The Phytotherapeutic Arsenal in the Guerbes-Sanhadja Wetlands Complex (North East of Algeria)

Abstract

This study documents indigenous medicinal flora utilization, and was carried out in the Guerbes-Sanhadja wetland complex, between January 2018 and December 2020. The detailed information was gathered from users of medicinal plants mainly based on semistructured interviews. A total of 102 plant species distributed in 48 families were found in practice by the natives for fulfilling their daily life requirements. The most frequently cited plants are: Myrtus communis L. (158 citations), Pistacia lentiscus L. (122) and Thymus vulgaris L. (97). Most of the medicinal species listed were herbs (68.93%). The phanerophytes (33.33%) and hemicriptophytes (27.45%) were the principal species used by the local population of the complex to treat different diseases. And finally, the dependence of the local population on medicinal plants prompted the establishment of a complex management plan in order to promote and protect them through their rational use and domestication.