Indigenous animal health care practices of Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh

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1 Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol 4(2), April 2005, pp Indigenous animal health care practices of Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh Promila Kanwar* and Dinesh Yadav Department of Home Science Extension Education, College of Home Science, C S K Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur , Himachal Pradesh Received 23 January 2004; revised 6 July 2004 Indigenous technical knowledge in animal healthcare practices was documented in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh by using participatory rural appraisal technique (PRA). Among the documented indigenous practices, foot and mouth disease, diarrhoea, tympany, cold, fever, skin diseases, conjunctivitis, wound and eaten placenta were primarily treated with medicinal plants along with other materials available with the farmers. In the opinion of the experts, these practices could be recommended as they have some scientific rationale. However, practices applied for hemorrhagic septicemia, indigestion, tail necrosis, dislocation of joints and horn fracture, were doubtful for recommendations. Keywords: Indigenous Technical Knowledge, Animal Healthcare, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, Indigenous Healthcare, Ethnomedicine. IPC Int. cf: A61K35178; A61POll12; A61PlIOO; A61PI7/02; A61PI9/02; A61P31/12; A61P07/02. For animal healthcare during olden time, farmers used to seek the services from the persons who had inherited all the practices from their forefathers based on indigenous methods and personal experiences, however only a few used to be effective. Some of the practices are still in vogue and the farmers practice them when they are not able to get the services of the qualified veterinarians. The modern veterinary sector is plagued by numerous constraints which includes erratic supply of veterinary drugs, poor communication facilities and a shortage of manpower. The study on traditional healthcare can be expected to provide important leads for the design of culturally appropriate user-friendly veterinary services. Ethnoveterinary remedies are obtained mainly from plants but are also obtained from animal parts, salt and soils 1. These are based on long experience and testing under their own resources and systems. Thus, it is important to document such practices in order to understand their scientific rationale to increase awareness among the young generation for the traditional systems and to revive and restore pride/confidence among the farmers themselves" *Corresponding author Methodology Himachal Pradesh, a hilly state of India, falls between 30 22' to 33 12' North latitude and between 75 47' to 79 40' East longitude. Its altitude ranges from low valleys of 350 m to high snow bound mountains of above 7000 m of sea level. About 92% of its population is rural and engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry'. It was found that various Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Systems (ITKs) are being practiced since long by the respondents of different areas of Himachal Pradesh to treat their sick animals. This state is comprised of 12 districts and out of these, Kangra (Fig. 1) was selected for the present study on the basis of certain indices like number of house holds, total population, population of males and females, total cropped area, number of cattle and buffaloes. Information on indigenous animal healthcare were collected under All India Coordinated Research Project on Home Science funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. A base line interview schedule was prepared, pre-tested and modified to collect the desired information. Data were collected by Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) technique for getting the information on ITKs in animal healthcare practices". The responses were obtained by conducting focused group discussions

2 KANWAR & YADAV: INDIGENOUS ANIMAL HEALTHCARE PRACTICES OF KANGRA DISTRICT 165 Shimla --:r-~...,,~_ Himachal Pradesh Fig. 1 - Location Map of Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh with key informants and farmers about the type of diseases, name of the plants and other components they apply to treat their livestock (cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats) (Fig. 2). The documented practices were scientifically validated by consulting experts of College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences of Chaudhary Sarvan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palarripur as well as by consulting available relevant literature. Results and Discussion The details of the findings on ITKs along with scientific rationales are presented in Table 1. Conclusion An effort has been made to document indigenous animal healthcare practices, prevalent in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh to provide some insight into the way they are used. Majority of these practices are dependent upon medicinal plants and/or in combinations with certain other chemicals Imaterials. Among the documented indigenous practices, foot and mouth disease, diarrhoea, tympany, cold, fever, skin diseases, conjunctivitis, wounds and eaten placenta are primarily treated with medicinal plants along with other materials available with the farmers. These practices have some scientific rationale for their recommendation. However, certain practices applied for haemorrhagic septicemia, indigestion, tail necrosis, dislocation of joints and horn fracture need meticulous scientific examination before any recommendation is made. Acknowledgement Authors are grateful to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi for the financial assistance provided under All India Coordinated Research Project in Home Science on Data Base on Rural Women. Authors also thank the livestock owners for their cooperation and sharing of valuable

