Evaluation of the attitudes of phytotherapists towards the herbal treatment of obesity in the light of ancient and modern theoretical knowledge - field study in Tlemcen (Algeria)

This research aimed to reveal the phytotherapists attitudes towards medicinal plants therapy used to treat obesity through identifying the nature of these attitudes and their degree of compatibility with what is in the ancient scientific manuscripts and the research publications in the modern chemistry. To do this, a choice was made of an intentional sample of 34 Herbalists-Phytotherapists (from several regions of the province of Tlemcen). Then the researchers used a face-to-face interview to survey the attitudes using a 27-item Likert-scale test. To determine the nature of the sample's attitudes and also the level of their knowledge, a descriptive analytical approach was adopted, while giving 1 for true attitudes and 0 for false or neutral ones. To estimate the respondents' level of general knowledge, the ratio of correct attitudes in the scale was calculated and then classified into three levels: good, medium and low. The results of the study revealed certain popularity in the nature of the sample’s attitudes toward the treatment by plants. They also revealed the emergence of the pragmatic utility principle in several test items, and a partial compatibility of the sample’s knowledge compared with that in ancient texts and scientific research in modern chemistry. These results were able to show, moreover, the effect of the level of study, the years of therapeutic experience and the origin of the experience in the respondents' attitudes.