Background: Ethnoveterinary medicine is frequently used for treating various livestock diseases by many different ethnic groups in Ethiopia. To this end, the indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants and non-plant remedies has not been systematically documented and studied in the Dawuro zone. Therefore, a community based cross-sectional study design was conducted from November, 2017 to September, 2018 in order to identify and document medicinal plants and non-plant ethnoveterinary practices in Dawuro zone, Southern Ethiopia.Methods: Relevant ethnoveterinary data was collected from purposively selected 115 key informants using semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, observations and field guided walk methods. The obtained data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, quantitative ethnobotanical methods and T-test and significantly test was set to p < 0.05. The plants claimed having medicinal value were collected and botanically identified.Results: The study revealed 103 plant species belong to 47 families and 11 non-plant remedies used to manage 36 different livestock ailments. Family Asteraceae accounted for 11.5% of the total species recorded. The majority of plants (56.2%) were harvested from wild habitat. Herbs (33.8%) were the main source of medicine followed by tree (30.6%). Leaves (43.6%) and roots (27.5%) were the main plant parts used while pounding was the major form in remedy preparation. The highest Informant Consensus Factor (0.83) value was scored for the diseases of reproductive system. Cyphostema sp., Calpurina aurea and Pentas schimperiana were showed the highest Fidelity Level (100%) to treat diseases of reproductive system, ectoparasites, and emaciation and bone broken as plant materials whereas Bear faeces, sharp hot iron or wire/knife, and salt were non-plant remedies used as treatment, respectively. Azadirachta indica was the most preferred species to treat blackleg and also with highest use-value (UVs = 0.25).Conclusion: The study revealed that the local community of the study areas was used with a rich of indigenous knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants. The loss of valuable medicinal plant resources of the area calls for urgent and coordinated actions to develop conservation strategy.

Background For decades, Ethiopians have employed ethnoveterinary medicinal plants to cure both human and livestock ailments. Currently, few studies have been conducted on antimicrobial activity evaluation in Ethiopia. This study, therefore, is designed to evaluate the antibacterial activities of selected ethnoveterinary medicinal plants used in treating livestock ailments in the study area. Methods Ethanol extracts of plants obtained by maceration of roots and leaves of four medicinal plant species were studied for potential antimicrobial activity using a disc diffusion method against S. aureus and E. coli . Data obtained from experiments were analyzed using ANOVA and the significant test was set to P < 0.05. Results The antibacterial properties of four ethanol extracts of leaves of Withania somnifera L., Becium obovatum, Ageratum conyzoides L., and root of Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Defiers were evaluated in vitro and found to be effective against S. aureus but not E. coli . There was no significant difference between the studied plant species and concentrations (p > 0.05), according to the results. The four test extracts had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 6.25 to 25 mg/mL, with inhibitory potential ranging from 12.5 to 100 mg/mL. Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Defiers’s antibacterial activity at a concentration of 100 mg/mL (18.67 3.78 mm) was comparable to the standard antibiotic (Gentamicin 20g per disc), which had a measurement of 23.08 ±0.9 mm. Conclusion This finding on the selected medicinal plants of Dawuro Zone supports the traditional claims of effective antimicrobial activity in the treatment of livestock health management. Hence, the study suggests further investigations need to be conducted to isolate and elucidate active ingredients in the plant materials tested.

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Background: Ethnoveterinary medicine is frequently used for treating various livestock diseases by many different ethnic groups in Ethiopia. To this end, the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants and non-plant remedies has not been systematically documented and studied in the Dawuro zone. Therefore, a community based cross-sectional study design was conducted from November, 2017 to September, 2018 in order to identify and document medicinal plants and non-plant remedies used in animal health management.Methods: Relevant information on ethnoveterinary practice was collected from purposively selected 115 key informants using semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, observations and field guided walk methods. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, quantitative ethnobotanical methods and t-test and significantly test was set to p< 0.05. The plants claimed having medicinal value were collected and botanically identified.Results: The study revealed 103 plant species belong to 47 families and 11 non-plant remedies used to manage 36 different livestock ailments. Family Asteraceae accounted for 11.5% of the total species recorded. The majority of plants (56.2%) were harvested from wild habitat. Herbs (33.8%) were the main source of medicine followed by tree (30.6%). Leaves (43.6%) and roots (27.5%) were the main plant parts used while pounding was the major form in remedy preparation. The highest Informant Consensus Factor (0.83) value was scored for the disease of the reproductive system. Significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in average number of therapeutic plants reported by illiterate higher than literate groups. Cyphostemma flavicans (Baker) Desc. and Pentas schimperi were showed the highest Fidelity Level (100%) to treat disease of the reproductive system, and emaciation and bone fracture as plant materials whereas Bear faeces, sharp hot iron or wire/knife, and common salt were non-plant remedies used in the study area.Conclusion: The study revealed that the local community of in the study areas was used with a rich of indigenous knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants. The loss of valuable medicinal plant resources of the area calls for urgent and coordinated actions to develop conservation strategies.