Traditional knowledge about plant, animal, and mineral-based remedies to treat cattle, pigs, horses, and other domestic animals in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2018 Jul 20;14(1):50. doi: 10.1186/s13002-018-0250-7. Bullitta S1, Re GA2, Manunta MDI2,3, Piluzza G2. Author information 1 Istituto per il Sistema Produzione Animale in Ambiente Mediterraneo - CNR-ISPAAM, Traversa La Crucca 3, località Baldinca, 07100, Sassari, Italy. simonettamaria.bullitta@cnr.it. 2 Istituto per il Sistema Produzione Animale in Ambiente Mediterraneo - CNR-ISPAAM, Traversa La Crucca 3, località Baldinca, 07100, Sassari, Italy. 3 Present address: Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. Abstract BACKGROUND: Mediterranean farmers traditionally utilized plants, animals, and minerals sourced locally to treat their animals. Research is needed to understand at what extent such knowledge of domestic animal care still survives and to document such traditions for further developments. METHODS: We carried out our field study to recover ancient ethno-veterinary practices by means of questionnaires and interviews to farmers in rural areas of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy). Quantitative indices were used to evaluate the distribution and diversity of the acquired information. RESULTS: We report here 98 sources (42 plant taxa, 14 animal-based substances, 15 minerals, and 27 other materials of various origin) emerged from the survey for the care of 41 ailments of cattle, pigs, and horses. Ethno-veterinary treatments, detailed in their formulations and applications, were used against ecto- and endo-parasites, gastrointestinal diseases, heart diseases, viral and bacterial diseases, wounds, sprains, and bruises. CONCLUSION: Our survey can be useful to implement the use of phyto-therapeutics and other remedies of non-herbal origin for diseased animals, and, as elderly farmers held most of the knowledge, it can contribute to the conservation of Mediterranean ethno-veterinary knowledge. KEYWORDS: Livestock; Mediterranean ethno-veterinary; Pets; Plant remedies; Poultry; Traditional therapeutics; Zoo-therapy PMID: 30029686 PMCID: PMC6054737 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-018-0250-7 Free PMC Article