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              Research
              
              
                            
                            3.  
                            
                            Ethnoveterinary practices and use of herbal 
                            medicines for treatment of skin diseases in cattle : 
                            A study in Polsara block, Ganjam district, Orissa, 
                            India - 
                            Dibakar Mishra
                            Vet World. 2011; 4(6): 250-253
               
              
              
              doi: 
              10.5455/vetworld.4.250
              
              
               
              
              
              
   
 
              
               
               
               
              
              
              Abstract
              
                              
                            
                            This study records indigenous medicinal plant 
                            utilization in treating skin diseases of cattle 
                            population. The study was carried out in Polasara 
                            Block, Ganjam District between January 2004 and 
                            December 2005. Ethnoveterinary data were collected 
                            using pre-structured questionnaires, interviews and 
                            field observations with elderly persons, cattle 
                            owners, traditional healers and house wives. A total 
                            of 12 ethnoveterinary preparations were studied in 
                            which 24 plant species belonging to 20 families were 
                            documented in the area. The most frequently used 
                            plant parts were leaves (33.33%), followed by oils 
                            (29.17%) and rhizomes (25.0%). Most of the medicinal 
                            species were collected from the nearby areas of the 
                            locality. The principal threatening factors reported 
                            were deforestation and agricultural expansion. 
                            Documenting the medicinal plants and associated 
                            indigenous knowledge can be used as a basis for 
                            developing management plans for conservation and 
                            sustainable use of medicinal plants in the area and 
                            for validation of these plant preparations for 
                            veterinary treatment. The low cost and almost no 
                            side effects of these preparations make them 
                            adaptable by the local community. 
              
                            
              Keywords: 
                            Ethnoveterinary medicines, Traditional healers, skin 
                            diseases, Polasara