In modern era about 80% of the world population depends on herbal alternative system of medicine. Seventy thousand plants are used in medicine and about 2000 plants are used in Indian Ayurveda. The activities of the curative plants are evaluated by their chemical components. Few of them are important as a medicine but also posses poisonous or toxic properties. The toxicity is produced in them due to the synthesis of toxic chemical compounds may be in primary or secondary phase of their life. Most of the users of such medicinal plants in crude form are tribal and peoples living in the forests and their domestic stock . Most of the time these peoples may not aware about the toxicity of such plants used by them and probably get affected sometimes even leads to death. In the study area during the field survey of poisonous plants, information are gathered from the traditional practicing persons, cow boy and from shepherds. About 20 plant species belonging to 17 families are reported as a medicinal as well as toxic. From the available literature, nature of toxic compound and symptoms of their intake on human being are recorded. In the study area the plants like, Abrus precatorious commonly known as a Gunj or Gunjpala, Jatropha curcas , (Biodiesel plant), Croton tiglium (Jamalgota), Citrullus colocynthis (Kadu Indrawan, Girardinia diversifolia (Agya), Mucuna purriens (Khajkuairi), Euphorbia tirucali (Sher), E. ligularia (Sabarkand), Datura metel ( Kala Dhotara), Datura inoxia (Pandhara Dhotara) and Asparagus racemo-sus (Shatavari) etc . are some of the toxic plants used as a medicine and harmful also.
Ethnobotanical survey of toxic plants used in herbal medicine in the Rif, Morocco
