ETHNOVETERINARY PRACTICE; PROMOTING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

Presenter: PRATAP KAFLE.

B. V. Sc & A.H. ( T. U)

Ethnoveterinary practice
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Ethnoveterinary practice deals with peoples knowledge, skills, methods, practices and beliefs about the care of their animals (McCorkle 1986). Ethnoveterinary knowledge is acquired through practical experience and has traditionally been passed down orally from generation to generation. Ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) is defined simply as the medicines that livestock keepers are using now, other than modern synthetic drugs (Mathius-Mundy & McCorkle, 1989).

Ethnoveterinary practice is Developed through trial-and-error and deliberate experimentation. Developed by farmers in fields and barns, rather than by scientists in laboratories and clinics. Less systematic and less formalized, and is usually transferred by word of mouth rather than in writing. This term was firstly used by McCorkle in the mid 1980's to designate the "people's knowledge, abilities, methods, practices and beliefs concerning animal health care"

Indigenous knowledge(IK)
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Simply indigenous knowledge is the traditional inherent knowledge of the society people about various aspects of life and development. IK is a means of articulating what people know andfor the future creating new knowledge from the intersection of their capacities and the challenges of development.

Scientific Validiation

Builds new educational dimension into existing age group societies and traditional associations

NEW KNOWLEDGE

Aspects of ethnoveterinary practice

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Information: Stock raisers commonly know when their animals are sick. They can describe the disease signs, which season the disease commonly strikes, and what types of animals are affected.

Practices: This is much wider than just the use of herbal medicines. It also covers bone-setting, vaccination against pox and other infectious diseases, branding, and careful management practices. Tools and technologies: These range from simple tools such as thorns to vaccinate animals, to complex animal housing adapted to local conditions. Farmers are familiar with the various materials available in their environment, and skilfully take advantage of their various qualities.

Breeds: Local breeds, such as dairy buffaloes, are the outcome of centuries of selection . Local breeds are presently receiving increased attention in connection with attempts to conserve their decreasing genetic resources. Beliefs: Some beliefs can be very useful because they improve the animals condition or prevent them from getting sick. Eg: Feeding of salt that has been blessed, protecting animals against evil winds -Not letting animals on pastures where other animals have died from diseases such as anthrax.

Human resources: Knowledgeable farmers, herders and local healers are treasurers of knowledge and can be valuable partners in development projects.

History of ethnoveterinary practice

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Wynn (2001) describes the today's traditional medicine, as undoubtedly the oldest form of medicine and probably evolved simultaneously with the evolution of human beings. People's association and care for animals' health is a very ancient phenomenon and perhaps, originates from the Biblical times of Adam in the Garden of Eden. This becomes self evident in the Bible when Adam was shown herbal remedies and made the master of all animals (Genesis1: 26-29). Historical records reveal people's association with and treatment of animals to be over 14,000 years ago, first with a dog, followed by sheep and goats by 9,000BC in the fertile Nile Valley, and then with cattle in Egypt from 4000BC and in Anatolia around 6000BC (Mellaart 1967).

veterinary therapeutic techniques of Egyptian healers (priesthealers) are recorded in the veterinary Papyrus of Kahun (c. 1900 BC). They combined both religious and medical roles. In Ayurverdic records, the earliest art of ethnomedicine-based practices advocating for the animals health, appear to be nearly over 5000 years old in a Chinese pharmacopoeia (Huxley 1977). Sumerians' records, in which about 1000 medicinal plants were documented, over 4000 years ago, later followed this. During the reign of King Ashoka between 269 and 232 BC using herbal remedies against animal disease was very much in practice

Therefore, although the veterinary art is such ancient (Bierer 1955), the recognition and subsequent appreciation of people' s indigenous knowledge on healthcare for animals, is a very recent one in both scientific and academic cycles

Its importance is being made the focus of attention from the beginning of mid-1970s and gaining its momentum from early 1980s (McCorkle 1986). This period of time, should be relatively and appropriately be regarded as a revolutionary period of today's ethnoveterinary medicine.
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Types of ethnoveterinary practice

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Plants (Phytotherapy)
Comprise the largest component of the diverse therapeutic elements of traditional livestock health care practices. It is estimated that medicinal plants, for several centuries, have been widely used as a primary source of prevention and control of livestock diseases. plants.docx

Animals ( Zootherapy)
Animal-derived remedies represent important resources used in ethnoveterinary practive, however this use have been neglected in comparison to medicinal plant research. Mostly practiced in latin american countries, mailny Brazil, however not so much is done in our country about documentation and validation, although it is in practice. Example is the treatment of scabies using the pig fat with sulfur generally acquired in market or pharmacy.

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Ethnovet materia medica

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Traditional healing practices make use of three important elements: application of natural products appeal to spiritual forces manipulation and surgery Natural products used are: medicinal plants and by-products edible earth and minerals parts and products of animals other ingredients

Plants Commonly used ingredients in the preparation of ethnovet medicines. All parts of the plants, including leaves, bark, fruits, flowers, seeds are used. At present over 35,000 plants are known to have healing properties.( FAO, 2006).

