7. Tradition and Modernity: French Shepherds’ Use of Medicinal Bouquets

Plant Ethnoveterinary Practices in Two Pyrenean Territories of Catalonia (Iberian Peninsula) and in Two Areas of the Balearic Islands and Comparison with Ethnobotanical Uses in Human Medicine

“…These two central European high mountain plants [ 53 ], reported, respectively, for the second and first time in veterinary (see Section 3.2 and Table 1 ), are much appreciated in one of the regions studied (AT), the first one as postlabour coadjuvant and the second one for different kinds of uses, antineoplastic included. Another high mountain Ranunculus species ( R. aconitifolius ) has been recorded from Occitan shepherds of a French Central Massif region with a use (resolutive) coincidental with one of those of R. parnassifolius in the studied area [ 26 ]. It is worth mentioning also the plant occupying the 11th position in our list as per number of reports, Eryngium campestre .…”

“…This means that the folk knowledge on animal health problems and the most frequent plant-derived remedies used to treat them are not merely an affair of past times but continue to play an important role in alternative or complementary medicine. To exemplify this we will quote again only an extremely reduced part of the very numerous sources specifically devoted to ethnoveterinary uses and practices, also covering different parts of the world, some of them very general and others focused on a single animal [ 10 – 26 ]. Strictly medical veterinary uses are often complemented with animal feed.…”

Traditional plant-based remedies to control insect vectors of disease in the Arribes del Duero (western Spain): An ethnobotanical study

“…This interesting practice has been reported in Asia, Africa and Europe (see Brisebarre, 1996 for France, Van Asseldonk and Beijer, 2006 for the Netherlands). French shepherds, for example, hang "bouquets" of certain plant species in their sheepfolds, both to prevent and to treat dermatological problems.…”

“…French shepherds, for example, hang "bouquets" of certain plant species in their sheepfolds, both to prevent and to treat dermatological problems. The shepherds report that the bouquets operate mainly via aerial diffusion of substances associated with the plants' odour and toxicity (Brisebarre, 1996). At this point, it should be noted that in a previous paper (González et al, 2011) we addressed similar ethnoveterinary remedies.…”