Biological and Toxicological Properties of Moroccan Plant
Extracts: Advances in Research
Summary
In Morocco, the use of traditional remedies is common practise and a large num-
ber of plants are used. Some reports of ethnobotanical surveys of Moroccan herbal
remedies have been published in different areas of the country. In addition, sever-
al studies on the pharmacological properties have also been undertaken in recent
years and have tested various biological activities, including antimicrobial, antidia-
betic, and molluscicidal.
This chapter reviews the primary results obtained from Moroccan medicinal
plants in the field of ethnopharmacology as well as the different secondary metab-
olites isolated and identified by the different working groups. Finally, some toxico-
logical aspects are discussed.
6.1
Introduction
For centuries people have used plants for healing. The earliest records of the use of
medicinal plants date back at least 5000 years to the Sumerians. During the twen-
tieth century, although we have seen the spectacular development of synthetic
compounds, the benefits of modern drugs have been felt primarily in developed
countries. In developed countries, people continue to rely largely on traditional
remedies. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the
world’s population continue to use herbal remedies to cure many diseases and for
prevention. Ethnomedical plant data has been used in many forms and has been
heavily utilized in the development of formularies and pharmacopoeias, as well as
contributing substantially to the drug development process.
Plant products are an excellent and exceptional source of complex chemicals,
possessing a wide variety of biological activities and therefore having great poten-
tial for new drugs and biological entities (e.g. digitoxin from Digitalis purpurea or
vinblastin and vincristin from Catharantus roseus). Today’s plant-based prescrip-
123
tion medicines come from plants belonging only to 95 of the estimated 250000
known species worldwide. From the small number of species of flowering plant
that have been investigated, about 120 therapeutic agents of known structure have
been isolated for commercial purpose from about 90 species of plants [1]. In addi-
tion, 74% of these 120 plant therapeutic compounds were discovered based on eth-
nomedical records.
In 1968, the Organization of African Unity’s scientific and technical commission
(OAU/STRC, 1968, Publication No. 104, Lagos) organized an inter-African sympo-
sium in Dakar, Senegal, in which a large number of researchers on the medicinal
plants of Africa participated. It was decided to gather information and documenta-
tion about African ethnomedical practises and to intensify studies to confirm the
claims of traditional healers. In response to this Sofowora [2] reported an overview
of the pharmacological screening of African medicinal plants. Half of the publica-
tions dealing with the biological activities of African plants discuss of antimicrobi-
al, molluscicidal, antimalarial, toxicology, and antitumor-related activities. Since
then, a large number of studies have been carried out to identify and characterize
the efficacies of traditional treatments in order to provide instruction to local pop-
ulations and because it is necessary from a scientific point of view to establish a ra-
tional relationship between the chemical, biological, and therapeutic properties of
traditional remedies.
Morocco has a long history of traditional medicine, and folk medicine continues
to play an important role in the treatment of most diseases, especially in rural are-
as (55% of the whole population), where people have poor access to modern health
care systems. Furthermore, the preparations used in traditional remedies are rela-
tively cheap and accessible since they can be prepared from locally grown and pro-
duced plant products.
Medicinal plants of Morocco represent a precious resource from which bioactive
compounds can be isolated and developed into invaluable therapeutic agents. A
wide spectrum of bioassays can be employed for the detection of bioactivity in ex-
tracts, fractions as well as purified compounds of herbal origin. In recent years
there has been a substantial increase in the number of Moroccan laboratories
working on medicinal plants. Although some 90% of total publications still fall
within purely ethnopharmacological research, the remainder deal with phyto-
chemical isolation of plant constituents as well as toxicological testing.
Despite this activity, data about the toxicological and safety of Moroccan medici-
nal herbs are still limited in a number of ways and the clinically important infor-
mation conducted on patients is still nonexistent.
In this chapter we report and discuss the main published biological and toxico-
logical investigations undertaken to date on Moroccan plant extracts.
