Ethnoveterinary remedies

Introduction

Livestock health is a major problem facing farmers and herders throughout Africa. Veterinarians are few in remote areas and the cost of modern treatment is expensive, inaccessible and sometimes inappropriate because it is not sustainable in the prevailing socio-economic conditions. This situation has seen the rise and application of indigenous and traditional livestock treatment practices as the most immediate solution. This practice is commonly refered to as Ethnoveterinary and is the subject of this paper.

Ethno is a popular prefix these days, because it is a short way of saying that is the way other people look at the world When used before the name of an academic discipline such as botany or pharmacology, it implies that researchers are exploring local peoples perception of cultural and scientific knowledge. (Martin, G: 1996).Ethnoveterinary, as a subject or discipline is born out of the same academic modern references to traditional veterinary practices or folk veterinary medicine. Traditional animal health care systems, otherwise known as Ethnoveterinary Knowledge and Practices plays an important role in complementing modern approaches in the control of diseases in Kenya.

Ethnoveterinary knowledge (sometimes also called veterinary anthropology) deals with folk beliefs, knowledge, skills, methods and practices pertaining to the health care of animals (Guye 1999; Mathias-Mundy and McCorkle 1989). Collecting information on ethnoveterinary knowledge in particular regions enables veterinarians to understand farmers knowledge of the disease transmission process, local remedies that may be worthy of further study and the type of animal husbandry currently being practiced (Alders and Spradbrow 2001).

Ethnoveterinary knowledge (EVK) is part of indigenous knowledge and as an integral part of traditional knowledge (TK) it forms part of a communitys cultural heritage. The related Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues have already been recognised and in fact are the subject of current discussions worldwide. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is leading these discussions internationally. The IP needs and expectations of TK holders were identified in 1998/9. In June 2002 the 3rd session of the WIPO Inter-governmental Committee (IC) discussed TK terminology under operational terms and definitions.

Ethnoveterinary as part of the Indigeneuos and traditional Knowledge. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is the information that people in a given community, based on experience and adapted to local culture and environment, have developed over time, and that continues to develop. This knowledge is used to sustain the community and its culture and to maintain the biological resources necessary for the continued survival of the community.

Background

Traditional Bioprospecting of remedies is as old as humankind. Natures drug store has sustained human population over the centuries long before Science came in with the modern precise methods of investigations. The early man tried out different plants on different ailments and where success was achieved, the treatment was repeated thus becoming part of the tradition which has been passed on from generation to generation. The interest in medicinal plants has increased enormously over the last few years. The untapped wealth of plants has been a focus of research especially investigation of traditional remedies of botanical origin. In modern investigation three related disciplines are involved namely; phytochemistry, pharmacology and pharmacognosy. However these scientific disciplines draw a lot from the local knowledge as a lead in the investigation. The active ingredients found in plants evoke strong physiological actions on various body organs which form the basis for their use as medicines.

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Ideally Ethnoveterinary Medicine products, like all traditional medicines should cure all patients in a dose that kills none. But however just like conventional drugs EVK products sometimes induce abnormal response like allergic reaction or hypersensitivity and other forms of poisoning due to over-dose.

Simple home based preparation techniques.

In traditional setting, simple but efficacious herbal preparations can be formulated in a number of ways depending on the active ingredient in the product. Some common traditional techniques include: grinding the plant parts into fine powder then dispense it accordingly. Other plants require extraction using either cold or hot water to get an infusion, boiling to get a decoction, adding sugar to the infusion, decoctions and cold water extracts. Remedies that are oil based can be removed mechanically from the seeds; in some cases the extracted oil can be warmed to extract infused medicinal oil. Extracted oil can be solidified to get ointments. Creams can be made by combining oil soluble with water soluble ingredients.

Experience has shown that suspension medicaments can be got by combining one or more extractions with other liquids for oral utilization. Oral dosing pastes can be prepared by combining herbal extracts with inert solids to form a semi solid substance for oral dosing. The latest development is the preparation of soaps from herbal extracted.

