Circum-Mediterranean cultural heritage and medicial plant uses in traditional animal healthcare: a field survey in eight selected areas within the RUBIA project

During the years 2003¿2005, a comparative ethnobotanical field survey was conducted on remedies used in traditional animal healthcare in eight Mediterranean areas. The study sites were selected within the EU-funded RUBIA project, and were as follows: the upper Kelmend Province of Albania; the Capannori area in Eastern Tuscany and the Bagnocavallo area of Romagna, Italy; Cercle de Ouezanne, Morocco; Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park in the province of Huelva, Spain; the St. Catherine area of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt; Eastern and Western Crete, Greece; the Paphos and Larnaca areas of Cyprus; and the Mitidja area of Algeria. One hundred and thirty-six veterinary preparations and 110 plant taxa were recorded in the survey, with Asteraceae and Lamiaceae being the most quoted botanical families. For certain plant species the survey uncovered veterinary phytotherapeutical indications that were very uncommon, and to our knowledge never recorded before. These include Anabasis articulata (Chenopodiaceae), Cardopatium corymbosum (Asteraceae), Lilium martagon (Liliaceae), Dorycnium rectum (Fabaceae), Oenanthe pimpinelloides (Apiaceae), Origanum floribundum (Lamiaceae), Tuberaria lignosa (Cistaceae), and Dittrichia graveolens (Asteraceae). These phytotherapeutical indications are briefly discussed in this report, taking into account modern phytopharmacology and phytochemistry. The percentage of overall botanical veterinary taxa recorded in all the study areas was extremely low (8%), however when all taxa belonging to the same botanical genus are considered, this portion increases to 17%. Nevertheless, very few plant uses were found to be part of a presumed "Mediterranean" cultural heritage in veterinary practices, which raises critical questions about the concept of Mediterraneanism in ethnobotany and suggests that further discussion is required. Nearly the half of the recorded veterinary plant uses for mammals uncovered in this survey have also been recorded in the same areas in human folk medicine, suggesting a strong link between human and veterinary medical practices, and perhaps also suggesting the adaptive origins of a few medical practices. Since most of the recorded data concern remedies for treating cattle, sheep, goats, and camels, it would be interesting to test a few of the recorded phytotherapeuticals in the future, to see if they are indeed able to improve animal healthcare in breeding environments, or to raise the quality of dairy and meat products in the absence of classical, industrial, veterinary pharmaceuticals

Caractérisation des miels produits dans la région steppique de Djelfa en Algérie

Description du sujet. Cet article traite de la qualité des miels des zones steppiques d’Algérie en vue de leur valorisation. Objectifs. L’objectif est de caractériser la qualité physico-chimique des miels et leur composition pollinique en fonction de leur origine géographique dans trois zones de la région semi-aride de Djelfa en Algérie. Méthodes. Trente-huit échantillons de miels produits dans 11 localités situées au Nord, au Centre et au Sud de la région steppique semi-aride de Djelfa ont été récoltés en juillet durant deux années consécutives. Les analyses polliniques ont été réalisées ainsi que la détermination des teneurs en eau, le pH, la conductivité électrique, la couleur, la teneur en hydroxyméthylfurfural, l’indice saccharase, l’indice diastasique et le profil glucidique. Résultats. L’analyse pollinique a permis d’identifier 34 taxons. La plante la plus représentée est Ziziphus lotus présente dans 92,12 % des miels. Son pollen est dominant dans 27 miels, avec des pourcentages polliniques supérieurs à 45 %. Plus de 55 % des fréquences polliniques sont constituées par des plantes appartenant aux Asteracae, Brassicaceae, Cistaceae, ainsi qu’à Euphorbia bupleuroides, Peganum harmala, Thapsia garganica, Scolymus hispanicus, Echium sp. et Retama retam. Conclusions. Les paramètres physico-chimiques des miels étudiés sont conformes aux normes européennes et internationales, ce qui ouvre des perspectives pour leur valorisation future