Résumé:
As part of the enhancement of the Algerian natural heritage, an ethnobotanical study was carried out in the wilaya of Mostaganem in order to list the main medicinal plants used in traditional medicine to treat urolithiasis with the aim of establishing a catalog of medicinal plants and to collect as much information as possible on the therapeutic recipes practiced by the local population.
Urolithiasis is a frequent pathology which affects, depending on the country, 4 to 20% of the population, we are interested in the importance of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine to treat this disease.
To this end, the second part of this work consisted of an ethnobotanical survey by means of a questionnaire distributed to 150 people from the local population. The experimental results in this survey allowed us to identify 38 species of medicinal plants which are divided into 23 botanical families, used in this region for the treatment of urolithiasis, are related to age, sex and level of education investigations. The most cited families are Apiaceae, Saxifragaceae, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Oleaceae. In addition, the most cited plant species are Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia), Barley (Hordeum vulgare), Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and El-Guettaf (Atriplex halimus).
In addition, the leaves are the most dominant part of the plant used in preparations, with various methods of preparation such as infusion and decoction, administered orally in the form of herbal teas.
This study showed the important role of traditional medicine to treat urolithiasis in our study area. These results could be a database for further research in the field of pharmacology against urinary diseases.
