Volume 4, Supplement 1, May 2014, Pages S460–S467
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115303117
Document heading
An ethnobotanical study of plants used for the treatment of livestock diseases in Tikamgarh District of Bundelkhand, Central India
- Open Access funded by Hainan Medical University
- Under a Creative Commons license
Open Access
ABSTRACT
Objective
To
explore and document the information regarding usage of ethnoveterinary
medicinal plants utilized by rural farmers and traditional herbal
healers for livestock healthcare in Tikamgarh District of Bundelkhnad,
Central India.
Methods
The
remote villages of Tikamgarh district were regularly visited from July
2011 to June 2012. Following the methods of Jain and Goel (1995)
information regarding the usage of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants was
collected.
Results
A total of
41 plant species in 39 genera and 25 families were used traditionally
with various plant parts and their combinations for the treatment of
more than 36 diseases in the studied area. Trees (17 species) were found
to be the most used Ethnoveterinary medicinal plants followed by herbs
(15 species), shrubs (6 species) and grasses (3) in descending order.
The most common diseases cough, diarrhoea and fever were treated by 04
ethnoveterinary medicinal plant species.
Conclusions
The
present study recommended that the crop and medicinal plant genetic
resources cannot be conserved and protected without conserving/managing
of the agro-ecosystem or natural habitat of medicinal plants and the
socio-cultural organization of the local people. The same may be applied
to protect indigenous knowledge, related to the use of medicinal and
other wild plants. Introduction of medicinal plants in degraded
government and common lands could be another option for promoting the
rural economy together with environmental conservation, but has not
received attention in the land rehabilitation programs in this region.
KEYWORDS
- Ethnoveterinary medicinal plants;
- Livestock healthcare;
- Traditional herbal healers;
- Bundelkhand;
- Central India
1. Introduction
The
rich and diversified flora of India provides valuable storehouse of
medicinal plants. The curative properties of herbs have long been known
and are documented in ancient manuscripts such as in Rig Veda, Garuda
Purana and Agni Purana. These treatises focus on the potential of plants
and herbs to cure human ailments and diseases. Scientists are now
documenting various ethnoveterinary practices based on plant drugs. The
plant wealth of India also offers the people who tend livestock a rich
reservoir in treating the diseases and ailments of the animals. Seventy
six percent population of India is predominantly rural[1].
In
Indian agriculture, livestock plays a key role in the farmers life,
they provide farm power, rural transport, manure, fuel, milk and meat,
but also a major role in rural economy by providing income and
employment to the small hold farmers and other weaker sections of the
society. The indigenous knowledge of the veterinary health care system
acquired by traditional herbal healers and elderly learned farmers and
is orally transformed from one generation to other. It is less
systematic and less formalized and is usually transferred by word of
mouth rather than in writing[2].
Ethnoveterinary
medicine, deal with traditional animal health care which encompasses
the knowledge, skills, methods, practices and beliefs about animal
health care. Ethnoveterinary medicine is developed by farmers in fields
and barns, rather than by scientists in laboratories and clinics.
Ethnoveterinary medicine often provides cheaper options than comparable
western drugs and the products are locally available and more easily
accessible. In the face of these and other factors, there is increasing
interest in the field of ethnoveterinary research and development[3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8].
The
possible benefit of plant derived medications constitutes a rewarding
area of research, particularly in countries such as India which have a
rich biodiversity of natural plant resources coupled with a high
prevalence and variety of infectious diseases. The characteristics,
sophistication, and intensity of the ethnoveterinary systems differ
greatly among individuals, societies, and regions. Hence, documentation
of ethnoveterinary medicine from regions having a rich ethnographic and
biodiversity setting would be of great significance. Traditional
knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and their use by
indigenous cultures are not only useful for conservation of cultural
traditions and biodiversity but also for community healthcare and drug
development in the present and future[9].
