Catalogue des plantes médicinales utilisées dans le traitement de la lithiase rénale dans la province de Tan-Tan (Maroc saharien)

Une étude ethnobotanique a été réalisée dans la région de Tan-Tan pour établir le catalogue des plantes médicinales utilisées dans le traitement de la lithiase rénale et collecter le maximum d’informations sur les recettes thérapeutiques pratiquées par la population locale. A l’aide de 350 fiches questionnaires, des enquêtes ethnobotaniques ont été réalisées dans la région de Tan-Tan pendant quatre campagnes de terrain, entre 2007 et 2011. L’analyse des données recueillies sur le terrain a permis de recenser 50 espèces appartenant à 29 familles dont celle des Apiaceae, la plus représentée avec 7 espèces. De même, les résultats obtenus montrent que la majorité des recettes thérapeutiques utilisées dans le traitement de la lithiase sont préparées à partir des feuilles ou des graines sous forme de décoction. Les informations rapportées par cette étude, pourraient constituer une base de données pour les recherches ultérieures dans le domaine de la phytochimie dont le but d’identifier de nouveaux principes actifs naturels utilisables en pharmacologie.Mots clés : Lithiase rénale, enquête ethnobotanique, plantes médicinales, usages thérapeutiques, catalogue floristique, Tan-Tan

Comments on evolution of sleep and the palliopallial connectivity in mammals and birds

[eng] This commentary is referred to the review signed by Rattemborg [N.C. Rattenborg, Evolution of slow wave sleep and palliopallial connectivity in mammals and birds. A hypothesis. Brain Res. Bull. 69 (2006) 20-29]. We propose that the review missed important aspects in relation to the characteristics of sleep in poikilotherm vertebrates and in the evolution of sleep. Poikilotherms continuously show an EEG dominated by slow waves, but its highest amplitude appears not during sleep, but during active waking. In addition, they show an arousal reaction which consists in an increase in EEG amplitude and synchrony, opposite to mammals and birds. As a consequence, most of the conclusions proposed in the review should be rejected

The trivial function of sleep

[eng] Summary Rest in poikilothermic animals is an adaptation of the organism to adjust to the geophysical cycles, a doubtless valuable function for all animals. In this review, we argue that the function of sleep could be trivial for mammals and birds because sleep does not provide additional advantages over simple rest. This conclusion can be reached by using the null hypothesis and parsimony arguments. First, we develop some theoretical and empirical considerations supporting the absence of specific effects after sleep deprivation. Then, we question the adaptive value of sleep traits by using non-coding DNA as a metaphor that shows that the complexity in the design is not a definitive proof of adaptation. We then propose that few, if any, phenotypic selectable traits do exist in sleep. Instead, the selection of efficient waking has been the major determinant of the most significant aspects in sleep structure. In addition, we suggest that the regulation of sleep is only a mechanism to enforce rest, a state that was challenged after the development of homeothermy. As a general conclusion, there is no direct answer to the problem of why we sleep; only an explanation of why such a complex set of mechanisms is used to perform what seems to be a simple function. This explanation should be reached by following the evolution of wakefulness rather than that of sleep. Sleep could have additional functions secondarily added to the trivial one, although, in this case, the necessity and sufficiency of these sleep functions should be demonstrated

Comments on evolution of sleep and the palliopallial connectivity in mammals and birds

[eng] This commentary is referred to the review signed by Rattemborg [N.C. Rattenborg, Evolution of slow wave sleep and palliopallial connectivity in mammals and birds. A hypothesis. Brain Res. Bull. 69 (2006) 20-29]. We propose that the review missed important aspects in relation to the characteristics of sleep in poikilotherm vertebrates and in the evolution of sleep. Poikilotherms continuously show an EEG dominated by slow waves, but its highest amplitude appears not during sleep, but during active waking. In addition, they show an arousal reaction which consists in an increase in EEG amplitude and synchrony, opposite to mammals and birds. As a consequence, most of the conclusions proposed in the review should be rejected