Phytotherapy of Diabetes in West Algeria

Medicinal plants have been used since remote times in folk medicine and they are now a part of the people inheritage. Through North African countries, todays folk medicine has been boosted as a consequence of hard economic conditions. Because of its geographical situation, climate and soil composition, Tlemcen's region offers a wide variety of plants and flowers. The frequent usage of medicinal plants in the Tlemcen's region by diabetics prompted us in development of these plants. This induced us to set up traditional hypoglycaemic plants sample survey with a view to setting forth the benefit they could bring about for patients affected by diabetes. The results gathered from 634 inquiry forms (435 women and 199 men) were separated into two groups: diabetics using medicinal plants (62 %) and using industrial hypoglycaemic medicines (38 %). Those results showed that phytotherapy was widely adopted by west Algerian society. The survey undertaken allowed us to observe that more than 58 plants were used in traditional care of diabetes of which the most used were Trigonella foenum graecum L. (Leguminosae), Citrullus colocynthis L. Schrad. (Cucurbitaceae), Saccocalyx satureioïdes Coss. and Dur. (Labiatae), Berberis vulgaris L. (Berberidaceae) and Aloe vera Trabut (Liliaceae). Moreover, present findings showed that non-insulin dependent patients used more medicinal plants than insulin-dependent patients.