Ethnobotanical study of Medicinal plants with hypocholesterolemic effect in the Beni Mellal Khenifra region of Morocco

Background: Hypercholesterolemia is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The initial treatment for this metabolic disorder involves adopting lifestyle and dietary measures. However, if this therapeutic strategy fails, medication can be considered, but most of the drugs used in such cases have side effects on human health. Faced with this situation, some patients proceed with alternative medicine approaches, such as phytotherapy. Thus, the herein study is the first of its kind, aiming to establish an inventory of Moroccan medicinal plants reported by consumers and herbalists in the region of Beni Mellal-Khenifra to treat hypercholesterolemia. Possible adverse effects of the mentioned plants are also reported. Methods: A total of 239 questionnaire forms were filled out during direct interviews with the informants. The collected information was then analyzed, and quantitative ethnobotanical indices were calculated, such as the frequency of citation (FC), relative frequency of citation (RFC), family use values (FUV) and Plant Part Value (PPV). Results: The findings of this study revealed the existence of indigenous ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants in the studied area for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. A total of 92 species belonging to 37 botanical families were identified with the predominance in particular of three families: Fabaceae (10 species), Lamiaceae and Asteraceae (8 species each). Furthermore, some plants were reported for the first time as remedies for treating the mentioned disease, such as Tilia vulgaris, Anemone coronaria and Iris sp. Additionally, the leaves were considered the most commonly used parts of the plant (PPV=0.217). On the other hand, this ethnobotanical survey also revealed a lack of knowledge about toxic plants in 78.26% of the respondents. Conclusions: The data reported by this study could be a promising avenue to explore for further study in the field of phytochemistry to produce and identify new natural drugs with fewer side effects that could be endowed with interesting hypocholesterolemic caracteristics. Keywords: Beni Mellal-Khenifra, Ethnobotanical Survey, hypocholesterolemic effect, Phytotherapy, Medicinal Plants