Abstract

USE OF ALUM STONE AS AN ALTERNATIVE IN DENTAL TREATMENT IN MOROCCAN TRADITIONAL AND CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE AND EVALUATION OF ITS HEMOSTATIC ACTIVITY USING ANIMAL MODELS

Ouiam Dahmane*, Abdoul Assane Zoungrana, Yahia Cherrah and Mina Ait El Cadi

ABSTRACT

Background: Alum stone is used for a long time in Moroccan medicine as a remedy in various pharmacological activities, such as antibacterial and antifungal drug to treat several oral pathologies. The aim of this study was to collect and document the various practices of alum used against dentals pathologies, the side-effects observed by its users and its place of supply in four Moroccan cities (Casablanca-Rabat regions) for future toxicological validations. Afterwards, the effect of alum stone in management of external haemorrhage was evaluated in vivo. Methods: Two surveys were carried out with herbalists and dentists from November 2017 to June 2018. A total of 96 herbalists and 101 dentists were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. In haemostatic study, 25 male rats were divided into five groups. A wound was made at the tail of each rat and treated either with hydrogen peroxide or three alum stone doses. The time and amount of bleeding were measured after incision to investigate the haemostatics effect. Results and Discussions: From two surveys, it was found that alum has several internal and external uses in Moroccan medicine and the haemostatic activity was the most cited by interviewers. However, the results of the present showed that alum sold in four Moroccan cities has an industrial nature. The Haemostatic results shown a decrease in amount and bleeding time in rats treated with alum compared with control and hydrogen peroxide groups. Conclusion: From this current study, we concluded that many people in Morocco used alum as natural product to heal dental problems and numerous internal and external pathologies. Moreover, the in vivo study showed that alum has an excellent haemostatic action in managing the external bleeding. However, further research should be carried out to evaluate the chemical composition and safety profile of Moroccan alum stone.

Keywords: Alum stone, surveys, hemostatic activity, traditional and conventional uses, dental pathologies, Morocco.