Ethnoveterinary medicinal plants have been used by the people of Dugda District in the primary health care system to treat various livestock ailments for generations, particularly, in underserved rural areas. However, these ethnoveterinary practices and medicinal plants are dwindling without proper documentation, due to undergoing socio-cultural and environmental changes. Hence, this study aimed at inventory and analysis of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and the associated indigenous and local knowledge used in the treatment of livestock health problems in Dugda District. Data were collected from 378 local inhabitants through semi-structured interviews, 18 focus group discussions with 6 to 8 participants in each couple with participant field observations. Informant consensus factor (ICF), fidelity-level (FL) and relative importance value (RI) were used to evaluate the agreement of informants on ethnoveterinary practices, healing potential of medicinal plants and the most multipurpose species. Using standard taxonomic procedures, voucher specimens were collected, identified and deposited at the National Herbarium of Addis Ababa University. In total, 64 medicinal plants of ethnoveterinary uses, belonging to 33 families were reported to treat 37 livestock health problems. Anthrax, inappetence and diarrhoea were said to be the most prevalent veterinary health problems treated by traditional medicinal plants. Family Fabaceae was the most widely reported (7 spp.), followed by Apocynaceae, Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae (5 spp. each). Herbs were the dominant life forms (21spp.), followed by shrubs (20 spp.). The most commonly sought plant parts were leaves (55.25%), followed by roots (23.44%). The principal method of preparation was pounding remedial parts (46.85%) and mixing with cold water. The main route of administration was via oral application (72.67%), drenching diseased livestock. Withania somnifera and Kedrostis foetidissima were the most cited medicinal plants with 53 and 43 use reports (URs), respectively. ICF showed that respiratory diseases scored the highest value (0.94), while most of the reported medicinal plants were gastrointestinal agents. RI value analysis revealed that Croton macrostachyus had highest diversity of uses, followed by K. foetidissima and W. somnifera. Ethnoveterinary uses of some medicinal plants such as Phytolacca dodecandra, Calpurnia aurea, Cyphostemma cyphopetalum and Verbascum sinaiticum as prophylaxis against rabies were a new input for ethnoveterinary database. The study revealed that the people of the Dugda District are endowed with rich ethnoveterinary knowledge and medicinal plants. However, ethnoveterinary knowledge associated with medicinal plant species significantly differ (P < 0.05) between general and key informants, young and matured age groups and informants’ educational level. This infers the impact of mode of ethnoveterinary knowledge transfer, literacy, modern education and globalization on ethnoveterinary uses of medicinal plant species. And also most of the medicinal plants are found in wild habitats with nearly no conservation attention. Therefore, it is imperative to implement participatory conservation actions for medicinal plants in collaboration with traditional institutions (Gada system). The disparity of ethnoveterinary knowledge could be also minimized through awareness creation among local communities about the knowledge and its revitalization. Furthermore, medicinal plants, which are widely utilized and multipurpose, should be screened for their phytochemicals, pharmacological and toxicological activities to confirm ethnoveterinary uses and for future development of veterinary pharmaceuticals.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚中央裂谷杜格达区土著和当地社区的民族兽医药用植物及其利用

杜格达地区人民世世代代在初级卫生保健系统中使用民族兽医药用植物来治疗各种牲畜疾病，特别是在服务不足的农村地区。然而，由于社会文化和环境的变化，这些民族兽医实践和药用植物在没有适当记录的情况下正在减少。因此，本研究旨在清查和分析杜格达地区用于治疗牲畜健康问题的民族兽医药用植物以及相关的本土和地方知识。通过半结构化访谈、每对 6 至 8 名参与者的 18 次焦点小组讨论以及参与者实地观察，从 378 名当地居民收集了数据。知情人共识因子（ICF）、保真度水平（FL）和相对重要性值（RI）用于评估知情人对民族兽医实践、药用植物的治疗潜力和最多功能物种的一致性。使用标准分类程序，收集、鉴定凭证标本并存放在亚的斯亚贝巴大学国家植物标本馆。据报告，属于 33 个科的 64 种民族兽医用途药用植物总共可以治疗 37 种牲畜健康问题。炭疽、食欲不振和腹泻据说是传统药用植物治疗的最普遍的兽医健康问题。豆科 (Fabaceae) 报道最多（7 种），其次是夹竹桃科 (Apocynaceae)、葫芦科 (Cucurbitaceae) 和茄科 (Solanaceae)（各 5 种）。草本植物是主要的生命形式（21 种），其次是灌木（20 种）。最常见的植物部位是叶子（55.25%），其次是根（23.44%）。主要制法为药方（46.85%）捣碎，冷水调匀。主要给药途径为口服（72.67%）、病畜灌服。Withania somnifera 和 Kedrostis foetidissima 是被引用最多的药用植物，分别有 53 份和 43 份使用报告 (UR)。ICF显示，呼吸系统疾病得分最高（0.94），而大多数报道的药用植物是胃肠道药物。RI值分析显示，巴豆的用途多样性最高，其次是K. foetidissima和W. somnifera。一些药用植物（如商陆、Calpurnia aurea、Cyphostemma cyphopetalum 和 Verbascum sinaiticum）在民族兽医中用于预防狂犬病的用途是民族兽医数据库的新输入。研究表明，杜格达地区人民拥有丰富的民族兽医知识和药用植物。然而，与药用植物物种相关的民族兽医知识在一般和关键信息提供者、年轻和成熟年龄组以及信息提供者的教育水平之间存在显着差异（P < 0.05）。这推断了民族兽医知识转移模式、读写能力、关于药用植物物种的民族兽医用途的现代教育和全球化。而且大多数药用植物都是在野生栖息地发现的，几乎没有受到保护。因此，与传统机构（Gada系统）合作实施参与式药用植物保护行动势在必行。通过提高当地社区对知识及其振兴的认识，也可以最大限度地减少民族兽医知识的差异。此外，应筛选广泛利用和多用途的药用植物的植物化学物质、药理和毒理活性，以确认其民族兽医用途和未来兽药的开发。