**Abstract**

The Rif region has a rich culture of popular medicine use and valuable medicinal plant practices. This study aimed to assess the potential concerning medicinal plants used in the treatment of neurological diseases. An ethnobotanical survey has been carried out in the Rif for two periods from June 2016 to June 2018. To gather information about indigenous medicinal plants, 520 indigenous people of Rif were interviewed. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and free listening, analyzed, and compared. A total of 42 plant species belonging to 37 genera and 23 families were mentioned to be used for treatment by the informants. Lamiaceae was the most commonly reported family in this study area. The most common ailment treated was epilepsy. The preponderance of the herbal remedies was prepared from infusion (53.4%). Leaf was the commonly used plant part (44.3%) and *Marrubium vulgare* L. (29.4%) was the species most commonly prescribed by indigenous healers. The results of this investigation revealed that indigenous communities living in the Rif are still reliant on plants to treat neurological diseases. These reported medicinal species can serve as a source for further investigations on these medicinal plant knowledge and future phytochemical, toxicological, and pharmacological studies.

**Keywords:** Phytotherapy, medicinal plants, Moroccan Rif, neurological diseases

## **1. Introduction**

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than one billion people suffer from central and peripheral nervous system disorders globally [1]. The term neurological disorder (ND) applies to any condition that is caused by a dysfunction in part of the brain or nervous system, resulting in physical and/or psychological symptoms [1]. These diseases include Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, brain tumors, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, neuro infections, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias, traumatic disorders, and cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke and migraine [2].

Medicinal plants are an important source of active substances that are exploited in the treatment of several sicknesses. In all ancient civilizations and all continents, one finds traces of this use [3]. Thus, even today, despite the progress of pharmacology, the therapeutic use of plants is very present in some countries, especially in developing countries [4, 5].

Today, despite the development of chemical drugs to combat neurological diseases, there is often a return to plants as a source of active ingredients. Besides, an important part of the population, especially in rural areas, prefers medicinal plants, for economic reasons and sometimes because of difficulty in accessing medical care [6].

The rural region of Morocco holds a wide variety of plant species, still offering the possibility to discover very interesting new natural products with potential medicinal value. The Rif region is one of the richest Mediterranean regions in terms of plant diversity, owing to its unique geographical location with geomorphological structures and various climatic. The loss of important medicinal species due to community demand, farming expansion, and deforestation are widely documented by many researchers [7, 8]. This study aimed to investigate local people's use of medicinal plant species used for therapeutic purposes in response to the neurological diseases in the Rif.
