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Identification and Documentation of Ethno-veterinary Remedies Used by Afar Pastoralists for the Treatment of Camel Diseases in Ethiopia

Received: 17 February 2022     Accepted: 7 March 2022     Published: 15 March 2022
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Abstract

Background: Ethnoveterinary medicine is a scientific term for traditional animal health care that encompasses knowledge, belief, practice and skill of the community used for curing diseases and maintaining health of animals. A cross-sectional study was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires from September 2016 to August 2017 to gather information on the knowledge, practice and skill of the pastoralists and traditional healers about the importance and application of Ethno-veterinary medicine. Moreover, this study was conducted with the objectives of identification and documentation of major ethno-veterinary medicinal plants commonly used to treat camel aliments in Afar region. Result: A total of 146 traditional healers and pastoralists were interviewed for baseline and reliable information about Ethno-veterinary medicinal practice in Afar region. Accordingly, 99.3% of the respondents were men in which 66.44% of them were in the age range of 45-60. Majorities (76.02%) of the information’s concerning EVM were obtained from the elders among which 84.93% responded that the overall EVM practice and status in pastoral society of Afar is decreasing. A total of 710 plant species supposed to have medicinal property were recommended by pastoralists to be used for the treatment of 49 different animal diseases. Among 64 plants specimen collected, Balanites aegyptia, Cissus rotundifolia (Forssk.) Vahl, Cadaba rotundifolia Forssk, Solanum sp, Acalypha indica L and Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karsts were the commonly used plant species with high fidelity value. Concerned with plant parts used, leaf (20.5%) was the most frequently used plant parts followed by root (19.4%), fruit (14.4%), seed (10.8%) and entire plant (8.8%). These herbal remedies were administered orally, nasally, ocular and topically. Conclusion: pastoralists and traditional healers in Afar region have immense indigenous knowledge and practices of treating sick animals which should be supported by scientific techniques for analyzing the active ingredients contained in each plant species and for evaluating the safety, efficacy and dosage of the commonly used medicinal plants. In addition, on station establishment of commonly used medicinal plant nursery for conservation purpose and to conduct in-depth phytochemical analysis is paramount important.

Published in Journal of Diseases and Medicinal Plants (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13
Page(s) 16-23
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Afar, Camel, Ethnoveterinary, Herbal Remedies, Pastoralist, Traditional Healers

References
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    Fekadu Gutema Wegi, Weldegebrial Gebrezgabher Aregawi, Juhar Tesfaye Bekele, Abel Sorsa Gelatu. (2022). Identification and Documentation of Ethno-veterinary Remedies Used by Afar Pastoralists for the Treatment of Camel Diseases in Ethiopia. Journal of Diseases and Medicinal Plants, 8(1), 16-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13

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    Fekadu Gutema Wegi; Weldegebrial Gebrezgabher Aregawi; Juhar Tesfaye Bekele; Abel Sorsa Gelatu. Identification and Documentation of Ethno-veterinary Remedies Used by Afar Pastoralists for the Treatment of Camel Diseases in Ethiopia. J. Dis. Med. Plants 2022, 8(1), 16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13

