Mersha Ashagre Eshete and Ermias Lulekal Molla
Ethnoveterinary medicine is essential in many rural areas of the world since people living in remote and marginal areas depend significantly on traditional herbal therapies to treat their domestic animals. Communities residing in such remote areas, and especially those still attached to semi-pastoralist traditions, have considerable ethnoveterinary herbal knowledge, and they usually use this knowledge for treating their animals. This original study was carried out by using proper research questions to gather information about ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in treating different livestock ailments, following the proper ethnobotanical data collection and data analysis methods in a place where such a type of study had not been carried out. The objectives of this research were to collect, identify, document, and analyze ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and their associated indigenous knowledge and to determine the corresponding conservation status in the district. Data were collected from July 1 to August 30, 2019 and November 15 to December 30, 2019, as well as plants reported as medicine by informants. A total of 196 informants (24 key informants taken purposefully and 172 general informants taken randomly) were used for this study. Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, and walk-in-the-woods methods were used to gather ethnoveterinary data. The Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Fidelity Level (FL) values were calculated using quantitative approaches in order to check the level of informants' agreement on plant use and the healing potential of ethnoveterinary medicinal plant species, respectively. Indigenous knowledge of the use of medicinal plants for ethnoveterinary purposes among different informant groups was compared using a t-test with R-software. A total of 46 plant species representing 43 genera and 29 botanical families were identified for use in the treatment of 79 different ailments. Medicinal plant species belonging to the families Asteraceae (5 species) and Euphorbiaceae (4 species) were reported to be in frequent use in the local ethnoveterinary medical system. Herbs and shrubs (12 species each) were the growth forms most often utilized for remedy preparation. The highest ICF values were recorded for respiratory system diseases (0.85) and Viscum congolense DC. Wild. showed the highest fidelity level value (97%) for treating respiratory system ailments. A significant difference (P 0.05) was observed in the average number of therapeutic plants reported by senior members of the community, illiterate participants, and key informants. Viscum congolense DC. Wild. and Clematis simensis Fresen were the most preferred species for treating respiratory system diseases. The study indicated that the district is rich in different species of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and indigenous knowledge about using these resources. Species with the highest consensus for curative purposes are a useful puddle for further phytochemical and pharmacological authentication for better utilization. The declining wild medicinal flora of the area calls for prior conservation attention.
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