Moroccans’ Ethnobotanical Knowledge about Medicinal Tar doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v6i3.5
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Abstract
Tar has been employed by humans since antiquity due to its importance and benefits. Up until now, it is still used in traditional medicine in different countries including Morocco. Using a quantitative research method, this study sheds light on the traditional properties and usage of tar from various social class perspectives in Morocco. To collect data about the general knowledge about tar, three groups of people were given an ethnobotanical questionnaire: general population, herbalists, and tar producers. An online survey was delivered to the general population, while a semi-structured questionnaire was employed to interview the other groups. The online participants were evenly split into two groups according to their gender. Also, there were twelve males for every one female for the herbalists, whereas the producers were entirely males. Tar usage was roughly the same across all three categories. Participants mentioned Juniperus sp., Cedrus sp., and more, herbalists mentioned Eucalyptus sp., Olea sp., and the producers mentioned Yew. For tar production, the online participants and herbalists knew the procedure with a percentage of 21% and 40% respectively, followed by 100% for producers. In this study, producers have more information and understanding about tar production than herbalists, who have a better knowledge about tar usage. Furthermore, medicinal tar is an intriguing product that deserves to be respected.
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