Edible earth and minerals Edible earth, especially from termite and ant hills, is commonly used. Limestone is a commonly used edible type of earth used in decoctions and concoctions.

Parts and products of animals Parts and products of animals, such as skin and hides, bones, milk, butter and even urine and dung are ingredients of ethnovet medicines.

Other ingredients Honey, vegetable oils and butters, and salt are used for their healing and preservative properties.

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Ethnovet preparations
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Powder
Barks, roots, leaves and entire plants are dried and pounded until they form a powder. The powder can be fed to sick animals directly, mixed in salt or used in the preparation for several medicines.

Poultice
Adding just enough hot water to plant material, usually in powder form, makes a poultice or a paste. The paste is then applied on the affected area. Poultices are used on inflamed areas, bruises or to soothe irritations, as well as to withdraw pus, toxins and particles imbedded in the skin.

Ointment and cream Made by mixing finely powdered plant materials or extracts with butter or cooking oil. Applied to affected areas such as rashes or sprains. Decoction One or several plant materials are chopped into small sizes and added to water.  The water is boiled for 15-30 minutes.  Use only clay or steel pots; no aluminium utensils should be used for this. Infusion Boiling water is poured into powder or chopped plant parts have been put. The container is covered for 10-20 minutes until the medicinal components have been extracted. The water is filtered and given to the animal, cooled or warm. Cold water extract Some active ingredients are easily destroyed by heat. Therefore a cold water extract can be made by soaking leaves and roots overnight in water. After filtering, the cold extract can be administered. 16 The extract should be prepared fresh daily.

Tincture Mixing water (70-80%), alcohol (20-30%) and plant materials makes a tincture. The plant materials are left in the mixture for one to several days until the desired medicinal properties have been extracted. The tincture is filtered and used internally or externally.

Fumigation Dry or wet plant material is put in the fire and the smoke engulfs the animal.  Fumigants are commonly used against ectoparasites such as tsetse flies.

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Some examples of ethnovet preparations

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Pinkeye (keratoconju nctivitis)

Materials: Milk 250 ml Salt 2 tablespoons Dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt in 1 cup (250ml) of fresh milk. Milk alone can also be used, especially if it is the first milk after birth (parturition). Using a clean syringe (without a needle) wash the affected eye with the milk solution twice a day until the animal recovers.

Worms in the eye (thelazia)

Material: Pilostigma thonningii 0.25 kg Pound or chew the fresh fibrous bark of Pilostigma thonningii. Squeeze it and collect the liquid. Apply some of the liquid directly to the eye daily, continue for 3-7 days.
Material: Fresh milk 4 ltr Collect 4 litres of fresh milk. Drench 4 litres for adult cattle and 2 litres for calves. The animals will Recover within 1-3 hours. Keep the bloated animal running until it passes gas. Any type of oil (edible, or even paraffin/kerosene!) Drench the animal with the oil.

Bloat (tympany)

Ethnoveterinary versus modern veterinary medicine

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ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINE

MODERN VETERINARY MEDICINE

Integration

Integration with culture, Separation from animal religion and other aspects of a husbandry, human medicine, communitys life; animal pharmacy, and religion healers often also treat humans, and human healers treat animals Holistic: treats whole patient Treatments often target specific organs Hightech methods play important role

Approach

Diagnosis

Depends mostly on observation and the senses

Prevention and treatment

Seeks to control microStimulates immunity and improves the general condition organisms

Strength and limitations

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STRENGTHS
Accessible. Easy to prepare and administer. Costs very little or nothing at all. Part of ones own culture. Environmentally friendly. Only source of healthcare available to poor.

LIMITATIONS
Some remedies are inconvenient to prepare or use. Certain plants are available only at some times of the year. Some treatments are ineffective. Some practices are harmful. Traditional diagnoses may be inadequate Dosages are uncertain and remedies are not standard.

Validation of ethnoveterinary practices and medicines

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Changing environmental factors have in some cases led to some important medicinal plants becoming scarce and to the emergence of new diseases. These developments have led to pressure on ethnoveterinary treatments from time to time. In the face of these challenges, local cattle owners have often used the following criteria to validate the safety and effectiveness of ethnoveterinary medicines:

