treat Osteoarticular Diseases in the Rif, Morocco

Background: An ethnobotanical survey has been carried out in Moroccan Rif (northern Morocco). The aim of this study was to assess the potential of the with regard to medicinal and aromatic plants used in the treatment of osteoarticular diseases. Materials and Methods: The ethnobotanical survey was conducted in Moroccan Rif region for two periods from 2016 to 2018. I n total, 520 local traditional herbalists and users of these plants were interviewed. Information was collected using semi-structured interviews and group discussion, analyzed and compared by quantitative ethno-botanical indices such as family importance value (FIV), relative frequency of citation (RFC), plant part value (PPV), fidelity level (FL) and informant consensus factor (ICF) were used to analyze the obtained data. Results: The analysis of results identified 17 plants species distributed in 10 families with a dominance of the Poaceae (6 species). Concerning the diseases treated, rheumatism diseases have the highest ICF (0.98). The survey revealed that leaves were the most used part of the plants (PPV=0.37) and the majority preparation used was a decoction (40.9%). Conclusion: The results of the present study showed the existence of indigenous ethnomedicinal knowledge of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Moroccan Rif to treat osteoarticular diseases. Further research on phytochemical, pharmacological and other biological activities should be considered to discover new drugs from these documented plants.