Abstract
In Ethiopia, locally available materials, mainly medicinal plants, are commonly utilized to manage livestock diseases. However, this practice is currently being threatened by several factors including loss of traditional knowledge and depletion of plant resources. This calls for an urgent need to document the ethnoveterinary knowledge in the country and conserve the associated medicinal plants. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to document traditional knowledge on use of medicinal plants in the Adea Berga district, Oromia region of Ethiopia, to manage livestock ailments. Ethnobotanical data were collected largely through semistructured interviews conducted with purposively selected traditional healers of the district. The study identified 59 medicinal plants used in ethnoveterinary practices in the district. The great majority (90.4%) of the medicinal plants were used in fresh forms, which were mainly administered orally. The majority (65.4%) of the medicinal plants were gathered from the wild. Data revealed that yoke sore (wound) had the highest informant consensus factor (ICF) value (1.00), followed by leech infestation (0.92) and endoparasite infections (0.90). The highest fidelity level (FL) (100%) and rank order priority (ROP) (100%) values were obtained for the plants Nicotiana tabacum, Malva parviflora, and Calpurnia aurea that were used to treat leech infestation, retained placenta, and snake poisoning, respectively. Priority for further pharmacological and phytochemical investigations needs to be given to the aforementioned three plants with the highest FL and ROP values as such values may indicate their higher potency against the respective ailments.
Highlights
Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in the world and the first in Africa in terms of livestock population
It is worth noting that in the Ethiopian traditional medical system, knowledge is handed down from generation to generation largely by word of mouth with little culture of documentation and as a result there is high probability that a portion of it could be lost in the process. e continuation of the practice is negatively affected by the depletion of medicinal plants used in the system mainly due to agricultural expansion and deforestation. erefore, there is an urgent need for conducting more ethnoveterinary surveys in different parts of the country to save the traditional knowledge and the associated medicinal plants from further loss
Ethnoveterinary study to document medicinal plants used to manage livestock diseases was conducted in the Adea Berga district, West Shewa zone, the Oromia regional state of Ethiopia. e Adea Berga district is located between 9° 12′ and 9° 37′N latitude and 38° 17′ and 38° 36′E longitude [19] at 70 km west of Addis Ababa and 35 km northwest of the Holeta town. e district shares borders with the Walmera district in the south, Ejerie district in the southwest, Meta Robi district in the west, and the Muger River in the north and east
Summary
Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in the world and the first in Africa in terms of livestock population. One of the major challenges of livestock production in the country is the high prevalence of different diseases affecting domestic animals [1]. As most modern drugs are expensive and not affordable for the majority of Ethiopian farmers and pastoralists, disease control measures largely depend on traditional medicine, which mainly involves the use of medicinal plants [2]. Despite the huge contribution of medicinal plants in the Ethiopian animal healthcare system and rich traditional medical knowledge, little effort has so far been made to properly document ethnoveterinary-related knowledge and conserve the associated medicinal plants in an effort to ensure their better and sustainable uses. It is worth noting that in the Ethiopian traditional medical system, knowledge is handed down from generation to generation largely by word of mouth with little culture of documentation and as a result there is high probability that a portion of it could be lost in the process. It is worth noting that in the Ethiopian traditional medical system, knowledge is handed down from generation to generation largely by word of mouth with little culture of documentation and as a result there is high probability that a portion of it could be lost in the process. e continuation of the practice is negatively affected by the depletion of medicinal plants used in the system mainly due to agricultural expansion and deforestation. erefore, there is an urgent need for conducting more ethnoveterinary surveys in different parts of the country to save the traditional knowledge and the associated medicinal plants from further loss
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