Evidence of historical use Evidence based on historical use of a treatment is the most widely used criterion to determine whether a treatment is safe and effective or not. In most cases, ethnovets will try to find out how many other cattle owners use the same treatment: the more users, the higher the credibility of the treatment. Farmer-run trials Farmers sometimes carry out trials in an attempt to find a treatment for a particular disease problem that might either not have a treatment at all or where current treatment might not be very effective. These trials are also used to determine the safety of a new remedy and are often carried out on dogs where safety is in doubt. Self-medication by domestic or wild animals Ethnovets who observe their animals regularly for unusual behaviour often learn a lot from the animals themselves. Animals sometimes know which herbs to feed on when they have certain health problems. Some wild animals also self medicate and ethnovets that are also hunters can observe their behaviour. Alternatively, this information is brought back by hunters and shared with others.
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Doctrine of signatures The doctrine of signatures is an ancient philosophy that holds that plants bearing parts that resemble human or animal body parts have useful relevancy to those parts. For example, plants that bear a lot of fruits are thought to have agents that promote fertility. Plants that exude milk-like substances are thought to be able to improve milk yield, plants that produce red liquids are thought to be able to enhance blood, etc. Documented research findings In the last few decades, there has been a rush to document ethnovet and other traditional remedies. Sometimes, the same plant remedy is used for different treatments. Whether structured conventional trials have been carried out or not on their effectiveness, these documented treatments can easily be accepted as alternatives to unavailable or high-cost conventional treatments.

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Threats
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Disturbance and over exploitation by humans are causing major global reduction of plants diversity (Allen and Barnes, 1985; Bownder, 1987; IUCN, 1991). According to WHO/IUCN (1986), 90 % of plant materials used as medicinal plants are collected from the forests. Not only that, the younger generations show less interest in this field mostly because of poor recognition of the traditional healers and availability of modern health facilities. Because of which, we are in a danger of losing the traditional knowledge forever.

Environmental impacts of ethnoveterinary promotion.

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Positive:
Local practices can be environmentally friendlier than their allopathic counterparts. Local tick control methods, for example, are commonly less harmful to the environment than dipping with commercial chemicals. Ethnoveterinary projects that stimulate conservation measures and the establishment of herb gardens help maintain biodiversity.

Negative:
The large-scale promotion and commercial production brings with it a danger that heavily used plant species may become scarce or even extinct.
Therefore projects promoting plant medicines on a large scale should be required to monitor their environmental impact and explore how far endangered species can be cultivated.

Conclusion and Recommendations

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Traditional knowledge on medicinal compounds from natural resources (animals included!) is still one of the most important means for discovery of unknown biotic drug sources Ethno-veterinary medicine knowledge is a great benefit specially for the indian subcontinent. Livestock farmers can draw on over 4000 years of knowledge and experience conserved in oral histories and traditions amongst different groups. Over time, this information has got scattered and diffused. However, traditional practices still form the building blocks on that the foundations of development lie.

Unless they are understood in their entirety, sustainable development becomes difficult. In Nepal This aspect has received very little attention in modern research and less efforts have been made to upgrade the traditional practices and information available with the local healers/farmers that have trickled down from their fore-fathers. Some works have been done to document the ethnoveterinary practices of some areas but as compared to the huge knowledge in the country, very little information is so far collected.
So, the priority should be given to the documentation of traditional indigenous knowledge and conservation of existing species and habitats before some of these are eliminated from the area (Joshi et al., 2003).
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Nepal Biodiversity Strategy has also highlighted its importance for documentation and proper conservation of traditional knowledge and biodiversity (NBS, 2002). Governments should take more interest to increase investment in complementary and alternative medicine for achieving the goal of cost reduction in health services and the medicinal plants as cost-saving replacements of commercial drugs (Mathias, 2004; 11 Kim, 2005). Furthermore, research related to chemical screening should also be initiated to analyse the chemical contents of medicinal plants and the implications on health. In addition to medicinal use, plant resources can be linked to the preservation of biodiversity and alleviation of poverty.
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References
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Alves RRN, Rosa IL: Why study the use of animal products in traditional medicines? Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2005, 1:1-5. Alves RRN, Rosa IL: Biodiversity, traditional medicine and public health: where do they meet? Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2007, 3:1-9. Bonet, M.A. & Valles, J., 2007. Ethnobotany of Montseny biosphere reserve (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula): Plants used in veterinary medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 110:130-147. David JP, Anderson LA: Ethnopharmacology and western medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 1969, 25:61-72. http://www.napreca.net/publications/abstracts/11bookabstr.doc (accessed 22/05/2011) Lans, C.A., 2001. Creole Remedies: Case studies of ethno veterinary medicine in Trinidad and Tobago (abstract). http://library.wur.nl/wda/abstracts/ab2992.html (accessed 22/05/2011) Lans, C., Georges, K. & Brown, G., 2007. Non-experimental validation of ethno-veterinary plants and indigenous knowledge used for backyard pigs and chickens in Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of Tropical animal Health and Production, 39:375-385.

Kalesaraj, R., 1974. Screening of some indigenous plants for anthelmintic action against human Ascaris lumbricoides. Indian J. Physiol. Pharmacol., 18: 12931 Lev E: Traditional healing with animals (zootherapy): medieval to present-day Levantine practice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2003, 86:107-118.

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Thank you!

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The Economist Dec 13th -19th 2003

Back to nature or Way Ahead ????................