http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/8/1/39
A survey of plants and plant products traditionally used in livestock health management in Buuri district, Meru County, Kenya
1
Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Catholic
University of Eastern Africa, P.O. Box 62157–00200, Nairobi, Kenya
2 Department of Biological Sciences, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, South Eastern University College (A Constituent College of the University of Nairobi), P.O. Box 170–90200, Kitui, Kenya
2 Department of Biological Sciences, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, South Eastern University College (A Constituent College of the University of Nairobi), P.O. Box 170–90200, Kitui, Kenya
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2012, 8:39
doi:10.1186/1746-4269-8-39
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/8/1/39
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/8/1/39
| Received: | 6 June 2012 |
| Accepted: | 30 September 2012 |
| Published: | 8 October 2012 |
© 2012 Gakuubi and Wanzala; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background
Up till now, nomadic communities in Africa have been the primary focus of ethnoveterinary
research. Although mainly arable and/or mixed arable/pastoral farmers, Ameru of central
Kenya are known to have a rich history of ethnoveterinary knowledge. Their collective
and accumulative ethnoveterinary knowledge (EVK) is likely to be just as rich and
worth documenting. The aim of the study was to document and analyse the ethnoveterinary
knowledge of the Ameru.
Methods
Non-alienating, dialogic, participatory action research (PAR) and participatory rural
appraisal (PRA) approaches involving 21 women and men aged between 50 and 79 years
old were utilized. A combination of snowball and purposive sampling methods were used
to select 21 key respondents. The methods comprised a set of triangulation approach
needed in EVK for non-experimental validation of ethnoknowledge of the Ameru.
Results
A total of 48 plant species distributed in 26 families were documented with details
of diseases/ill-health conditions, parts of plants used and form of preparation and
administration methods applied to different animal groups. Of these families, Fabaceae
had the highest number of species (16.67%), followed by Solanaceae (12.5%), Asteraceae
and Euphorbiacea (each comprising 8.33%), Lamiaceae (6.25%), Apocynaceae and Boraginaceae
(each comprising 4.17%), while the rest of the 19 families, each was represented by
a single plant species. About 30 livestock diseases/ill-health conditions were described,
each treated by at least one of the 48 plant species. Most prevalent diseases/ill-health
conditions included: - anaplasmosis, diarrhea, East Coast fever, pneumonia, helminthiasis,
general weakness and skin diseases involving wounds caused by ectoparasites.
Conclusion
The study showed that there was a rich knowledge and ethnopractices for traditional
animal healthcare amongst the Ameru. This study therefore provides some groundwork
for elucidating the efficacy of some of these plants, plant products and ethnopractices
in managing livestock health as further research may lead to discovery of useful ethnopharmaceutical
agents applicable in livestock industry.