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    AMA Style

    Fekadu Gutema Wegi, Weldegebrial Gebrezgabher Aregawi, Juhar Tesfaye Bekele, Abel Sorsa Gelatu. Identification and Documentation of Ethno-veterinary Remedies Used by Afar Pastoralists for the Treatment of Camel Diseases in Ethiopia. J Dis Med Plants. 2022;8(1):16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13,
      author = {Fekadu Gutema Wegi and Weldegebrial Gebrezgabher Aregawi and Juhar Tesfaye Bekele and Abel Sorsa Gelatu},
      title = {Identification and Documentation of Ethno-veterinary Remedies Used by Afar Pastoralists for the Treatment of Camel Diseases in Ethiopia},
      journal = {Journal of Diseases and Medicinal Plants},
      volume = {8},
      number = {1},
      pages = {16-23},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jdmp.20220801.13},
      abstract = {Background: Ethnoveterinary medicine is a scientific term for traditional animal health care that encompasses knowledge, belief, practice and skill of the community used for curing diseases and maintaining health of animals. A cross-sectional study was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires from September 2016 to August 2017 to gather information on the knowledge, practice and skill of the pastoralists and traditional healers about the importance and application of Ethno-veterinary medicine. Moreover, this study was conducted with the objectives of identification and documentation of major ethno-veterinary medicinal plants commonly used to treat camel aliments in Afar region. Result: A total of 146 traditional healers and pastoralists were interviewed for baseline and reliable information about Ethno-veterinary medicinal practice in Afar region. Accordingly, 99.3% of the respondents were men in which 66.44% of them were in the age range of 45-60. Majorities (76.02%) of the information’s concerning EVM were obtained from the elders among which 84.93% responded that the overall EVM practice and status in pastoral society of Afar is decreasing. A total of 710 plant species supposed to have medicinal property were recommended by pastoralists to be used for the treatment of 49 different animal diseases. Among 64 plants specimen collected, Balanites aegyptia, Cissus rotundifolia (Forssk.) Vahl, Cadaba rotundifolia Forssk, Solanum sp, Acalypha indica L and Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karsts were the commonly used plant species with high fidelity value. Concerned with plant parts used, leaf (20.5%) was the most frequently used plant parts followed by root (19.4%), fruit (14.4%), seed (10.8%) and entire plant (8.8%). These herbal remedies were administered orally, nasally, ocular and topically. Conclusion: pastoralists and traditional healers in Afar region have immense indigenous knowledge and practices of treating sick animals which should be supported by scientific techniques for analyzing the active ingredients contained in each plant species and for evaluating the safety, efficacy and dosage of the commonly used medicinal plants. In addition, on station establishment of commonly used medicinal plant nursery for conservation purpose and to conduct in-depth phytochemical analysis is paramount important.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Identification and Documentation of Ethno-veterinary Remedies Used by Afar Pastoralists for the Treatment of Camel Diseases in Ethiopia
    AU  - Fekadu Gutema Wegi
    AU  - Weldegebrial Gebrezgabher Aregawi
    AU  - Juhar Tesfaye Bekele
    AU  - Abel Sorsa Gelatu
    Y1  - 2022/03/15
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13
    T2  - Journal of Diseases and Medicinal Plants
    JF  - Journal of Diseases and Medicinal Plants
    JO  - Journal of Diseases and Medicinal Plants
    SP  - 16
    EP  - 23
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2469-8210
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jdmp.20220801.13
    AB  - Background: Ethnoveterinary medicine is a scientific term for traditional animal health care that encompasses knowledge, belief, practice and skill of the community used for curing diseases and maintaining health of animals. A cross-sectional study was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires from September 2016 to August 2017 to gather information on the knowledge, practice and skill of the pastoralists and traditional healers about the importance and application of Ethno-veterinary medicine. Moreover, this study was conducted with the objectives of identification and documentation of major ethno-veterinary medicinal plants commonly used to treat camel aliments in Afar region. Result: A total of 146 traditional healers and pastoralists were interviewed for baseline and reliable information about Ethno-veterinary medicinal practice in Afar region. Accordingly, 99.3% of the respondents were men in which 66.44% of them were in the age range of 45-60. Majorities (76.02%) of the information’s concerning EVM were obtained from the elders among which 84.93% responded that the overall EVM practice and status in pastoral society of Afar is decreasing. A total of 710 plant species supposed to have medicinal property were recommended by pastoralists to be used for the treatment of 49 different animal diseases. Among 64 plants specimen collected, Balanites aegyptia, Cissus rotundifolia (Forssk.) Vahl, Cadaba rotundifolia Forssk, Solanum sp, Acalypha indica L and Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karsts were the commonly used plant species with high fidelity value. Concerned with plant parts used, leaf (20.5%) was the most frequently used plant parts followed by root (19.4%), fruit (14.4%), seed (10.8%) and entire plant (8.8%). These herbal remedies were administered orally, nasally, ocular and topically. Conclusion: pastoralists and traditional healers in Afar region have immense indigenous knowledge and practices of treating sick animals which should be supported by scientific techniques for analyzing the active ingredients contained in each plant species and for evaluating the safety, efficacy and dosage of the commonly used medicinal plants. In addition, on station establishment of commonly used medicinal plant nursery for conservation purpose and to conduct in-depth phytochemical analysis is paramount important.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Animal Health Research Program, Werer Agricultural Research Center, Werer, Ethiopia

  • Animal Health Research Program, Werer Agricultural Research Center, Werer, Ethiopia

  • Animal Health Research Program, Werer Agricultural Research Center, Werer, Ethiopia

  • Animal Health Research Program, Werer Agricultural Research Center, Werer, Ethiopia

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