Utilisation des plantes médicinales à potentiel toxique : enquête au niveau de la région de Sétif

Abstract

Introduction Herbal medicine is in continuous growth as people keep looking for new alternative remedies. Poisonous plants have always occupied an important place in herbal medicine and in the traditions of medication in the region of Setif. The objective of this work is to specify the nature and frequency of the use of plants with toxic potential and to collect all the information regarding their effects on consumers. Material and methods A cross-sectional epidemiological study for analytical purposes was carried out on a sample of 521 people chosen at random from January 01st to March 01st, 2020. The information was collected using a questionnaire in Arabic and treated by the statistical data analysis software "EXCEL 2013". The statistical tests used are: khi2 test, student test, Fisher test, khi2 Yates test. The bibliographic approach made it possible to identify the plants and supplement this information. Results The survey shows that 91% of the people questioned have used plants with toxic potential at least once. The average age of the population was 40 ± 17 years with a predominance of the female sex and the majority live around SETIF and have a university level, 64% of the population studied consult their entourage before use and 71% do not take no prior precautions, 91% of the population questioned think that the plants are effective and present no danger and 73% observed an improvement while 23% observed undesirable effects, the majority of which are of cutaneous origin. Discussion and conclusion The results showed a wide use of medicinal plants with toxic potential by the population studied, and that it is practiced in an anarchic and uncontrolled manner. In conclusion, it is necessary to take more interest in phytotherapy from the scientific and legislative side.