3 166 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 4, No.2, APRIL 2005 Kainth ( Pyrus passia Buch.-Ham.exDDon) Tirmira ( Zanthoxylum armatum DC.) Icevine ( Cissampelos pareira Linn.) Tamarind (Tamarindisindica Linn.) Documentation of TK form key informant Jatamansi (Valeriana jatamansi Jones) Fig. 2-Medicinal plants used in animal Healthcare practices

4 KANWAR & YADAV: INDIGENOUS ANIMAL HEALTHCARE PRACTICES OF KANGRA DISTRICT 167 Table I-Indigenous technical knowledge of animal health care practices in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh Diseases Foot and mouth Tympany Local treatment i) Wash feet and mouth with alum ii) Serve tamarind ttamarindus indica Linn.) / butter milk. iii) Rub Sugandhbala (Valeriana jatamansi Jones) on tongue. iv) Apply red soil / bami soil on foot / back of animal until fully recovered. Feed the animal with: i) a mixture of kneaded wheat flour, itsit (Boerhaavia diffusa Linn.), ajwayan (Trachyspermum ammi Sprague), methi (Trigonella foenum-graeum Linn.). jaggery, onion (Allium cepa Linn.). asafoetida (Femia assafsetida Linn.), garlic (Allium sativum Linn.) and turmeric (Curcuma domestica Valeton). ii) Mustard (Brassica juncea Czern. & Coss.) and turpentine oil. Scientific explanation Alum is an antiseptic, checks secondary infection. (R) Butter milk provides energy when animal is unable to chew coarse feed; tamarind is digestive. (R) Carminative, used as tonic and stimulant. (R) Provides coolness on the back and protects feet from germs and flies. (R) Methi, asafoetida and garlic act as carminative, improve appetite and repel gas. Ajwayan contains thiomala, which stimulates uterine activity and acts as analgesic. Itsit is good for digestion and diuretic, turmeric is antifungal and checks infection. (R) Oil is anti flatulent and provides relief from stomach problems. (R) iii) Small harad tterminalia chebula Retz.; C B This mixture improves digestion. (R) Clarke) 50 gm, black salt- 20 gm, nosadar (ammonium' chloride) 10 gm, asafoetida (Femia assafoetida Linn.) 10 gm, jaggery-loo gm. Boil in one litre water until volume reduced to 0.75 litres. Repeat 2-3 times. iv) Make cattle run for about I krn. It leads to expulsion of gases. (R) Diarrhoea i) Feed the animal with mustard oil (250 rnl), water and edible soda (Sodium bicarbonate) 100gm. ii) Leaves of ice vine (Cissampelos JJareira Linn.) and dhudu tbuddleja crispa Benth.). Mustard oil is an effective vermifuge to control diarrhoea". Sodium bicarbonate balances ph of ruminal content and improves digestion. (R) They have astringent IJroperty. (R) iii); Khairkath (Acacia catechu Willd.). ajwayan (Trachyspermwn ammi Sprague) and saunf ifoeniculum vulgare Mill.), This mixture has an astringent of fluid into intestine. (R) action that reduces seepage Indigestion i) Feed the animal with yellow mustard cake (soaked overnight in water), guma salt (black salt) and jaggery after thorough cooking. Mustard cake is rich in proteins; calcium and phosphorous that helps in secreting digestive juices and increases enzymatic activity. Salt improves secretion of digestive juices; jaggery provides energy. (R) ii) Mixture of sulphur, saunf tfoeniculum vulgare Mixture increases secretion of digestive juices. (R) Mill.) and black salt. iii) Urine of bull and buffalo reciprocally to one It stimulates the digestive juices in stomach. (NR) another for three days. Cold i) Feed animal with methi (Trigonella [oenumgraecum Linn.), ajwayan (Trachyspermum ammi Sprague), saunf (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) and jaggery. ii) Mixture of ginger tzingiber officinale Rosc.), ajwayan (Trachyspermum ammi Sprague) and jaggery. Methi, ajwayan and saunf are carminative. Ajwayan is antiseptic. (R) Ginger and ajwayan are carminative and stimulant. Jaggery provides energy. Ajwayan contains essential oil, thymol, which is antiseptic and acts as expectorant. (R) Contd..

