Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used for traditional Diarrhea treatment in north-east Algeria

The objective of this study is to aid in the identification and documentation of medicinal plants that are utilized in traditional local pharmacopeia for the treatment of diarrhea in four provinces located in the northeast region of Algeria. The ethnobotanical survey was conducted during 2019-2020. All users of medicinal plants in those regions were interviewed using a guide questionnaire. Stratified sampling was used to collect information on medicinal plants. Furthermore, the study established the relative importance of the species and estimated the informant consensus factor (ICF) for the medicinal plants included in research. The study has found a total of 52 species that are commonly employed in the treatment of diarrhea in four specific provinces of Algeria. These species are categorized into 26 families and 22 genera. The most frequently quoted plants (over 10 quotations) were Artemisia herba alba Asso. (52 quotations) with the highest (FC = 43.33%); Punica granatum L. (50 quotations, FC = 41.67%); Origanum vulgaire L. (32 quotations, FC = 26.67%); Juniperus phoenicea L. (29 quotations, FC = 24.17%), and Ceratonia siliqua L. (19 quotations, FC = 15.83%). The most common plant families were Lamiaceae and Rosaceae (10 and 6 plants, respectively). Species morphological type analyses show that herbs were most represented (46.16%). For different organs used, leaves and fruits were the most used (27.15% and 26.35%, respectively). Although the infusion (55.81%) constituted the prevailing approach to drug preparation, the results showed that many kinds of plants can be used to treat diarrhea in Algeria. The study has enhanced the collection of medicinal plants with anti-diarrheal properties and has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in traditional medicine while also preserving local indigenous knowledge.