Review Possible Role of Ethnoveterinary Medicine in Poverty Reduction in Pakistan: Use of Botanical Anthelmintics as an Example

Abstract

Livestock raisers and healers everywhere have traditional ways of classifying, diagnosing, preventing and treating common animal diseases. Many of these practices offer viable alternatives or complement to conventional, westernstyle veterinary medicine - especially where the latter is unavailable or inappropriate. The use of medicinal plants constitutes major part of ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM). The climatic conditions and geographic location of Pakistan provides conducive conditions for the growth and propagation of widely diverse species of medicinal plants. The inventory of flora of Pakistan indicates richness of this part of the world in medicinal plants in mountainous as well as plain regions. These plants are used both in animal and human healthcare. In contrast to the other countries, efforts have not been made to compile the databases of medicinal plants used in veterinary medicine. This paper overviews the prospects of medicinal plants used in EVM as a tool for poverty reduction through increasing productivity of small ruminants by using locally available economical remedies. Use of medicinal plants as an anthelmintic (de-wormer) has been given as an example. The limitations and strengths of EVM have been discussed.