Medicinal Plants in the Ethno Veterinary Practices of Bensa Woreda, Southern Ethiopia

Ethno botanical study on traditional medicinal plants were conducted between November, 2013 and September, 2014 in Bensa Woreda, Southern Ethiopia and documented different types of traditional medicinal plants used by the indigenous peoples. The study was focused on identifying medicinal plants, plant habit, disease treated, plant parts used, way of knowledge acquired, methods of preparation, route of administration, importance/indication, and ingredients added. This study was aimed to document the ethno veterinary knowledge and practices used to treat and control of livestock and human diseases in Bensa Woreda, SNNPRs, Ethiopia. A purposive sampling technique study was carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire, field observational and survey to document indigenous knowledge of 33 traditional healers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and summarize the ethno-botanical data. Twenty nine plants, which have medicinal value against a total of 16 livestock and animal diseases, were reported and botanically identified as belonging to various 21 plant families. Most of the plant species reported belonged to one of four major families: Asteraceae (13.79%), Lamiaceae (13.79%), Euphorbiaceae (6.9%) and Rosanceae (6.9%). Trees (51.72%) and herbaceous (24.14%) were the major growth plant habit used, whilst leaves (65.52%) and bark (20.69%) were the major plant parts used in the study areas. The informants mostly practice oral drenching (54%) and topical (22%) of plant technique preparations. Out of the total 29 ethno-veterinary medicinal plant species were identified and documented in the study area 62.1% predominantly used to livestock aliments treatment followed by 37.9% for livestock and human (both) aliments treatment. The distribution of healers indicated that the majority were in the range of 26 - 45 years of age (66.7%, younger) and 33.3% between 46 and 70 years old (elders). Majority of informants accounting for 90.9% were males, and the remaining 9.09% were females. This study indicated that traditional medicine is, playing a significant contribution in obtaining the first aid healthcare needs of the Bensa district community. The persistence and recognition of this indigenous knowledge is due to the limited access to modern healthcare facilities. Documentation of the practices and medicinal plants is a critical issue and essential to safeguard from lose the knowledge and medicinal plants, and can be used to support the country’s livestock and human health care system and improve lives and livelihoods.