Search

Animal rearing is the major occupation of most population of South Asian countries. Due to lack of resources and limited approach to modern medicine, most of the livestock raisers prefer to use plant-based traditional medicine also referred to as ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM). Indeed, the use of medicinal plants in South Asia dates back to several centuries with documented evidences. However, there is currently a dearth of documentation and compilation of use of medicinal plants for animal diseases in this part of the world. This review aims to provide an up-to-date compilation of common medicinal plants used for the treatment and/or management of common animal diseases in South Asian countries. Extensive literature search was conducted online and relevant data was retrieved from well-known scientific databases. A total of 276 plants belonging to 95 families have been documented to be in common use for managing 14 different categories of animal diseases. Solanaceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, and Leguminosae were most common plant families in terms of their plant species used for EVM. Gastric diseases were commonly reported and accounted for 72 species of plants used for its treatment followed by the miscellaneous disorders category and skin diseases comprising of 65 and 39 plant species respectively. Herbs accounted for 46% of the total plant species, followed by trees (33%), and shrubs (18%). The EVM were applied through different routes of administration; oral administration accounted for 72% followed by topical application 27%, while burning of plant parts to create smoke around animals to repel insects was less common (1%). It is anticipated that the present review will stimulate further ethnoveterinary research among livestock disease management practices in South Asia.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The uses of anti-diabetic plants are well anchored in the traditional health care system of Pakistan. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ethno-botanical study about the uses of plants for the treatment of diabetes. The aim of the study is to record indigenous knowledge on anti-diabetic plants from Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) and diabetic patients. In addition, it is aimed to ascertain and validate the traditional uses of anti-diabetic plants by citing pharmacological activities and phytochemical constitutes from previously published literature., Materials and Methods: The ethno-medicinal data was documented during 14 field surveys, each comprising of 10 days, from 3 regions of Pakistan (Islamabad, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and Deserts of Sindh). In total, 113 THPs and 44 diabetic patients were interviewed using open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires. Quantitative indices, including Relative Frequency of Citation percentage (RFC %) and Disease Consensus Index (DCI) were calculated. The documented data is authenticated by comparing with 28 published articles on ethno-botanical aspects and many pharmacological studies., Results: In total, 120 plant species belonging to 50 families were reported. The ethno-botanical results indicated that Moraceae (11 species); herb (56 reports) is dominant life form; the leaves (56 reports) are the most used plant part and decoction (24%) is the preferred mode of preparation. The quantitative analysis shows that RFC% ranges from 14 to 42 and DCI varies from 0.15 to 0.74. By comparing to previous studies, 64 species are reported new in traditional treatment of DM; 40 species are new to pharmacological evidence and 3 species are new to phytochemical studies., Conclusions: This study recoded the significant indigenous knowledge about anti-diabetic plants among the THPs and diabetic patients in Pakistan. This type of ethno-botanical knowledge on traditional use of anti-diabetic plants is an important step in designing detailed pharmacological and clinical trials for Diabetes Miletus treatment. It is recommended that further pharmacological and phytochemical analysis should be conducted on those species which lack previous references in literature and have highest Frequency of Citation (FC), Disease Consensus Index (DCI) and Relative Frequency of Citation percentage (RFC%)., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Rich accessibility of medicinal plants in the study area provides low cost health care for respiratory disorders to local communities. This first report survey was commenced with an aim to document ethnic knowledge regarding the use of folk herbal medicine for respiratory diseases among the local communities of Gallies Abbottabad, Northern Pakistan using quantitative ethnobotanical approaches., Method: Field survey was carried out over the period of 2 years i.e., March 2012-March 2014 in study area. The ethnomedicinal data was collected through interviews among the local communities. Documented data was evaluated using use value (UV) and Relative Frequency Citation (RFC)., Results: A total of 120 species of plants belonging to 90 genera of 51 families were reported to be used ethnomedicinally for the treatment of 25 different respiratory disorders. Leaves were the most commonly used plant parts and most of the herbal medicines were prepared in the form of decoctions and administered orally. The most significant species according to their use value were Solanum virginianum (5.00), Althea officinalis (3.00), Inula obtusifolia (3.00), Saxifraga hirculus (3.00) and Sisymbrium erysimoides (3.00)., Conclusion: This study reported traditional herbal medicines for the first time to be used against respiratory disorders in the Gallies, Northern Pakistan are still in common practice by the local communities. Some of the new ethnobotanical claims documented in this investigation should need to be further explore clinically. The medicinal plants with highest use values recorded in this study may signpost the probable existence of valuable phytochemical compounds that requires a search for prospective new drugs to cure many respiratory disorders., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)