Botanical ethnoveterinary therapies in three districts of the Lesser Himalayas of Pakistan

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine

Andrea Pieroni⁴  Cassandra Leah Quave³  Mir Ajab Khan⁵  Mushtaq Ahmad⁵  Shujaul Mulk Khan²  Arshad Mehmood Abbasi¹ 

[1] Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan;Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan;Center for the Study of Human Health, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, 550 Asbury Circle, Candler Library 107, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA;University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 9, Pollenzo I-12042 Bra/Pollenzo, Italy;Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan

关键词: Pakistan;    Lesser Himalayas;    Ethnoveterinary;    Ethnobotany;    Medicinal plants;   

Others  :  861945
DOI  :  10.1186/1746-4269-9-84

 received in 2013-03-21, accepted in 2013-12-05,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Ethnoveterinary knowledge is highly significant for persistence of traditional community-based approaches to veterinary care. This is of particular importance in the context of developing and emerging countries, where animal health (that of livestock, especially) is crucial to local economies and food security. The current survey documents the traditional veterinary uses of medicinal plants in the Lesser Himalayas-Pakistan.

Methods

Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and by administering questionnaires. A total of 105 informants aged between 20–75 years old who were familiar with livestock health issues (i.e. farmers, shepherds, housewives and herbalists) participated in the study.

Results

A total of 89 botanical taxa, belonging to 46 families, were reported to have ethnoveterinary applications. The most quoted families were Poaceae (6 taxa), Fabaceae (6), Asteraceae (5), and Polygonaceae (5). Adhatoda vasica was the most cited species (43%), followed by Trachyspermum ammi (37%), and Zanthoxylum armatum var. armatum (36%). About 126 medications were recorded against more than 50 veterinary conditions grouped into seven categories. The highest cultural index values were recorded for Trachyspermum ammi, Curcuma longa, Melia azedarach, Zanthoxylum armatum var. armatum and Adhatoda vasica. The highest informant consensus factor was found for pathologies related to respiratory and reproductive disorders. Comparison with the local plant-based remedies used in human folk medicine revealed that many of remedies were used in similar ways in local human phytotherapy. Comparison with other field surveys conducted in surrounding areas demonstrated that approximately one-half of the recorded plants uses are novel to the ethnoveterinary literature of the Himalayas.

Conclusion

The current survey shows a remarkable resilience of ethnoveterinary botanical knowledge in the study area. Most of the species reported for ethnoveterinary applications are wild and under threat. Thus, not only is it imperative to conserve traditional local knowledge of folk veterinary therapies for bio-cultural conservation motives, but also to assist with in-situ and ex-situ environmental conservation initiatives, which are urgently needed. Future studies that focus on the validation of efficacy of these ethnoveterinary remedies can help to substantiate emic concepts regarding the management of animal health care and for rural development programs.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Abbasi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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