Abstract
Modern livestock health care is still at its lowest stage in Ethiopia and most modern veterinary services like drugs and veterinary professionals are not accessible and affordable to the majority of pastoral farmers. As a result, they rely on their traditional knowledge and practices on locally available. However, this traditional knowledge has not yet been well documented. Therefore, this study identified medicinal plants used in treating animal diseases and examined factors that threatens ethno-veterinary in pastoral community of Shinle Districts. The survey study conducted on 180 households to collect data using a semi-structured questionnaire and filed guided observations. Data were analyzed by using SPSS. Thirty-one plant species belonging to 18 families used against 14 types of livestock diseases. Majority of plant species fall under Fabaceae (22.5%) and Euphorbiaceae (16.1%) family that are largely shrubs. The most used plant parts were roots (35.5%) followed by leaves (25.8%). Remedy preparation was mainly through chop and soak in concoction of water and salt. Oral, topical, and nasal route were the common mode of administration. The principal threats of medicinal plants were invasive plants, drought, over grazing, agricultural activity, and firewood collection. Endogenous knowledge on ethno-veterinary medicinal plants was accepted orally from healer’s forefathers and transmitted similarly. Awareness should raise and ethno-veterinary medicine should integrate in to livestock extension delivery systems for the need to exploit the possibility of discovering more medicinally viable plants. Further studies needed under controlled conditions on the efficacy and veterinary properties of such plant products and livestock disease treatments.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbasi, A.M., Shujaul, M.K., Mushtaq, A., Mir, A.K., Cassandra, L.Q. and Andrea, P., 2013. Botanical ethnoveterinary therapies in three districts of the Lesser Himalayas of Pakistan. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 9,84.
Abebe, Y., Melaku, S., Tegegne, A. and Tegegne, F., 2013. Assessment of sheep production system in Burie district, north western Ethiopia. Global Journal of Agricultural Research, 1, 29–47.
Adeola, O. A., Adewole, S. O. and Olofintoye, L. K., 2014. Studies on Ethnoveterinary Practice in Ruminants in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Research Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Management. 3, 632–645.
Ashagre, E., Ensermu, K. and Gemedo, D., 2016. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Guji Agro-pastoralists, Blue Hora District of Borana Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies, 4,170–184.
Bekalo, H.T., Demissew, S. and Asfaw, Z., 2009. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by local people in the lowlands of Konta Special Wereda, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 5, 26.
Birhane, E., Aynekulu, E., Mekuria, W. and Endale, D., 2011. Management, use and ecology of medicinal plants in the degraded dry lands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, 5, 309–318.
Deeba, F., 2009. Documentation of ethnoveterinary practices in urban and peri-urban areas of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Faisalabad Pakistan: PhD Thesis, University of Agriculture.
Dilshad, S.M.R., Rehman, N.U., Ahmad N. and Iqbal, A., 2010. Documentation of ethnoveterinary practices for mastitis in dairy animals in Pakistan. Pakistan Veterinary Journal, 30, 167–171.
Farooq, Z., Iqbal, Z., Mushtaq, S., Muhammad, G., Zafar, M. and Iqbal, A.M., 2008. Ethnoveterinary practices for the treatment of parasitic diseases in livestock in Cholistan desert (Pakistan). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 118, 213–219.
Gabriel, A., 2015. The Role of Medicinal Plants in Treatment of Cattle Diseases in Serere District. Uganda, MSc thesis.
Giday, M., Asfaw, Z. and Woldu, Z., 2009. Medicinal plants of the Meinit ethnic group of Ethiopia: An ethnobotanical study. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 124, 513–521.
Giday, M., Asfaw, Z. and Woldu, Z., 2010. Ethnomedicinal study of plants used by Sheko ethnic group of Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 132, 75–85.
Habib ul, H.H., Murad, W., Tariq, A. and Ahmad, A., 2014. Ethnoveterinary study of medicinal plants in Malakand Valley, District Dir (Lower), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Irish Veterinary Journal, 67, 6.
Lulekal, E., Zemede, A., Ensermu, K. and Patrick, V.D., 2014. Ethnoveterinary plants of Ankober District, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 10, 21.
Mesfin, F., Demissew, S. and Tekelaymanot, T., 2009. An Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Wonago Woreda, SNNPR, Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 5,28.
Monteiro, M.V., Bevilaqua, C.M.L., Palha, M.D.C., Braga, R.R., Schwanke, K., Rodrigues, S.T. and Lameira, O.A., 2011. Ethnoveterinary Knowledge of the Inhabitants of Marajó Island, Eastern Amazonia, Brazil. Acta Amazonica, 41, 233–242.
Nalule, A.S., Karue, C.N. and Katunguka-Rwakishaya, E., 2011. Anthelmintic activity of Phytolacca dodecandra and Vernonia amygdalina leaf extracts in naturally infected small East African goats. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 23, 12.
Ragunathan, M. and Abay, S.M., 2009. Ethnomedicinal survey of folk drugs used in Bahirdar Zuria District, Northwestern Ethiopia. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 8, 281–284.
Senai, W.A., 2010. Legislative regulation of traditional medicinal knowledge in Eritrea vis-à-vis Eritrea’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Law, Environment and Development Journal, 6, 130–162.
Yibrah, T., 2015. Medicinal Plants in the Ethno Veterinary Practices of Bensa Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Open Access Library Journal, 2, 1–12.
Yineger, H., Yewhalaw, D. and Teketay, D., 2008. Plants of veterinary importance in Southwestern Ethiopia: the case of Gilgel Ghibe area. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 18, 165–181.
Yirga, G. and Zerabruk, S., 2011. Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Gindeberet district, Western Ethiopia. South African Journal of Botany, 103, 295–301.
Yirga, G., Teferi, M., Gidey, G. and Zerabruk, S., 2012. An ethnoveterinary survey of medicinal plants used to treat livestock diseases in Seharti-Samre district, Northern Ethiopia. African Journal of Plant Science, 6, 113–119.
Zenebe, G., Zerihun, M. and Solomon Z., 2012. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Asgede Tsimbila District, Northwestern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 10, 305–320.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Haramaya University, Office of Research Affairs, for the financial support for this research work; agricultural office; and people of Shinile Zone, who cooperated on providing all the necessary information and field guidance’s of study districts, and Abdi and Hussen who assisted data collection and field observation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author has declared that no competing interest exists.
Annex 1
Annex 1
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kebede, E., Mengistu, M. & Serda, B. Ethnobotanical knowledge of pastoral community for treating livestock diseases in Somali regional state, eastern Ethiopia. Trop Anim Health Prod 50, 1379–1386 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1571-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1571-1