Ethnoveterinary herbal remedies used by farmers in four north-eastern Swiss cantons (St. Gallen, Thurgau, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden)

Abstract

BackgroundVery few ethnoveterinary surveys have been conducted in central Europe. However, traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants might be an option for future concepts in treatment of livestock diseases. Therefore the aim of this study was to document and analyse the traditional knowledge and use of homemade herbal remedies for livestock by farmers in four Swiss cantons.MethodsResearch was conducted in 2012. Fifty farmers on 38 farms were interviewed with the aid of semistructured interviews. Detailed information about the plants used and their mode of preparation were documented as well as dosage, route of administration, category of use, origin of knowledge, frequency of use, and satisfaction with the treatment.ResultsIn total, 490 homemade remedies were collected. Out of these, 315 homemade remedies contained only one plant species (homemade single species herbal remedies, HSHR), which are presented in this paper. Seventy six species from 44 botanical families were mentioned. The most HSHR were quoted for the families of Asteraceae, Polygonaceae and Urticaceae. The plant species with the highest number of HSHRs were Matricaria recutita L., Calendula officinalis L., Rumex obtusifolius L. and Urtica dioica L. For each HSHR, one to eight different applications were enumerated. A total of 428 applications were documented, the majority of which were used to treat cattle. The main applications were in treatment of skin afflictions and sores, followed by gastrointestinal disorders and metabolic dysfunctions. Topical administration was most frequently used, followed by oral administration. In nearly half of the cases the knowledge on preparing and using herbal remedies was from forefathers and relatives. More than one third of the applications were used more than ten times during the last five years, and in about sixty percent of the cases, the last application was during the last year preceding the interviews.ConclusionsTraditional knowledge of farmers about the use of medicinal plants to treat livestock exists in north-eastern Switzerland. Homemade herbal remedies based on this knowledge are being used. The interviewed farmers were satisfied with the outcome of the applications.

Arzneipflanzen im Berner Pferdestall: Erfahrungswissen von Pferdehaltern

“…In Anlehnung an die Erfassungsmethodik vorhergehender Studien [6,7,8,9,10] wurden Pferdebesitzer aus dem Kundenstamm der Pferdepraxis Animal Support AG Ersigen (Kanton Bern) über das geplante Projekt informiert und gebeten, hierbei vorhandenes Erfahrungswissen einfließen zu lassen. In Form von spontanen Rückmeldungen wurden 7 Interviewpartner im Alter von 24-65 Jahren von pferdehaltenden Betrieben des Kantons Bern für das Projekt gefunden.…”

“…1). Selbstgemachte alkoholische Extrakte wurden im Gegensatz zu vorhergehenden Studien [5,6,7,8,9,10] von den Berner Pferdehaltern nicht genannt. Zum Einsatz kamen jedoch auch kommerziell erhältliche Fertigprodukte.…”

“…Weiterhin wurden die Präparate bei entzündeten Augen, bei Durchfällen und Sarkoiden angewendet. Im Vergleich zu vorhergehenden Studien [6,7,8,9,10] mit überwiegend nutztierhaltenden Betrieben fällt der erheblich höhere Anteil von Rezepturen auf, die für die Behandlung von Atemwegserkrankungen eingesetzt wurden, was vermutlich auf die höhere Bedeutung dieser Erkrankungskomplexe bei Pferden zurückzuführen ist. Wie auch M. Kern [16] in der Dissertation «Der Einsatz pflanzlicher Arzneien in der Kleintier- und Pferdemedizin in Oberösterreich» beschrieben hat, wurden die Arzneipflanzen häufig zur Therapie chronischer Beschwerden eingesetzt.…”

“…Neben der umfangreichen Dokumentation zum humanmedizinischen Heilpflanzengebrauch [5] wird das traditionelle Erfahrungswissen über Arzneipflanzenanwendungen beim Nutztier in der Schweiz seit 2011 systematisch erfasst [6,7,8,9,10]. Eine explizite Erfassung dieses Erfahrungswissens bei Pferdehaltern der Schweiz fehlte jedoch bisher.…”

Inventory of medicinal plants used in the treatment of diseases that limit milk production of cow in Benin

“…The present study revealed 60 plant species of 32 families used in the treatment of cattle diseases whereas Ninetyfour plant species belonging to 50 plant families were mentioned by Disler et al (2014). The main plant families were Leguminosae, Combretaceae, and Rubiaceae as also mentioned by Hilou et al (2014) (Toyang et al, 2007) and even the whole plant in the case of a herbaceae (Byavu et al, 2000) are used in traditional medicine.…”