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Ethnoveterinary knowledge of farmers in bilingual regions of Switzerland – is there potential to extend veterinary options to reduce antimicrobial use?
- Source :
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Ethnopharmacological relevance In the pre-antibiotic era, a broad spectrum of medicinal plants was used to treat livestock. This knowledge was neglected in European veterinary medicine for decades but kept alive by farmers. Emergence of multidrug resistant bacterial strains requires a severely restricted use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. We conducted a survey on the ethnoveterinary knowledge of farmers in the bilingual (French and German speaking) Western region of Switzerland, namely the cantons of Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Jura, and in the French speaking part of the canton of Bern. Aim of the study To find out whether differences exist in plants used by farmers in French speaking and bilingual regions of Switzerland as compared to our earlier studies conducted in Switzerland. Additional focus was on plants that are used in diseases which commonly are treated with antimicrobials, on plants used in skin afflictions, and on plants used in animal species such as horses, for which the range of veterinary medicinal products is limited. Material and methods We conducted in 2015 semistructured interviews with 62 dialog partners, mainly cattle keeping farmers but also 18 horse keeping farmers. Of these, 41 were native French (FNS) and 21 native German speakers (GNS). Detailed information about homemade herbal remedies (plant species, plant part, manufacturing process) and the corresponding use reports (target animal species, category of use, route of administration, dosage, source of knowledge, frequency of use, last time of use and farmers satisfaction) were collected. Results A total of 345 homemade remedies were reported, of which 240 contained only one plant species (Homemade Single Species Herbal Remedy Reports; HSHR). A total of 289 use reports (UR) were mentioned for the 240 HSHR, and they comprised 77 plant species belonging to 41 botanical families. Of these, 35 plant species were solely reported from FNS, 20 from GNS, and 22 from both. Taking into account earlier ethnoveterinary studies conducted in Switzerland only 10 (FNS) and 6 (GNS) plant species connected with 7% of FNS and GNS UR respectively were “unique” to the respective language group. The majority of the UR (219) was for treatment of cattle, while 38 UR were intended to treat horses. The most UR were for treatment of gastrointestinal and skin diseases. The most frequently mentioned plants were Linum usitatissimum L., Coffea L., Matricaria chamomilla L., Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, and Quercus robur L. for gastrointestinal diseases, and Calendula officinalis L., Hypericum perforatum L. and Sanicula europaea L. for skin afflictions. Conclusion No clear differences were found between the medicinal plants used by French native speakers and German native speakers. Several of the reported plants seem to be justified to widen the spectrum of veterinary therapeutic options in gastrointestinal and dermatological disorders in cattle and horses, and to reduce, at least to a certain degree, the need for antibiotic treatments. Our findings may help to strengthen the role of medicinal plants in veterinary research and practice, and to consider them as a further measure in official strategies for lowering the use of antibiotics.<br />Graphical abstract Image 1
- Subjects :
- Male
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Veterinary medicine
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Ethnobotany
QD, dermatologicals
QM, musculo-skeletal system
Health and welfare
Cattle Diseases
Skin disease
German
0302 clinical medicine
Anti-Infective Agents
French speaking swiss region (Fribourg, Jura, Jura bernois, Neuchãchtel))
Drug Discovery
Jura bernois)
QG52, mastitis
Middle aged
Medicinal plants
Language
FNS, French native speaker
Aged, 80 and over
0303 health sciences
Farmers
Livestock disease
biology
MBW, Metabolic bodyweight
Medicinal plant
food and beverages
QG, genito urinary system and sex hormones
French speaking swiss regions (Fribourg
Gastrointestinal disease
Geography
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
PSES, previous Swiss ethnoveterinary studies
language
Female
Livestock
Switzerland
HSHR, Homemade-Single-Species Herbal Remedy Reports
Adult
dpe, dry plant equivalent
QR, respiratory system
Ethnoveterinary medicine
CNS, central nervous system
Skin Diseases
630: Landwirtschaft
Article
Livestock diseases
03 medical and health sciences
Jura
DP, dialog partners
Health knowledge
Animals
Humans
Horses
Neuchâtel
VAS, visual analog scale
Aged
030304 developmental biology
QS, sensory organs
Pharmacology
Plants, Medicinal
business.industry
Plant Part
Coffea
Traditional medicine
biology.organism_classification
language.human_language
UR, Use report
QA, alimentary system and metabolism
Cattle
Horse Diseases
GNS, German native speaker
Antimicrobial
Medicine, Traditional
business
Phytotherapy
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 03788741
- Volume :
- 246
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....b07460080443aa52496840d06903d0f1