title: Documentation and determination of consensus about phytotherapeutic veterinary practices among the Tharu tribal community of Uttar Pradesh, India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present investigation was to document the phytotherapeutic knowledge and veterinary healthcare management practices among the Tharu tribal community of Uttar Pradesh, India and to determine the consensus of such practices, in order to evaluate the potential for new veterinary drugs of herbal origin.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted in 2000-2004 using semistructured, open-ended questionnaires, informal interviews and group discussions with farmers engaged in animal husbandry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the present study, 59 phytotherapeutic practices using 48 plant species were documented for management of 18 types of healthcare problems of domesticated animals. Crude drug formulations keep the animal healthy, increase lactation, and reduce estrus interval and puberty period to make them economically more important. There was great agreement among informants regarding phytotherapeutic uses of medicinal plants with factor of informants' consensus (F(IC)) value ranging from 0.84 to 1, with an average value of 0.94.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Study reveals that there is great agreement among informants for the usages of Azadirachta indica A Juss, Bombax ceiba L, Bambusa arundinacea (Retz) Willd, Corianderum sativum L, Cuscuta reflexa Roxb, Datura metal L, Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, and Parthenium hysterophorus L. These species may be used for the development of new, cheep, effective, and eco-friendly herbal formulations for veterinary healthcare management. Further investigation of these herbal formulations for veterinary healthcare management will require safety and efficacy testing. There is an urgent need to formulate suitable conservation strategies for wildly growing phytotherapeutics to overcome their depletion from natural resources and to make these practices more eco-friendly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Maharani Lal Kunwari Post Graduate College, Balrampur 271201, Uttar Pradesh, India. akhilpbh@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Akhilesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Vimal Chandra
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Divya Darshan
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Tewari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D019448:Ethnobotany; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000662:veterinary; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000145:classification*; D012424:Rural Population; D013045:Species Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019155:Veterinary Drugs / Q000737:chemistry; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D028321:Plant Preparations; D019155:Veterinary Drugs