Documentation of indigenous knowledge and evaluation of the use of
plants for a variety of purposes assume greater significance, not just
to retain it, but also to keep it alive and make it available for future
use because of rapid socio-economic and cultural changes that are
taking place across the traditional community of the region. Keeping
this in view, the present studies was initiated, with an aim to identify
knowledgeable resource person i.e. elderly learned farmers and
experienced traditional healers and document their knowledge of on the
utilization of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants in Tikamgarh district of
Bundelkhand region, India.
2. Material and methods
Bundelkhand
region is situated between 23°8′-26°30′ N latitude and 78°11′-81°30′ E
longitude in central part of India. The geographical location of
Bundelkhand is in such a way that it acts as a gateway between the north
and south India (Figure 1). The Bundelkhand region comprises of five districts of Uttar Pradesh State viz., Jhansi, Lalitpur, Jalaun, Hamirpur and Banda; six districts of Madhya Pradesh State viz.,
Datia, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Damoh and Sagar and Lahar and
Bhander tahsils of Bhind and Gwalior districts, respectively. The
topography of the region is characterized by its smooth flat lands and
inter-mixed undulating topography of varied slope. The Bundelkhand is
bounded by the Yamuna river in the north, escarped ranges of the
Vindhyan plateau in south, the Sindh River in the north-west and Bhanrer
ranges in the south-east. The region is spread over 71 618 km2 and supports 12.45 million human populations as per 1991 census[ 10].
- Figure 1.(A) Location of Bundelkhand in Map of India; (B) Location of Tikamgarh district in Map of Bundelkand; (C) Map of Tikamgarh district.
Tikamgarh
District is located in the northern part of Madhya Pradesh. It lies on
the Bundelkhand Plateau between the Jamni, a tributary of Betwa and
Dhasan rivers. It extends between the latitude 24°26′ and 25°34′ N and
between 78°26′ and 79°21′ Longitudes. The total geographical area of
Tikamgarh District is 5 048.00 km2 and the total population
is 1 202 998. The shape of district is triangular. The northern margin
is very irregular. The maximum length of the district is about 119 km
from North to South and width about 80 km. Tikamgarh District is bounded
by Chhatarpur district to east, Lalitpur district Uttar Pradesh to
West, Jhansi to North and Sagar to South. The western and Eastern
boundaries are formed by two big rivers.
The
climate of Tikamgarh district is semi-arid and has a distinct
seasonality on the basis of distribution of rainfall and variation in
temperature, the climate of Tikamgarh district can be said to be
typically monsoonic and can be divided into four distinct seasons viz.,
winter, summer, rainy and post rainy season. The winter or cold season
extents from December to February, and is marked by minimum temperature
and moderate humidity. Occasional showers are also occurs in the cold
season during December to January. The south-west rains or monsoon
starts from middle of June and continue till last end of September. The
normal annual rainfall of Tikamgarh district is 1 057.1 mm. About 90.3%
of annual rainfall is received during monsoon season. Only 9.7% of
annual rainfall takes place in rest months of the year. October and
middle of November constitute the post monsoon season. Summer season
commences from March and continue till mid of June. May is the hottest
month of the year with very high temperature and low humidity.
The remote villages of Tikamrarh district were regularly visited from July 2011 to June 2012.
The
information regarding the usage of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants
available in the local area for treating various ailments and disease of
livestock, was collected by directly interviewing elderly learned
farmers and experienced traditional healers who have traditional
Knowledge about these ethno veterinary medicinal plants in the villages
of surveyed district[11].
Questionnaire surveys, participatory observations and field visits were
planned to elicit information on the uses of various plants. The plant
material was collected and carefully handled for identification by
authenticated source. Making herbaria preserved most of the plant
materials and all the specimen vouchers were carefully numbered and
deposited. The ethno-medicinal value of each plant was enumerated in the
following pattern: Botanical name/Family, Local Name, Parts used and
Mode of administration.
