Abstract
Plant species of the Poaceae family are not only used as fodder and forage but also contribute substantially to the treatment of various health disorders, particularly in livestock. Consequently, the present study was aimed to document the therapeutic uses of Poaceae practiced by the inhabitants of the Punjab Province for the treatment of various veterinary health disorders. Semi structured interviews, group discussion and field walks were conducted to collect the data. Quantitative indices including cultural significance index (CSI), relative frequency of citations (RFC), fidelity level (FL), relative popularity level (RPL), and Jaccard Index (JI) were used for the data analysis. Traditional uses of 149 species belonging to 60 genera and 16 tribes of 5 sub families of Poaceae were recorded. Whole plants and leaves were the most consistently used parts with 40.94 and 29.53%. The plants were mainly given orally as fodder (59 reports) without processing followed by decoction (35 reports). Most of the species were employed to treat infectious diseases (25.93%), and digestive disorders (14.10%). Triticum aestivum had the highest CSI, RFC and RPL levels at 8.00, 0.96, 1.00, respectively, followed by Oryza sativa and Poa annua. Likewise, T. aestivum and Saccharum spontaneum had 100% FL and ROP. Jaccard index ranged from 12.25 to 0.37. Twelve plant species namely Chrysopogon zizanioides (anti-inflammatory), Pennisetum lanatum (improve bull fertility), Cymbopogon citratus (glandular secretion), Sorghum saccharatum and Themeda triandra (malaria), Aristida funiculate (anticancer), Koeleria argentia (skin allergies), Tetrapogon villosus (antibacterial), Cynodon radiatus (eyes infection), Sporobolus nervosa (Jaundice), Enneapogon persicus (antifungal), and Panicum repens (dysfunctional cattle organs) were reported for the first time, with novel ethnoveterinary uses. The inhabitants of the study area had a strong association with their surrounding plant diversity and possessed significant knowledge on therapeutic uses of Poaceae to treat various health disorders in animals. Plant species with maximum cultural and medicinal values could be a potential source of novel drugs to cure health disorders in animals and human as well.
Highlights
Botanical taxa belonging to the family Poaceae are the most substantial component of agricultural crops and livestock feed as well as the main sources of economy and revenue for many people of the rural areas around the globe [1]
Data were collected from 271 informants (167 females and 104 males) of ages between 20 to 80 years (Table 1), including domestic cattle holders (44.64%), nomads (29.52%), and farm cattle holders (25.83%), and Traditional practitioners (TP) were classified into five groups based on their experience, such TP with less than 3 years of experience (34), 3–5 years (66). 5–10 years (61), 10–15 years (55), and more than 15 years (55)
It is easy to perceive that the level of indigenous knowledge on medicinal uses of the plant species of family Poaceae was more prevalent in illiterate participants and less educated people, while the more educated informants were less conversant on the ethnomedicinal uses of plant species, of Poaceae taxa
Summary
Botanical taxa belonging to the family Poaceae are the most substantial component of agricultural crops and livestock feed as well as the main sources of economy and revenue for many people of the rural areas around the globe [1]. Native plant species of Poaceae are a cost-effective source of nutrients for livestock and contribute significantly to conserve the soil integrity, water supply and air quality [2]. The major constraints for improved productivity of livestock is the low quality of forage available during the dry season, that cannot meet the nutrient requirements of grazing ruminants [3]. Rural populations worldwide use grasses as a source of feed for domestic animals and as medicines to treat health disorders in animals and humans [4]. Grasses are of particular importance in traditional health care system due to the presence of biologically active compound like alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins [16]. Chloris barbata is used as disinfectant [19], while Heteropogon contortus has anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory properties, and it increases milk production in livestock [20]
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