Ethno Veterinary Practices Prevalent Among Livestock Rearers at Arbe Gona And Loka Abaya Woredas of Sidama Zone of Southern Ethiopia

Antibacterial Activities of Calpurnia aurea against Selected Animal Pathogenic Bacterial Strains

The study aimed to determine the phytochemicals and to assess the antibacterial activities of crude extracts of different parts of Calpurnia aurea against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157 H:7, Salmonella typhi, and Campylobacter jejuni. The fresh and healthy leaves, barks, stems, and roots of the plant parts were collected, herbarium, dried, and grounded, and bioactive compounds were extracted by ethanol (99%) and water. Mass of crude extracts was determined by using the Whatman No. 1 filter paper and rotary evaporator. Major secondary metabolites were also screened using phytochemical screening tests. Antibacterial activities (inhibition zones, mm) and minimum inhibition concentrations (MIC) were evaluated using agar-well diffused methods and agar dilution methods, respectively. The antibiotics ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin, penicillin, and tetracycline were used as positive controls at concentrations of 0.1 mg/ml and 0.2 mg/ml, while distilled water was used as the negative control. All the crude extracts were tested triplet (3x) for antibacterial activities against selected bacterial strains with two different concentrations 25 and 50 mg/ml and analyzed to compare the mean ± standard deviation between triplets. The results revealed that ethanol extracts showed high crude mass extracts, antibacterial activities, and major secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, tennis, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, and phlobatannins compared with aqueous extracts. Among antibiotics used, penicillin showed resistance to S. aureus and E. coli O157 H:7. C. jejuni was found to be the most susceptible bacterium to ethanol extracts' leaves, barks, and stems with MIC 3.125 mg/ml, whereas S. aureus was the least susceptible to all crude extracts. The study provided the traditional and scientific basis of Calpurnia aurea used against some bacterial diseases.

Potential of ethno-veterinary medicine in animal health care practices in the South Pacific Island countries: a review

The South Pacific island countries (SPIC) are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to economic shocks, climate change and natural disasters. Agriculture including livestock production makes important contribution to socio-economic development in the region. However, the livestock sector is marred by many livestock diseases, which are crippling the economies as well as threatening the food security of the island nations, most of which have high dependence on imports. Limited veterinary medical facilities, high cost of conventional medicine and remoteness of some rural farming communities make it difficult for farmers to treat their diseased animals. Nevertheless, the island nations are endowed with vast reserves of medicinal plants in diverse ecosystems including mangroves, rainforests and tropical dry forests. Despite the ubiquity of traditional medicine systems, most of the plant species have been used to treat human aliments in the SPIC and very few farmers utilise herbal medicine to treat their animals. This review highlights the common diseases affecting livestock production in the SPIC, threats to ethno-veterinary knowledge, and potential plant species and their efficacies to treat animal diseases and parasites. It also discusses the common methods of preparation of veterinary herbal medicine and possible ways of making the medicine available in the formal and informal markets in the region. It is envisaged that the review will stimulate further ethno-veterinary research among livestock disease management practices in the SPIC.