A study of medicinal plants used as ethnoveterinary: harnessing potential phytotherapy in Bheri, District Muzaffarabad (Pakistan).

BACKGROUND

Medicinal plants are utilized for handling health care system and in preventing a variety of diseases. A survey was conducted to document the rapidly disappearing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in union council Bheri, District Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.

METHODS

Questionnaire format was used to collect the medicinal uses of plants. The 180 informants were interviewed from six villages in total, 30 from each village (20 male and 10 female) regarding the ethnoveterinary uses of plants in several ailments. For the reliability of ethnoveterinary knowledge, the informant consensus factor (FIC), and fidelity level (FL) were calculated and the literature cited was surveyed. The medicinal information was gathered from local inhabitants, healers, shepherds and old men and women of different age groups.

RESULTS

A total of 24 medicinal plant species used as ethnoveterinary were found belonging to 22 genera and 19 families. The most dominant family was Polygonaceae (3 species) followed by Araceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae each with 2 species and remaining families having one species. The important medicinal plant species showed the highest fidelity level (FL) such as: Rumex nepalensis, Primula denticulata, (100%) used for dysuria, red urination, Skimmia laureola (100%), Swertia paniculata (99%), and Angelica glauca (97%), used for ague, cold, shivering, gastric ailments, Melia azedarach (100%), used to reduce intestinal worm load in cattle showing the conformity of knowledge on these species. Highest FIC was recorded for foot and mouth diseases and ectoparasite (1) followed by ague (0.98) and dysuria (0.99) depicting that a few species were used to cure various animals׳ ailments.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the research revealed that merely a few species are used as ethnoveterinary medicine supported by pharmacology study. Due to anthropogenic pressure the extinction of each species from the areas could result in disappearing knowledge regarding century׳s old traditional methods of curing diseases from these plant species.