Ethnobotanical Study, Anatomical Study and Phytochemical Screening of Aristolochia longa L.

Aristolochia longa L. (Aristolochiaceae) is used in Algerian traditional medicine. The ethnobotanical study conducted in the region of Setif (East Algeria) has as an objective of evaluating the potential of the region of Aristolochia longa L. used in the treatment of different diseases. A questionnaire was used which consisted of the diseases treated by this plant, the part of the plant used in the treatment and how to use this plant. The survey targeted 100 people from the local population. We also evaluated the phytochemical composition of the aerial parts (stems and leaves), fruits and tubers. Our results showed that A. longa is widely used to treat several ailments such as cancer (43%), diabetes (17%), and treatment of wounds in cattle (12%), and intestinal and stomach diseases (9 and 7%), the most used part is tubers by 70%.Crushed tubers are commonly mixed with honey(44%), milk(24%), water (8%). Results of the phytochemical screening revealed that A. longa contained various bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids, and Alkaloids. In addition, there is very little information concerning the anatomical and morphological structure of this species of Setif region (Algeria), a preliminary study on anatomy of this plant is therefore reported in this paper. These preliminary results could be used to justify the traditional use of this plant and their bioactive substances could be exploited for therapeutic purposes such as antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, and may be considered as a promising source of new drugs for treating cancer. Keywords: Aristolochia longa L., ethnobotany Setif(Algeria), anatomical study of plant, phytochemical screening