A. Merzouki

Contribution to the knowledge of Rifian traditional medicine. II: Folk medicine in Ksar Lakbir district (NW Morocco) ☆

An ethnobotanical survey of the medicinal plants used by the local population of the Ksar Lakbir district (NW Morocco) was conducted. One hundred and eighty-six species from 61 botanical families were recorded as well as their uses and modes of administration. Quantitative ethnopharmacological data (medicinal plant knowledge and use indices) were also evaluated and discussed.

Vascular plant diversity and climate change in the upper zone of Sierra Nevada, Spain

Abstract This study examines the effects of altitudinal, temperature and aspect gradients on vascular plant species richness on mountain tops in Sierra Nevada (Spain) at different spatial scales (1 m2 quadrats, plot clusters of 4 m2, upper summit area down to the 5-m contour line, entire summit down to the 10-m contour line). The methodology follows the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) programme. Floristic and soil temperature data of eight summits sites in two neighbouring regions of the high part of Sierra Nevada (from 2668 m to 3327 m a.s.l.) were used in this study. In total, 102 taxa were recorded (84 genera; 29 families). The species richness decreased, whereas the proportion of endemic taxa increased with elevation. There were significant linear relationships between species richness and altitude and average soil temperature at each spatial scale. However, there was no significant relationship between species richness and aspect variables. Facing continued climate change, the high-altitude flora of Sierra Nevada is expected to be particularly vulnerable and prone to warming-induced biodiversity losses due to the high proportion of endemic taxa, ranging from 23% at lower elevations up to 67% at higher ones.

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) and abortion.

The correspondence of Zias et al. (1993), related the finding of carbonized matter containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component of marijuana, in the abdomen of an adolescent girl who apparently died in childbirth around 400 AD. The researchers’s hypothesis was that Cannabis was administered to women in child birth to relieve pains and increase uterine contractions because at this time assisting women in labour by physicians was prohibited. Prioreschi and Babin (1993) criticized the hypothesis of Zias et al., arguing that in ancient medicine many plants were used for this purpose. They said that if Cannabis was used in a difficult delivery, it doesn’t prove that it was used because of it’s pharmacological properties stated, and they asked why Zias et al. believed ‘that in antiquity physicians were prohibited by law from attending women in labour’. These authors concluded that in ancient Mesopotamia physicians presumably attended deliveries as they performed caesarean sections. In the Rif, the northern zone of Morocco, the Cannabis crop is linked to local population history. Herbal remedies were commonly used to treat different ailments because many communities and villagers live in remote areas where health facilities are not available. An intensive and systematic survey was conducted in fourteen districts of the Rif region for folklore information about drugs plants used for abortion. Midwives, whose knowledge in attending women in chilbirth was very appreciated, control the use of traditional herbal preparations to provoke abortion in the Rif zone. Eight midwives from 58 to 74 years old were inquired, each one having up to 20 of experience. Interviews reveal that each one had assisted around ten women in delivery per year and that they recognized the use of abortive preparation in case of accidental pregnancy although it was prohibited by muslim religion. In their careers our eight informants have practiced abortion with success; they recognized around 14 abortion cases, a number that we consider below to the real situation. Ethnobotanical data shows that two polyberbal preparations were used to induce abortion. * Corresponding author. Fax: +34-958-243912. E-mail address: merzouki@platon.udr.es (A. Merzouki).

Concerning kif, a Cannabis sativa L. preparation smoked in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco

The aim of the present paper is to present information about a kif preparation smoked by the Moroccan population. Results are considered as an advance of our actual investigations undertaken in the Rif zone to observe an improvement in night vision after smoking kif [Ethan et al., 2002. International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) meeting, in preparation].

Comparison of Lamiaceae medicinal uses in eastern Morocco and eastern Andalusia and in Ibn al-Baytar's Compendium of Simple Medicaments (13th century CE)

