A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa 31

� Morphological description A small annual plant, 10-12 cm. high, glabrous witherect, finely striated stems. The leaves are finelydissected and slightly fleshy. The flowers aregrouped in umbels of 2 to 4 branches. The flowersare small, with 5 free petals. The fruit is a diachene,6-10 mm. long, and is covered with dense silkywhite hairs. The plant has a strong smell of anise. Itusually flowers in early spring (February to April).

� Geographical distributionLocal: Common in the Algerian Sahara.Regional: North Africa.Global: Commonly distributed throughout theSahara, where it is considered endemic.Its presence is also mentioned for the CanaryIslands.

� EcologyIt is an annual that grows in wadis, on sandy-grav-elly soils in arid conditions where the annual rainfalldoes not exceed 100 mm.

� StatusAccording to the IUCN criteria this endemic speciesfalls into the "EN" category.The threat to this little annual from human collec-tion is mainly felt around settlements. In the wild,the best means of conservation is the remoteness ofthe sites, or a seed bank that contains the plantduring drought.The best way to conserve this annual is to collect

the seeds and sow them in nurseries. So far there isno data on its propagation and conservation.

� Part usedThe leaves and seeds. The fruits are collected by thenomads for their own use, usually in spring whenthe fruits are ripe. It is also sold to herbalists inlocal markets, particularly in the southern AlgerianSahara: Béchar, Djanet, El Golea.In Morocco and Algeria, the fruits are used either asa powder, an infusion or a decoction.

� ConstituentsExcept for a guaianolid, the amolactone, no infor-mation is available on the constituents. They areprobably close to those found in the common cumin(Cuminum cyminum) such as cuminic,hydrocuminique aldehyde and cuminic alcohol.

� Pharmacological action andtoxicity

The antibiotic activity of the hairy cumin has beentested on gastric-intestinal pathogen germs tocheck the traditional use. Results were not goodenough to justify its renown. It is likely that theplant’s activity is spasmolytic, like the commoncumin and other fruits of the Apiaceae.

� PharmacopeiasNot relevant for this species.

� Pharmaceutical productsNot relevant for this species.

� Traditional medicine and localknowledge

The seeds are used to treat diseases related to the

Ammodaucus leucotrichus Coss. & Dur.Torilis leucotrichus Coss. & Dur.Ammodaucus: from the Greek ammos, sand, anddaucus, ancient Greek for carrot; leucotrichus:white haired

Arabic: kammûn es-sofi, el massoufaTargui: akâmanFrench: cumin velu, cumin du Sahara

Ammodaucus leucotrichus Coss.& Dur.Umbelliferae (Apiaceae)

Compiled by Dr. Salima Benhouhou

A Guide to Medicinal Plants in North Africa32

digestive apparatus and to ease stomach and liverpain. The leaves are also used for chest complaints.In the Tassili, particularly the Djanet region, it ismainly used as a powder or an infusion to treat thesymptoms mentioned above. It is also used in thearea to recover the appetite or avoid indigestion, bycrushing the seeds and mixing them with milk ormillet.The leaves are used to aromatise tea. Powdered, itis a much appreciated spice for food in the Djanetarea.In Morocco, the fruits are used either as a powderor in a decoction to treat gastric-intestinal pain,gastralgias and indigestion. It is also frequentlyused, as an infusion, for diverse infantile diseases ofthe digestive apparatus: dysentery, nausea, regurgi-tation, vomiting.It also has tonic properties for babies and is takenas an infusion or in the bath.

� References

Relevant to the plant and its useBeltran Tejera, E., 1983. Un nuevo taxon del genero

Ammodaucus Cosson et Durieu (Apiaceae) en el Archipielago Canario.

Candollea, 38 (1). pp. 131-154.

General referencesBellakhdar, J., 1997. La pharmacopée marocaine

traditionnelle. Médecine arabe ancienne etsavoirs populaires. IBIS Press. 764 p.

Benchelah, A.C., Bouziane, H., Maka, M. & Ouahes,C., 2000. Fleurs du Sahara.

Voyage ethnobotanique avec les touaregs du Tassili.Ed. Ibis Press, Paris. 255 p.

Benhouhou, S.S. & Saadoun, N., 1986. Contributionà l'étude de la flore de la région de Béni-Abbès. Undergraduate thesis. University ofAlgiers. 241 p.

Boulos, L. 1983. Medicinal Plants of North Africa.Reference Publication Algonac,

Michigan. 286 p.Diallo, M., 1991. Pouvoir antimicrobien des extraits

aqueux, hydro-alcooliques et chloroformiquesdes huiles essentielles de quelques plantesmédicinales du Maroc. Thèse de 3ème Cycle deSciences, Université de Rabat.

Diallo, M., El Aziz, M., Bellakhadar, J., Saghi, M. &Zouhdi, M., 1991. Pouvoir antimicrobien desextraits aqueux et hydro-alcooliques de 12plantes médicinales marocaines. Al Biruniya,Rev. Mar. Pharm. Rabat, tome 7, n°1. pp. 37-48.

El Aziz, M., 1987. Détermination de l'activité anti-bacterienne de quelques plantes utilisées en médicinales traditionnelle au Maroc. Mémoirede C.E.A., Fac des Sciences, Université deRabat.

Ozenda, P., 1991. Flore et végétation du Sahara. Ed.CNRS, Paris. 662 p.

Quézel, P. & Santa, S., 1962-1963. Nouvelle Florede l'Algérie et des régions désertiques

méridionales. CNRS, Paris, 2 vol. 1170 p.Sitouh, M., 1989. Les plantes utiles du Sahara. Ann.

Inst. Nat. Agro. El Harrach, Alger, vol. 13, n°2.pp. 583-658.

Trabut, L., 1935. Répertoires des noms indigènesdes plantes spontanées, cultivées et utiliséesdans le Nord de l'Afrique. Collection duCentenaire de l'Algérie,

Alger. 355 p.

Internet sources:

HYPERLINK"http://www.botanik.cs.msu.su/TEXT/G0023.HTM"

HYPERLINK "http://www.programanthos.org/listaroja.asp"