Ahmed Ouhammou

Effect of different amendments on growing of Canna indica L. inoculated with AMF on mining substrate

Canna indica L. (CiL) was used here in phytoremediation of mining soils. Our work evaluated the effect of AMF (i) on the growth and (ii) on the uptake of heavy metals (HM). The tests were conducted in the greenhouse on mining substrates collected from the Kettara mine (Morocco). The mine soil was amended by different proportions of agricultural soil and compost and then inoculated with two isolates of AMF (IN1) and (IN2) of different origins. After six months of culture, the results show that on mining soils (100%) only AMF (IN2) was able to colonize the roots of CiL with a frequency of 40 ± 7% and an intensity of 6.5 ± 1.5%. Also, the lowest values of shoot and root dry biomass are obtained on these mining soils with respectively 0.30 g and 0.27 g. In contrast, the accumulation of HM was higher and reached more than 50% of that contained in the mining soils, the highest values with 138 mg kg−1 Cu2+, Zn2+ 270 mg kg−1 and 1.38 mg kg−1 Cd was recorded. These results indicate that the colonization of CiL roots by AMF (IN2) could significantly improve its potential to be used in phytoremediation of polluted soil.

Treating infants with frigg : linking disease aetiologies, medicinal plant use and care-seeking behaviour in southern Morocco

BackgroundAlthough most Moroccans rely to some extent on traditional medicine, the practice of frigg to treat paediatric ailments by elderly women traditional healers known as ferraggat, has not yet been documented. We describe the role of these specialist healers, document the medicinal plants they use, and evaluate how and why their practice is changing.MethodsEthnomedicinal and ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews and observations of medical encounters. Information was collected from traditional healers, namely ferraggat, patients, herbalists and public health professionals. Patients’ and healers’ narratives about traditional medicine were analysed and medicinal plant lists were compiled from healers and herbalists. Plants used were collected, vouchered and deposited in herbaria.ResultsFerragat remain a key health resource to treat infant ailments in the rural High Atlas, because mothers believe only they can treat what are perceived to be illnesses with a supernatural cause. Ferragat possess baraka, or the gift of healing, and treat mainly three folk ailments, taqait, taumist and iqdi, which present symptoms similar to those of ear infections, tonsillitis and gastroenteritis. Seventy plant species were used to treat these ailments, but the emphasis on plants may be a recent substitute for treatments that used primarily wool and blood. This change in materia medica is a shift in the objects of cultural meaningfulness in response to the increasing influence of orthodox Islam and state-sponsored modernisation, including public healthcare and schooling.ConclusionsReligious and other sociocultural changes are impacting the ways in which ferraggat practice. Treatments based on no-longer accepted symbolic elements have been readily abandoned and substituted by licit remedies, namely medicinal plants, which play a legitimisation role for the practice of frigg. However, beliefs in supernatural ailment aetiologies, as well as lack or difficult access to biomedical alternatives, still underlie the need for specialist traditional healers.

Comprehensive dataset of the medicinal plants used by a Tashelhit speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco

This dataset describes medicinal plants used in a poorly studied area of Morocco: the High Atlas mountains, inhabited by Ishelhin people, the southern Moroccan Amazigh (Berber) ethnic group, “An ethnomedicinal survey of a Tashelhit-speaking community in the High Atlas, Morocco” (Teixidor-Toneu et al., 2016) [1]. It includes a comprehensive list of the plants used in the commune, as well as details on the plant voucher specimens collected and a glossary of Tashelhit terminology relevant to the study. To collect the data, semi-structured and structured interviews were carried out, as well as focus group discussions. Free prior informed consent was obtained for all interactions. A hundred and six adults were interviewed and 2084 use reports were collected; a hundred fifty-one vernacular names corresponding to 159 botanical species were found.

Assessment of heavy metals accumulation by spontaneous vegetation: Screening for new accumulator plant species grown in Kettara mine-Marrakech, Southern Morocco

ABSTRACT The present paper aims to perform a screening of native plants growing in Kettara mine-Marrakech (Southern Morocco) for its phytoremediation. Plants and soil samples were collected and analyzed for Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd concentrations at several sites in the mine. The results showed that the soil in the vicinity of Kettara mine is deficient in major elements and contain toxic levels of metals. Spontaneously growing native plants were botanically identified and then classified into 21 species and 14 families. Significant difference was observed among the average concentrations of four heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd) in plants (p ≤ 0.05). Six plants of 21 species namely Hammada scoparia (Pomel) Iljin, Hirschfeldia incana (L.) Lagreze-Fossat, Lamarckia aurea (L.) Moench, Calendula algeriensis Boiss. & Reuter, Aizoon hispanicum L. and Melilotus sulcata Desf. were considered as the best-performing specimens due to their high ability to accumulate multiple metals in their shoots and roots without sustaining toxicity. This was confirmed by the transfer factors generally higher than 1. Using the most common criteria to classify the hyperaccumulator plants, these species can be classified as new accumulator plants of many heavy metals and be potentially used as remediation tools of metal-contaminated sites.

Assessment of Biodegradation of Oleandrin during Co-composting of Nerium oleander L. Wastes

ABSTRACT Variations in the levels of the highly toxic oleandrin molecules were studied during composting of Nerium oleander L. waste mixed with clippings of the grass Pennisetum clandistenum L. The thermophilic phase is characterized by a rise in temperature, which reached 70°C. After 150 days of co-composting, the C/N ratio was 11, the pH was 8, the NO3−/NH4+ ratio was greater than 1 and overall decomposition reached 70%. During the successive stages of co-composting, oleandrin concentrations were monitored by HPLC. The relative abundance of oleadrin was 26.84% at T0 with 10% abatement during the first month and 90% after two months (stabilization phase), reaching 100%, i.e., total removal after 90 days of co-composting (maturation phase). The biodegradation of the toxic substance was largely attributed to the activity of actinomycetes and fungi. The germination index of lettuce and watercress seeds exceeded 50% after 90 days and reached 95% after 150 days, confirming that the final compost was mature, stable, and free from phytotoxicity in spite of the highly poisonous starting material.

Diversity of fungal assemblages in roots of Ericaceae in two Mediterranean contrasting ecosystems

The plants belonging to the Ericaceae family are morphologically diverse and widely distributed groups of plants. They are typically found in soil with naturally poor nutrient status. The objective of the current study was to identify cultivable mycobionts from roots of nine species of Ericaceae (Calluna vulgaris, Erica arborea, Erica australis, Erica umbellate, Erica scoparia, Erica multiflora, Arbutus unedo, Vaccinium myrtillus, and Vaccinium corymbosum). The sequencing approach was used to amplify the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Results from the phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences stored in the Genbank confirmed that most of strains (78) were ascomycetes, 16 of these were closely related to Phialocephala spp, 12 were closely related to Helotiales spp and 6 belonged to various unidentified ericoid mycorrhizal fungal endophytes. Although the isolation frequencies differ sharply according to regions and ericaceous species, Helotiales was the most frequently encountered order from the diverse assemblage of associated fungi (46.15%), especially associated with C. vulgaris (19.23%) and V. myrtillus (6.41%), mostly present in the Loge (L) and Mellousa region (M). Moreover, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) showed three distinct groups connecting fungal order to ericaceous species in different regions.