124 6 Biological and Toxicological Properties of Moroccan Plant Extracts: Advances in Research
Extracts: Advances in Research
Summary
In Morocco, the use of traditional remedies is common practise and a large num-
ber of plants are used. Some reports of ethnobotanical surveys of Moroccan herbal
remedies have been published in different areas of the country. In addition, sever-
al studies on the pharmacological properties have also been undertaken in recent
years and have tested various biological activities, including antimicrobial, antidia-
betic, and molluscicidal.
This chapter reviews the primary results obtained from Moroccan medicinal
plants in the field of ethnopharmacology as well as the different secondary metab-
olites isolated and identified by the different working groups. Finally, some toxico-
logical aspects are discussed.
6.1
Introduction
For centuries people have used plants for healing. The earliest records of the use of
medicinal plants date back at least 5000 years to the Sumerians. During the twen-
tieth century, although we have seen the spectacular development of synthetic
compounds, the benefits of modern drugs have been felt primarily in developed
countries. In developed countries, people continue to rely largely on traditional
remedies. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the
world’s population continue to use herbal remedies to cure many diseases and for
prevention. Ethnomedical plant data has been used in many forms and has been
heavily utilized in the development of formularies and pharmacopoeias, as well as
contributing substantially to the drug development process.
Plant products are an excellent and exceptional source of complex chemicals,
possessing a wide variety of biological activities and therefore having great poten-
tial for new drugs and biological entities (e.g. digitoxin from Digitalis purpurea or
vinblastin and vincristin from Catharantus roseus). Today’s plant-based prescrip-
123
tion medicines come from plants belonging only to 95 of the estimated 250000
known species worldwide. From the small number of species of flowering plant
that have been investigated, about 120 therapeutic agents of known structure have
been isolated for commercial purpose from about 90 species of plants [1]. In addi-
tion, 74% of these 120 plant therapeutic compounds were discovered based on eth-
nomedical records.
In 1968, the Organization of African Unity’s scientific and technical commission
(OAU/STRC, 1968, Publication No. 104, Lagos) organized an inter-African sympo-
sium in Dakar, Senegal, in which a large number of researchers on the medicinal
plants of Africa participated. It was decided to gather information and documenta-
tion about African ethnomedical practises and to intensify studies to confirm the
claims of traditional healers. In response to this Sofowora [2] reported an overview
of the pharmacological screening of African medicinal plants. Half of the publica-
tions dealing with the biological activities of African plants discuss of antimicrobi-
al, molluscicidal, antimalarial, toxicology, and antitumor-related activities. Since
then, a large number of studies have been carried out to identify and characterize
the efficacies of traditional treatments in order to provide instruction to local pop-
ulations and because it is necessary from a scientific point of view to establish a ra-
tional relationship between the chemical, biological, and therapeutic properties of
traditional remedies.
Morocco has a long history of traditional medicine, and folk medicine continues
to play an important role in the treatment of most diseases, especially in rural are-
as (55% of the whole population), where people have poor access to modern health
care systems. Furthermore, the preparations used in traditional remedies are rela-
tively cheap and accessible since they can be prepared from locally grown and pro-
duced plant products.
Medicinal plants of Morocco represent a precious resource from which bioactive
compounds can be isolated and developed into invaluable therapeutic agents. A
wide spectrum of bioassays can be employed for the detection of bioactivity in ex-
tracts, fractions as well as purified compounds of herbal origin. In recent years
there has been a substantial increase in the number of Moroccan laboratories
working on medicinal plants. Although some 90% of total publications still fall
within purely ethnopharmacological research, the remainder deal with phyto-
chemical isolation of plant constituents as well as toxicological testing.
Despite this activity, data about the toxicological and safety of Moroccan medici-
nal herbs are still limited in a number of ways and the clinically important infor-
mation conducted on patients is still nonexistent.
In this chapter we report and discuss the main published biological and toxico-
logical investigations undertaken to date on Moroccan plant extracts.
124 6 Biological and Toxicological Properties of Moroccan Plant Extracts: Advances in Research
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