Journal of Ethnopharmacology 58 (1997) 45 – 54 Phytotherapy of hypertension and diabetes in oriental Morocco A. Ziyyat a, *, A. Legssyer a , H. Mekhfi a , A. Dassouli a , M. Serhrouchni a , W. Benjelloun b a Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Pharmacology, Department of Biology, Uniersity Mohamed the First, Faculty of Sciences, BP 524, 60000 Oujda, Morocco b Al -Akhawayn Uniersity, Ifrane, Morocco Received 6 November 1995; received in revised form 3 July 1997; accepted 7 July 1997 Abstract In order to select the main medicinal plants used in folk medicine to treat arterial hypertension and/or diabetes, a survey was undertaken in different areas of oriental Morocco. The patients (370 women and 256 men) were divided into three groups: diabetics (61%), hypertensives (23%) and hypertensive diabetic persons (16%). On average, 67.5% of patients regularly use medicinal plants. This proportion is perceptibly the same in all groups and does not depend on sex, age and socio-cultural level. This result shows that phytotherapy is widely adopted in northeastern Morocco. For diabetes, 41 plants were cited, of which the most used were Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Leguminosae), Globularia alypum L. (Globulariaceae), Artemisia herba -alba Asso. (Compositae), Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (Cucurbitaceae) and Tetraclinis articulata Benth. (Cupressaceae). In the hypertension’s therapy 18 vegetal species were reported, of which the most used were Allium satium L. (Liliaceae), Olea europea L. (Oleaceae), Arbutus unedo L. (Ericaceae), Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) and Petroselinum crispum A.W. Hill (Apiaceae). Among the 18 species used for hypertension, 14 were also employed for diabetes. Moreover, these two diseases were associated in 41% of hypertensives. These findings suggest that hypertension observed in this region would be in a large part related to diabetes. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Keywords: Phytotherapy; Hypertension; Diabetes; Oriental Morocco; Survey 1. Introduction Oriental Morocco is characterized by a climatic diversity which is favourable for growth and de- velopment of medicinal plants. Nevertheless, this flora is subject to extinction because of excessive human exploitation and the extreme dryness that has persisted in this area for many years. The population of northeastern Morocco have used plants since time immemorial to treat vari- * Corresponding author. 0378-8741/97/$17.00 © 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII S0378-8741(97)00077-9