Abstract
Traditional knowledge on the use of animal products to maintain human health is important since time immemorial. Although a few studies reported food and medicinal values of different animals, a comprehensive ethno-medicinal study of vertebrates in Nepal is still lacking. Thus, present study is aimed at documenting the ethno-medicinal knowledge related to vertebrate fauna among different ethnic communities in the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape, central Nepal. Data was collected by using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed by using Use Value (UV), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) and Fidelity level (FL). Results showed a total of 58 (53 wild and 5 domestic) species of vertebrate animals. They were used to treat 62 types human ailments. Four animals were also used for veterinary diseases and agriculture benefits. The most widely used species was Felis chaus (UV = 0.25) with 3 use-reports by 10 informants. Cardiovascular and dental problems had the highest ICF value (0.974) with cardiovascular problems having 351 use-reports for 10 animal species and dental problems having 77 use-reports for 3 animal species. The least ICF was found in ophthalmological problems (ICF = 0.833, use reports = 7 for 2 species). We concluded that the different animals were an important part of traditional medicine for the local people living in the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape. However, the majority of animals and most likely to be threatened due to their uses. The present documented ethnozoological knowledge can be used in conservation and management of vertebrates so that they could be protected for future generations.
Highlights
Bio-resources, both flora and fauna, are integral part of the indigenous healing practices used by human beings since the prehistoric time [1,2,3,4]
We asked following questions: (i) What are different vertebrates that are used in traditional healing practices in the ChitwanAnnapurna Landscape, central Nepal? What are the modes of preparation and administration of vertebrate based traditional medicine? (iii) What major ailment categories are treated by different vertebrates and what are the most important vertebrate species used against different ailments? (iv) What is the conservation status of each vertebrate that is used as traditional medicine? To answer the above-mentioned questions, we interviewed 204 locals from the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape, central Nepal
A total of 58 species of vertebrates used for the treatment of 62 human ailments which were grouped into 11 categories
Summary
Bio-resources, both flora and fauna, are integral part of the indigenous healing practices used by human beings since the prehistoric time [1,2,3,4]. The traditional knowledge on the use of bio-resources for medicine has a significant contribution in maintaining the human health [3, 5,6,7,8]. Ethno-medicinal uses of vertebrates in Nepal and fauna [9, 10] and different chemical compounds derived from plants and animals are used to improve human health [11, 12]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has selected a total of 252 essential chemical compounds to prepare drugs, where animal based compounds contribute about 8.7% [9]. In addition to the use of animals as medicine, many animals are traded for various purposes in the world [19,20,21]
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