Ethno-veterinary practices of Poaceae taxa in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract Background: Plant species of Poaceae family are not only used as fodder and forage but also contribute substantially in the treatment of various health disorders, particularly in livestock. Consequently, present study was aimed to document the therapeutic uses Poaceae taxa by the inhabitants of the Punjab Province to treat various veterinary health disorders. Methods: Semi structured interviews, group discussion and field walks were conducted to collected data. Furthermore, quantitative indices includingcultural significance index (CSI), relative frequency of citations (RFC), fidelity level (FL), and relative popularity level (RPL) andJaccard Index (JI) were adopted for data analysis. Results: Traditional uses of 149 plants belonging to 60 genera, 16 tribes of 5 sub families of Poaceae were recorded. Whole plant and leaves were the most consistent grazing parts with 40.94 and 29.53% contribution and decoction (35 reports) was the most preferred mode of administration. Majority of the plant species were employed to treat infectious diseases (25.93 %). and digestive disorders (14.10 %). Triticum aestivum depicted highest CSI, RFC and RPL levels at 8.00, 0.96, 1.00, respectively, followed by Oryza sativa and Poa annua . Likewise, T. aestivum and Saccharum spontaneum had 100 % FL and ROP. Jaccard index ranged from 12.25 to 0.37. Twelve plant species namely Chrysopogon zizanioides (anti-inflammatory), Pennisetum lansatum (improve bull fertility), Cymbopogon citratus (glandular secretion), Sorghum saccharatum and Themeda triandra (malaria), Aristida funiculate (anticancer) , Koeleria argentia (skin allergies), Tetrapogon villosus (antibacterial), Cynodon radiates (eyes infection), Sporobolus nervosa (Jaundice), Enneapogon persicus (antifungal), and Panicum repens (dysfunctional cattle organs) were reported for the first time with novelethnoveterinary uses. Conclusion: Inhabitants of the study area had strong association with surrounding plant biodiversity and possess significant knowledge on therapeutic uses of grasses and other members of Poaceae to treat various health disorders in animals. Plant species with maximum cultural and medicinal values could be a potential source of novel drugs to cure health disorders in animals and human as well.