Uncodified system of animal health care in Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burma hotspots of India: Plant use and their distribution

Abstract

Northeastern states, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura – falling in Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burma hotspots, house a large number of indigenous communities, mostly forest and forest fringe dwellers, whose economy is also dependent on livestock. To maintain the health of various livestock they practice ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) which is so important yet scarcely studied. This review is based on eleven core research publication on EVM practices representing these states. Several other peer reviewed publications were also consulted for analysis and synthesis of the contents like, Physiography and Phyto-diversity, Indigenous Communities, Livestock and Common Ailments, Healer Plants, Bio-Active Components and Drugs, Potential Distribution. Analysis revealed that only twenty-three communities out of >200 are researched upon. All most all the livestock are covered in the studied area by using herbal preparation from 195 plants. However, research on pharmacological and distributional details is scanty and needs further exploration since similar plants (Asparagus racemosus, Allium sativum, Azadirachta indica, Cannabis sativa, Centella asiatica, Curcuma longa, Drymaria cordata) for ethnomedicine use (for humans) are recorded from various locations and used by different communities. Nevertheless, current compilation of data seems to be useful in the sense of preservation of the indigenous knowledge, otherwise on decline due to oral transfer from one to another generation.