Sahara chamomile, matricaria: Ethnobotanical survey, phytochemical study, and biological activities of the two medicinal plants

Sahara chamomile and Sahara matricaria are medicinal plants that are very common in Algeria. They are widely used in traditional medicine for their therapeutic properties. The survey conducted among part of the populations of Tamanrasset and Béchar was fruitful and made it possible to develop a strategy for studying the properties of these two plants. Phytochemical screening of the infusion revealed the presence of the main secondary metabolites such as tannins, flavonoids, saponosides, coumarins, and glycosides, which could be responsible for the pharmacological properties. The essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of Sahara chamomile and Sahara chamomile had yields of 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrophotometry analysis showed that the essential oil of M. pubescens consists of biphenyl (18.9%), benzene, and 2,4-pentadinyl (15.1%), while the essential oil of C. cinerea is characterized by the presence of 1,8-cineole (12.6%) and camphor (12.4%).