5 168 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 4, No.2, APRIL 2005 Table I-Indigenous technical knowledge of animal healthcare practices in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh--Contd. Diseases Local treatment Scientific explanation Fever i) Seeds / leaves of tinnir (Zanthoxylum armatum Dc.). It contains linalool (essential oil) that is considered as an aromatic tonic for fever 6. Also used as carminative, stomachic and anthalmintic. (R) Haemorrhagic Septicemia Dislocation joints i) Give sharp cut on the swollen portion. It decreases blood supply, reduces swelling, and facilitates respiration. (NR). of i) Massage, traction and apply splints to immobilize Callus formation at fracture site takes place. (R) joint / bone ii) Firing: Pierce hot iron rods in affected joints. This particular practice is applied only for female animals to get the next progeny but not for male animals used for draft purposes due to ankylosis. (NR) Skin diseases i) Massage with deodar oil (Cedrus deodara Loud.) against itching. ii) Massage with mixture of turmeric (Curcuma domestica Valeton) and mustard oil ibrassica juncea Czern. & Coss.). An antiseptic and fly repellent; wood oil contains oleoresins and needles contain ascorbic acid, both antiseptic and fly repellent 5. Wood considered diuretic, carminative and diaphoretic. Bark used in diarrhoea and dysentery. (R) Turmeric is an antiseptic, whereas oil is used as a vehicle for making good paste. Used as stimulant, tonic, stomachic and depurative. (R) Conjunctivitis Apply fluid of crushed kainth tpyrus pashia Buch. - (R) Ham. ex D. Don) in eyes. Tail necrosis Make a cut in infected portion of tail and dip it in (NR) boiled mustard oil till bleeding stops. Horn fracture i) Put pad of red / multani soil and woman's hair and To check infection. (NR) pour hot mustard oil (Brassica juncea Czern. & Coss.) on it daily. ii) Turmeric (Curcuma domestica Valeton) and Turmeric helps in healing of wound. (R) mustard oil (Brassicajuncea Czern. & Coss.). Wound Apply mixture of turmeric (Curcuma domestica Valeton), linseed tlinum usitatissimum Linn.) /sesame (SeSall1U111 indicum Linn.) on wound for days. Turmeric helps in healing wound; sesame oil is emollient, nourishing, diuretic and lactagogue, and keeps tissues soft. Linseed oil cake is used as protein supplement for livestock. (R) Eaten placenta Cooked jaggery (250 gm), salt (100 gm), mustard oil Helps in digestion of placental proteins. (R) (Brassicajuncea Czern. & Coss.) 200 ml. R: - Recommended NR: - Not recommended knowledge. Thanks are also due to the experts of Veterinary Sciences especially Dr M S Kanwar for providing help in validation of the practices. References 1 Singh B P, Indigenous Technical Knowledge in Animal Husbandry, Kurukshetra, 47(8) (1999) 4l. 2 Gupta A K, Documenting Indigenous Farmer's Practices, ILEIA Newsletter, 6 (2) (1990) Kanwar Promila & Kherde R L, Gender Involvement in Crop Production Activities: A Study in Himachal Pradesh, Indian J Hill Farming, 9 (1&2) (1996) Mukherjee N, Participatory Rural Appraisal, (Concept Publications, New Delhi), Chauhan N S, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Himachal Pradesh, (Indus Publications, New Delhi), Chopra R N, Nayar S L & Chopra I C, Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants, (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Publication, New Delhi), 1956.