Ethnobotanical survey of three members of family Lamiaceae among the inhabitants of Bejaia, Northern Algeria

BackgroundThis paper presents the uses of Calamintha nepeta, Teucrium flavum and Thymus numidicus in food and in traditional herbal medicines in six districts from Bejaia state, Northern Algeria.MaterialsA semi-structured interview was conducted to 52 informants, including questions on the demographic data of the informants and uses of the three medicinal plants to determine the alimentary and the medicinal uses of these plants in Bejaia state.ResultsThe demographic data of the informants indicate that rural participants are the principal consumers of medicinal plants. Data regarding experience of medicinal plants preparation show that 36.5% was confined to the experienced informants, while 63.5% of the informants were inexperienced. Women used medicinal plants more frequently than men; it is recorded that there were 42.3% male informants and 57.7% female informants. Studied plants were used for curing a total of 10 diseases. Also, C. nepeta and T. numidicus were applied as condiment in food, but T. flavum was found to have no food uses in all districts.ConclusionBejaia district is rich in biodiversity of food and medicinal plants and there is need for further studies to validate their use as potential drugs.