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Transmission of traditional knowledge over time and across culturally and historically related territories is an important topic in ethnopharmacology. Here, we contribute to this knowledge by analysing data on medicinal uses in two neighbouring areas of the Western Mediterranean in relation to a historical text that has been scarcely mentioned in historical studies despite its interest. AIM OF THE STUDY This paper discusses the sharing of popular knowledge on the medicinal uses of plants between eastern Morocco and eastern Andalusia (Spain), focusing on one of the most useful plant families in the Mediterranean area: Lamiaceae. Moreover, we used the classical work of Ibn al-Baytar (13th century CE) The Compendium of Simple Medicaments and Foods as a basis to contrast the possible link of this information, analysing the influence of this historical text on current popular tradition of medicinal plant use in both territories. MATERIALS AND METHODS For data collection, we performed ethnobotanical field research in the eastern part of Morocco, recording current medicinal uses for the Lamiaceae. In addition, we systematically reviewed the ethnobotanical literature from eastern Andalusia, developing a database. We investigated the possible historical link of the shared uses and included in this database the information from Ibn al-Baytars Compendium. To compare the similarity and diversity of the data, we used Jaccards similarity index. RESULTS Our field work provided ethnobotanical information for 14 Lamiaceae species with 95 medicinal uses, serving to treat 13 different pathological groups. Of the total uses recorded in Morocco, 30.5% were shared by eastern Andalusia and found in Ibn al-Baytars work. There was a higher similarity when comparing current uses of the geographically close territories of eastern Morocco and eastern Andalucía (64%) than for eastern Morocco and this historical text (43%). On the other hand, coincidences between current uses in eastern Andalusia and the ones related in the Compendium are lower, 28%. CONCLUSIONS The coincidence of the current ethnobotanical knowledge in the two territories is high for the Lamiaceae. Probably the shared historical background, recent exchanges, information flow, and the influence of the historical herbal texts have influenced this coincidence. In this sense, there is a high plant-use overlap between Ibn al-Baytars text and both territories: nearly half of the uses currently shared by eastern Morocco and eastern Andalusia were included in the Compendium and are related to this period of Islamic medicine, indicating a high level of preservation in the knowledge of plant usage. The study of 14 species of Lamiaceae suggests that this classical codex, which includes a high number of medicinal plants and uses, constitutes a valuable bibliographical source for comparing ancient and modern applications of plants.

Assessing changes in pupillary size in Rifian smokers of kif (Cannabis sativa L.).

Although the measurement of eye pupil variations is a common method in the only few cannabis effect research, there are no studies on short term effects of kif (Moroccan traditional preparation of cannabis) on eye pupil. The aim of the present paper is to present results about effect of a smoked kif preparation (Cannabis sativa L.) on pupil diameter variations after 30 mn. Two examiners measured the pupil diameter variations before and after kif smoking in 34 eyes of 17 volunteer-consumers in a dark closed room. Pupil diameter was estimated by Colvard pupillometer. Results reveal a significantly increase in pupil size post kif.

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions from fossil fuels

Purpose – This paper aims to highlight the drivers and trends of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels of 21 Mediterranean countries, and suggest some policy recommendations to help mitigate them and fostering energy partnership within the studied area.Design/methodology/approach – Simplified Kaya identity was used to analyse the drivers and trends of CO2 emission from fossil fuels. Data used were retrieved from the US Energy Information Administration and Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre. The analysis considers Northern rim countries and Southern‐Eastern rim countries (SERCs) as separate groups, as well as all together.Findings – The total fossil fuel emissions between 1980 and 2005, the emissions growth rate in 1980s, 1990s, and 2000‐2006 were assessed. The findings put emphasis on the drivers and trends of fuel emissions considering per capita emission, gross domestic product and carbon intensity.Originality/value – Despite their low contribution to global anthropogenic CO2 emissio...

Cannabis cultivation within a religious context: A case study of Ghomara in the Rif Mountain (Northern Morocco)

ABSTRACT To understand the relationship between Muslim religious attitudes and the growing/consumption of cannabis, we surveyed 251 residents and conducted interviews in Northern Morocco. The local population is Ghomarian, an ethnic group of Berber heritage that experienced socioeconomic marginalization. Cannabis is grown throughout the region, despite Islamic legal code (shari’a) that makes cannabis, like any substances that alter consciousness, illicit (haram). The survey aimed to gather (a) the perceptions of the local population toward the cultivation of cannabis and its consumption and (b) their attitudes and intention to abandon or to continue this activity despite its unlawful aspect under Islamic legislation (Shari’a). Qualitative interviews provide additional understanding of the rationales of people in the region about cannabis cultivation in the context of religion. The investigation revealed the complexity of how religious beliefs, socioeconomic marginalization, and immoral/illegal economic practices overlap and coexist in Ghomara Region (or in Northern Morocco).

Monitoring plant diversity and climatic change in Sierra Nevada (Spain).

Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyse the vascular flora and temperature data in the highest zone of the Sierra Nevada massif (Sierra Nevada National Park) and evaluate the potential effects of climatic change on the biodiversity of this zone. The floristic and temperature data have been recorded using the methodology of the European Gloria Project. The floristic analysis shows that the species richness decreases with the altitude (2778–3327 m) from 47 up to 18, at the same time increasing the percentage of endemism. 39% of species only live on single summits and 8% of the flora exists on all of the summits; chamae- phytes and hemicryptophytes are the most common life forms. The temperature data was analysed in the period of 2001–2005. Overall, there is a 4.42 °C decrease in mean temperature from the lowest to the highest summit (range of 549 m).