ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Traditional remedies used for the treatment of cattle wounds and myiasis in Amatola Basin, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

 

 

O.T. Soyelu^I; P.J. Masika^II

^IDepartment of Animal Science, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag x1314, Alice, 5700 South Africa
^IIAgricultural and Rural Development Research Institute (ARDRI), University of Fort Hare, Private Bag x1314, Alice, 5700 South Africa

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

A questionnaire survey was carried out to document traditional remedies used in the treatment of cattle wounds and myiasis in Amatola Basin. Eighty-three cattle farmers from nine villages were interviewed. The majority of respondents (67.9 %) use traditional remedies for treatment of these conditions. However, 25.9 % of them use a combination of traditional remedies with conventional medicines. The survey revealed that 13 medicinal plants belonging to 11 families were used. Aloe ferox, Prunus persica and Phytolacca heptandra were, however, the most commonly used. Leaves are the most frequently used plant part, often prepared as an infusion. Other non-plant remedies used include disinfectants, antiseptics as well as diesel and petrol. Manual removal of maggots from wounds was also practise and treatment is usually continued until the wound heals.

Keywords: Cattle, medicinal plants, myiasis, remedies, wounds

---

 

 

“Full text available only in PDF format”

 

 

REFERENCES

ALAWA, J.P., JOKTHAN, G.E. & AKUT, K. 2002. Ethnoveterinary medical practice for ruminants in the subhumid zone of northern Nigeria. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 54:79-90.         [ Links ]

ANONYMOUS 2008. Estimated cattle numbers for2007. Pretoria: Department of Agriculture, South Africa.         [ Links ]

COETZEE, E. 2000. The magic of muti (medicinal) plants. Farmer's Weekly, 14:26-29.         [ Links ]

DILSHAD, S.M.R., NAJEEB-UR-REHMANA, IQBAL, Z., MUHAMMAD, G., IQBAL, A. & AHMED, N. 2008. An inventory of the ethnoveterinary practices for reproductive disorders in cattle and buffaloes, Sargodha district of Pakistan. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 117:393-402.         [ Links ]

FAROOQ, Z., IQBAL, Z., MUSHTAQ, S., MUHAMMAD, G., IQBAL, M.Z. & ARSHAD, M. 2008. Ethnoveterinary practices for the treatment of parasitic diseases in livestock in Cholistan desert (Pakistan). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 118:213-219.         [ Links ]

GRIERSON, D.S. & AFOLAYAN, A.J. 1999. An ethnobotanical study of plants used for the treatment of wounds in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 67: 327-332.         [ Links ]

HALL, M.J.R. 1991. Screwworm flies as agents of wound myiasis, in World animal review, special issue, New World screw-worm: Response to an emergency', edited by R.D.S. Branckaert. Italy: FAO Publications. 8-17.         [ Links ]

HALL, M.J.R. 2004. New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) and Old World screwworm (Chrysomya bezziana), in Manual of diagnostic tests and vaccines for terrestrial animals, 5^th ed. Paris: OIE Publications.         [ Links ]

KAUFMAN, P.E., KOEHLER, P.G. & BUTLER, J.F. 2006. External parasites on beef cattle. Entomology and Nematology Department document, ENY-274. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/IG/IG13000.pdf (accessed: 06/04/2008).         [ Links ]

KIRINGE, J.W. 2006. A survey of traditional health remedies used by the Masai of Southern Kaijiado district, Kenya. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 4:61-73.         [ Links ]

LUSEBA, D. & VAN DER MERWE, D. 2006. Ethnoveterinary medicine practices among Tsonga speaking people of South Africa. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 73: 115-122.         [ Links ]

LUSEBA, D., ELGORASHI, E.E., NTLOEDIBE, D.T. & VAN STADEN, J. 2007. Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and mutagenic effects of some medicinal plants used in South Africa for the treatment of wounds and retained placenta in livestock. South African Journal of Botany, 73:378-383.         [ Links ]

MASIKA, P.J., SONANDI, A. & VAN AVERBEKE, W. 1997. Perceived causes, diagnosis and treatment of babesiosis and anaplasmosis in cattle by livestock farmers in communal arrears of the Central Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, 68:40-44.         [ Links ]

MASIKA, P.J., VAN AVERBEKE, W. & SONANDI, A. 2000. Use of herbal remedies by small-scale farmers to treat livestock diseases in central Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, 71:87-91.         [ Links ]

MEYER, J.M., AFOLAYAN, A.J., TAYLOR M.B. & ENGELBRECHT, L. 1996. Inhibition of Herpes simplex virus type 1 by aqueous extracts from shoots of Helicrysum aureonites (Asteraceae). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 52:41-43.         [ Links ]

MOYO, B. & MASIKA, P.J. 2009. Tick control methods used by resource-limited farmers and the effect of ticks on cattle in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 41:517-523.         [ Links ]

NJOROGE, G.N. & BUSSMANN, R.W. 2006. Herbal usage and informant consensus in Ethnoveterinary management of cattle diseases among the Kikuyus (Central Kenya) Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 108:332-339.         [ Links ]

OTRANTO, D. & STEVENS, J.R. 2002. Molecular approaches to the study of myiasis-causing larvae. International Journal for Parasitology, 32:1345-1360.         [ Links ]

SAS 1999. Statistical Analyses System, version 8.0 for Microsoft Windows. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.         [ Links ]

SINGH, P., PANDEY, A. & AGGARWAL, A. 2007. House-to-house survey vs. snowball technique for capturing maternal deaths in India: A search for a cost-effective method. Indian Journal of medical Research, 125:550-556.         [ Links ]

TABUTI, J.R.S., DHILLION, S.S. & LYE, K.A. 2003. Ethnoveterinary medicines for cattle (Bos indicus) in Bulamongi county, Uganda: Plant species and mode of use. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 88:279-286.         [ Links ]

TAPSON, D.R. 1983. Interim report - Amatola basin rural development project. Agricultural and Rural Development Research Institute, University of Fort Hare, South Africa (Report No. 5/83).         [ Links ]

VAN DER MERWE, D., SWAN, G.E. & BOTHA C.J. 2001. Use of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants in cattle by Setswana-speaking people in the Madikwe area of the North West province of South Africa. Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, 72:189-196.         [ Links ]

VAN WYK, B.E., VAN OUDTSHOORN, B. & GERICKE, N. 1997. Medicinal plants of South Africa. Pretoria: Briza Publications.         [ Links ]

 

 

Accepted for publication 16 April 2009-Editor

 

 

* Author to whom correspondence is to be directed. E-mail: pmasika@ufh.ac.za