Plants in Ethnoveterinary Practices in Dhenkanal District of Odisha, India

Abstract

Ethnoveterinary medicine provides traditional medicines which are locally available and cheaper as compared to modern standard treatments. The present study was conducted to document the indigenous knowledge of ethnoveterinary practices in Dhenkanal district of Odisha. Farmers staying in remote areas of this district still depend upon native plants for curing various animal diseases. Plants of ethno-veterinary importance have been recognized by the rural folk by a process of experience over hundreds of years. The present communication deals with the indigenous knowledge of rural communities on medicinal plants used for curing various veterinary diseases in Dhenkanal district of Odisha. Information collected are based on interview with the herbal healers, tribal medicine men and knowledgeable persons of the locality, and crosschecked with other herbal practitioners. Shabar, Kolha, Munda, Khond, Santal, Bhumij, Dehuri and Lodha are the chief ethnic groups in this area. The uses of plant parts along with the mode of administration revealed that 187 plant species were used for curing over 30 types of diseases. The plant parts used for livestock health treatment were mainly leaves and the preparations were administered mainly through oral. Ailments covered in the paper include anorexia, bronchitis, cold and cough, colic pain, conjunctivitis, constipation, cracks in palate, cracked nipples, diarrhoea, dysentery, dyspepsia, fever, filariasis, flatulence, foot and mouth disease, galactorrhoea, mastitis, mump, scabies, stomachache, throat infection, yoke wound, swellings, etc. Plants increasing the milching capacity as well as those adding to the strength and vigour of the animals have also been included.