Indigenous Knowledge on Animal Health Care Practices in Kendrapara District of Odisha, India

Abstract

The objective of this work was to register and document the traditional knowledge of plant resources used in ethnoveterinary practices in Kendrapara district of Odisha, India. Investigation was carried out in the interior of the district, to explore the therapeutic uses of plants by local inhabitants. Information was gathered from traditional healers, elderly people and farmers by using participant observation, open-ended conversations and semi-structured questionnaires. Plants used as veterinary medicines were collected and identified by botanical classification. Fifty five plant species, distributed among 34 families, were indicated for 27 different medicinal uses. The family Solanaceae had the largest number of reported species followed by Mimosaceae, Fabaceae and Apocynaceae. Prominent diseases treated by plant remedies were wounds, diarrhea, constipation, snake bite, skin ailments and rheumatism. Leaves were more commonly utilized for the preparation of ethnoveterinary medicine than other plant parts. Documentation of traditional knowledge related ethnoveterinary information and identification of potential species for prioritization of conservation through sustainable management is essential for the benefit of future generations. The present study contributed to the construction of an inventory of ethnoveterinary plants, which might provides a better database for future scientific validation studies.