​Ethno-veterinary Treatment of Livestock and Poultry by Ethnic Community of Dhemaji District, Assam, India

Abstract

Background: Livestock and poultry are considered as one of the source of income for the rural household which need proper care for their livelihood. To safeguard the livestock and poultry from various health related problems, ethno-veterinary practices, the indigenous healing system is the cheapest and easily available natural resources around them. Traditional animal health care practices are mostly from their experiences or passed on from one to another verbally. Methods: The present study was carried in randomly selected villages of Dhemaji district. Field study was conducted from September 2020 - April 2021, among the small household local inhabitant of the selected areas who mostly depend on the livestock and poultry farming for socio-economic development, by performing personal interview, semi-structured questionnaire, group discussion and free consultation was conducted with the local peoples. Result: The study recorded about 36 plant species having medicinal value belonging to 34 genus and 31 families, which are used for treating 22 ailments in livestock. Leaves, stems, fruits, bulb, roots, seeds, rhizomes, bark and peel of plant species are used in treating different ailments of livestock. Leaves (48%) are mostly used in preparing medicine among the other plant parts. Proper documentation of the old practice of ethno-veterinary provides information of the various medicinal plants available around us which are on the verge of extinction due to the negligence by the younger generation and emphasises sustainable use of these resources in our ecosystem. Ethno-Veterinary gives a scope for the pharmaceutical field to discover the bioactive compound present in the plant species for future scientific medical treatment.