Medicinal plants and their traditional uses in Kabylia (Tizi Ouzou, Algeria)

This study aims to assess ethnobotanical knowledge in Kabylia, focusing on the use of traditional medicinal plants, at eight rural municipalities in department of Tizi Ouzou. This region has remained relatively isolated and agro-industrial development is not led to a significant decline in traditional practices, including the use of plants in traditional medicine. Ethnobotanical information was gathered using a questionnaire among herbalists, traditional healers and local populations in the study area. At all, 98 vascular plants were identified and recorded, a large majority of them live in wild habitats (forests and wetlands, especially). They belong to 48 families, the most represented are the Lamiaceae (13 species) and Asteraceae (12 species). The most diseases treated are those of four therapeutic groups: digestive (40 plants), skin (29), circulatory (24) and respiratory (21). In contrast, the eye is treated with a single plant. The toxicity of some herbs used with caution is well known ( e.g. Nerium oleander L. ). Medicinal plants are often multipurpose plants (food, flavor, feed, veterinary, crafts, etc.). Moreover, 31 of these wild plants yet still have an interest in food for rural populations. Finally, a large majority of medicinal plants used in Kabylia, are also known for their therapeutic properties in the Mediterranean basin, e.g. 72 plants (73.5%) of this study are cited by the project Rubia (ICA3-2002-10023).