Circum-Mediterranean cultural heritage and medicinal plant uses in traditional animal healthcare

A field survey in eight selected areas within the Rubia project

Bibliographic Data

ID4684648
AuthorsAndrea Pieroni (0000-0002-2302-6380, University of Bradford), Maria Elena Giusti (University of Florence), Caterina De Pasquale, Cinzia Lenzarini (University of Florence), Eleonora Censorii (University of Florence), María Reyes Gonzáles-Tejero (Universidad de Granada), Cristina Patricia Sánchez-Rojas (Universidad de Granada), Jose M Ramiro-Gutiérrez (Universidad de Granada), Melpomeni Skoula (Technical University of Crete), Chris Johnson (0000-0002-2221-1744), Chris J Johnson (0000-0002-4044-6993, Technical University of Crete), Anaya Sarpaki (0000-0002-6181-6973, Technical University of Crete), Athena Della (Agruicultural Research Institute), Demetra Paraskeva-Hadijchambi (Agruicultural Research Institute), Andreas Hadjichambis, Andreas Ch Hadjichambis (0000-0001-6833-7046, Agruicultural Research Institute), Mohammed Hmamouchi, Said El-Jorhi (Institut National des Postes et Télécommunications), Mohamed El-Demerdash (0000-0001-5852-3961, Mansoura University), Mustafa El-Zayat, Mustafa M El-Zayat (0000-0002-3910-1242, Mansoura University), Omar Al-Shahaby (Mansoura University), Zahia Houmani (0000-0002-8464-4182, University of Blida), Mekious Scherazed (University of Blida)
Year2006
Volume2
Issue1
Pages16-16
Publication date2006-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1746-4269 • E-ISSN: 1746-4269
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1186/1746-4269-2-16
PMID16563158
PMCIDPMC1447602
OpenAlexW1868909452
LanguageEN
Citations received42
References cited38

During the years 2003-2005, a comparative ethnobotanical field survey was conducted on remedies used in traditional animal healthcare in eight Mediterranean areas. The study sites were selected within the EU-funded RUBIA project, and were as follows: the upper Kelmend Province of Albania; the Capannori area in Eastern Tuscany and the Bagnocavallo area of Romagna, Italy; Cercle de Ouezanne, Morocco; Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park in the province of Huelva, Spain; the St. Catherine area of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt; Eastern and Western Crete, Greece; the Paphos and Larnaca areas of Cyprus; and the Mitidja area of Algeria.One hundred and thirty-six veterinary preparations and 110 plant taxa were recorded in the survey, with Asteraceae and Lamiaceae being the most quoted botanical families. For certain plant species the survey uncovered veterinary phytotherapeutical indications that were very uncommon, and to our knowledge never recorded before. These include Anabasis articulata (Chenopodiaceae), Cardopatium corymbosum (Asteraceae), Lilium martagon (Liliaceae), Dorycnium rectum (Fabaceae), Oenanthe pimpinelloides (Apiaceae), Origanum floribundum (Lamiaceae), Tuberaria lignosa (Cistaceae), and Dittrichia graveolens (Asteraceae). These phytotherapeutical indications are briefly discussed in this report, taking into account modern phytopharmacology and phytochemistry.The percentage of overall botanical veterinary taxa recorded in all the study areas was extremely low (8%), however when all taxa belonging to the same botanical genus are considered, this portion increases to 17%. Nevertheless, very few plant uses were found to be part of a presumed "Mediterranean" cultural heritage in veterinary practices, which raises critical questions about the concept of Mediterraneanism in ethnobotany and suggests that further discussion is required.Nearly the half of the recorded veterinary plant uses for mammals uncovered in this survey have also been recorded in the same areas in human folk medicine, suggesting a strong link between human and veterinary medical practices, and perhaps also suggesting the adaptive origins of a few medical practices. Since most of the recorded data concern remedies for treating cattle, sheep, goats, and camels, it would be interesting to test a few of the recorded phytotherapeuticals in the future, to see if they are indeed able to improve animal healthcare in breeding environments, or to raise the quality of dairy and meat products in the absence of classical, industrial, veterinary pharmaceuticals

Archaeology · Biology · Botany · Ethnobotany · Genus · Geography · Lamiaceae · Medicinal plants · Mediterranean climate · Taxon · Traditional medicine · Botanical Research and Chemistry · Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity · Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies · Medicine

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