Indigenous communities have over the years perfecting other simple but effective pain relieving methods. Local bath by soaking affected part of a person or animal in water containing a decoction is a common way of treatment. Treatment by pressing a cloth soaked in a cold water extract, warm infusion or decoction to the affected part of an animal is quite effective. Sometimes pounded plant material is mixed with water and pressed onto affected part to relieve pain.

Ethnoveterinary and national development

The planning and implementation of livestock development projects increasingly take advantage of local peoples knowledge. But they promote relatively few specific ethnoveterinary practices. Ideally, at the beginning of a community-based animal health project, staff and community members should together screen the range of local practices. Some may be parallel to a modern practice grazing certain species together, for example and can be promoted directly. Others may need testing and refining for instance to test the efficacy and dosage of an herbal drug. Still others might be used together with modern practices in a blend of old and new.

Learning and documenting local practices also helps preserve the knowledge before it is lost forever. Little of this knowledge has been written down, and many young people are not interested in learning from their parents.

Such participatory bottom-up approaches, however, can be time-consuming. They may be more difficult than just introducing ready-made modern healthcare packages. Plant medicines are hard to standardize and can be a bother to prepare. The right flowers or fruits may not be available throughout the year.

To ignore ethnoveterinary medicine in development would mean losing an important opportunity to preserve societys national heritage and a failure in transition of knowledge.

Over the years, Traditional medicine sector has never been reflected in the countrys economic records. There is scanty information of the contribution of the sector to the economy and international market. For instance, the National Agricultural Research Laboratory records indicate that in the period1990-1996 Kenya exported more than 208 tones of prunus africana to France. This information does not include the details as to how much was fetched through these exports. Other countries have benefited a lot from this industry. By 1997, the global botanical medicine market was estimated at US 16.5 billion with a forecasted growth to US $ 22 billion in the year 2000. Europe dominates the global market with US $ 7.2 billion in sales as by 1997, followed by Asia with US $ 5.5 Billion. Japan and USA are the most sort after destinations of these products (Dhillion.S.S and Svarstad .H. eds: 2000)

Going by the averages from this study and the scanty information from exports and imports, the herbal industry in Kenya is estimated that the traditional medicine or herbal industry in Kenya to be worth about US $ 3 million and fetches about Ksh 340 million annually. This figure includes the estimated Ksh 100 Million research and development organizations spend annually on projects having an aspect of traditional medicine annually.

ETHNOVETERINARY INFORMATION RESOURCES

Ethnveterinary is a young disciplines whose reading materials are still few and mostly in monographs, journals, periodicals and scientific papers. However over the last ten years a lot has been written in this subject and much of what has been written is already in public domain especially in the internet.

THE LEGISTRATION AND POLICY REGIME

Kenya like most African Countries has not officially institutionalized traditional medicine by law or policy. However over the years Government officials have repeatedly given pronouncements indicating the willingness to do officially recognize traditional remedies. A number of countries have established wide-ranging legislation on traditional medicines products and practice. The USA government addresses traditional medicine regulatory situations at six legislation levels.

Licensing, Scope of practice, malpractice, professional discipline, third party reimbursement and access to treatment.

This kind of legal regime does not compare favorably to the Kenyan situation. In Kenya there is a number of legislation, which do not directly address traditional medicine. Some these laws include:

These laws are oppressive and hinder the practice rather than help it grow. There lobbying going on nationally an internationally for the adoption of appropriate laws. There are early indications that the WHO and African Union have joined forces to properly regulate and promote traditional medicine. Check the current law regime to confirm if there are any most current changes.

  1. Industrial property Act Cap 509
  2. The trade marks Act - Cap 506
  3. The Crop rights Act Cap -130
  4. The seeds and plants varieties Act -Cap 326
  5. Forests Act -Cap 385
  6. Pharmacy and Poisons Act Cap 244
  7. Environmental Act 2000
  8. The Witchcraft Act Cap 27
  9. Medical Practitioners and Dentists Ordinance-Cap 253
  10. Nurses, Midwives and health Visitor Act- Cap 257
  11. Kenya National Drug Policy, 1994

You can read more on our Ethnobotany pages