The use of medicinal plants against cancer: An ethnobotanical study in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra Region in Morocco

Introduction: Although the use of medicinal plants is quite frequent in Morocco, no ethnobotanical study has targeted cancer patients in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region. We aimed to measure the frequency of medicinal plants used by these patients in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region and to make an inventory. Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted with 530 cancer patients at the regional oncology center of Beni Mellal. We conducted a semi-structured interview using a questionnaire. Prevalence of use, relative frequency of citation (RFC), fidelity level (FL), and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) were calculated. Results: The prevalence of herbal use was 36.6%. The plant's relative frequency of citation ranged from 0.002 to 0.15. Fifty-four species belonging to 33 different botanical families were identified. The most common plants in use were: Marrubium vulgare L. (15%), Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss (11%), and Juniperus oxycedrus L. (10%). Six plants had an FL of 100% for breast cancer treatment, and the highest ICF for liver cancer treatment was 0.50. Conclusion: More than one-third of cancer patients in the region used herbal preparations. Indeed, informants did not agree on a particular type of cancer treatment. Further research is needed to assess the biological and toxicological aspects of Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss. And Juniperus oxycedrus L.