Ethno-veterinary survey of medicinal plants in Ruoergai region, Sichuan province, China.
OBJECTIVE
In this study we aimed to survey and investigate the medicinal plants which are used to treat the veterinary diseases in Ruoergai region, Sichuan province, China. Meanwhile, the important medicinal plants were collected and identified for the further study.


METHODS
Twenty folk veterinary practitioners from 8 township animal husbandry and veterinary stations in Ruoergai region were investigated and interviewed. The important local medicinal materials, including plants, animals and mineral drugs, were collected by scientific methods and identified by the pharmacognosist of Lanzhou University, China.


RESULTS
According to the investigation, only 20 folk veterinary practitioners still used 129 species of traditional medicine to treat the livestock`s diseases. In these medicine, 93 species were native and Ranunculaceae (12, 12.90%), Compositae (11, 11.83%), Papaveraceae (7, 7.53%) were the predominant families. At the same time, herbs (36.56%) are the most widely used part of plant, and respiratory diseases (21.02%) and gastrointestinal diseases (19.89%) were the main animal's diseases in this region.


CONCLUSIONS
Ethno-veterinary medicine made an extraordinary contribution to the sound development of animal husbandry in Ruoergai. But the inherit, protect and development should be paid more attentions in the future, and the species which have not been studied should be developed priority to find biological activities and new bioactive compounds further.
Engineering & Technology Center of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine of Gansu, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmaceutical Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Lanzhou 730050, PR China.
Xiaofei
X
Shang
Cuixiang
C
Tao
Xiaolou
X
Miao
Dongsheng
D
Wang
Tangmuke
Dawa
Yu
Y
Wang
Yaoguang
Y
Yang
Hu
H
Pan
D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D019659:Asteraceae; D002681:China; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000662:veterinary; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D058751:Livestock; D019684:Magnoliopsida; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008903:Minerals; D028101:Papaveraceae; D010598:Pharmacognosy; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018514:Plant Structures; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D029626:Ranunculaceae; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000662:veterinary; D018634:Veterinarians
D008903:Minerals; D010936:Plant Extracts