An account of the botanical anthelmintics used in traditional veterinary practices in Sahiwal district of Punjab, Pakistan.
OBJECTIVE
The present study was aimed at documentation of botanical anthelmintics used in the traditional veterinary practices in Sahiwal district of Punjab, Pakistan.


METHODS
In rapid rural appraisal, 331 traditional veterinary healers (TVH) were identified as key respondents in the study area followed by participatory rural appraisal for data collection using a well-structured questionnaire. Information was collected through interviews, focused group discussions and field visits over a period of 2 years.


RESULTS
A total of 49 traditional recipes, with 41 plant species representing 39 genera and 27 families, were recorded for the treatment of helminthosis in animals. Most frequently used plants (> or = 5 times) were Brassica campestris L. and Mallotus philippinensis (Lam.) Muell.-Arg. and most frequently used families (> or = 5 times) were Brassicaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Solanaceae. Most frequently used part of the plant was leaves (n=10) followed in order by seeds (n=9), whole fruit (n=5), aerial parts and whole plant (n=4), fruit (n=3), bulb (n=2) and bark, rhizome, stem, stem plus root and twigs (n=1). Five recipes out of 49 (10.2%) contained more than one plant species and rest 44 (89.8%) contained single plant species.


CONCLUSIONS
Twenty out of 41 plants (48.78%) are reported for the first time for their traditional use as anthelmintics in Pakistan. Further studies on pharmacokinetics using scientific procedures may prove these plants as promising candidates for their future use as anthelmintics.
Hussain
Altaf
A
Department of Veterinary Parasitology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan. draltafu@yahoo.com
Khan
Muhammad Nisar
MN
Iqbal
Zafar
Z
Sajid
Muhammad Sohail
MS
D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019448:Ethnobotany; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010154:Pakistan; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014730:Veterinary Medicine
D000871:Anthelmintics; D028321:Plant Preparations