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EVM (ETHNO VETERINARY MEDICINE)
“IMPORTANCE OF ETHNO VETERINARY MEDICINE AND ETHNO VETERINARY PRACTICES FOR BACKYARD POULTRY”
Ethno Veterinary Medicine (EVM) is one of the indigenous systems of medicine to prevent and treat different disease conditions in livestock and poultry since ancient times mainly by using medicinal herbs and organic materials. In poultry treatment, ethno-veterinary practices have gained importance recently because these practices are much less prone to drug resistance and have fewer damaging side-effects on the surrounding environment than conventional medicine. The essential therapeutic tools used in conventional medicine include chemical compounds extracted from plants, animals or microorganisms and used either in raw or purified form. Herbal products have gained increasing popularity in the last decade, and are now used by approximately 20% of the population. Herbal products are complex mixtures of organic chemicals that may come from any raw or processed part of a plant, including leaves, stems, flowers, roots, and seeds.
Importance of EVM
The indiscriminate use of antibiotics and chemical drugs in organized poultry farms poses the problem of antibiotic resistance. This is considered by health scientists to be the major social issue next to global warming. Besides, European Union banned the use of antibiotic growth promoter in poultry farming operations and the days are not far off to completely ban the use of antibiotic growth promoter in India for which the industry should be ready with a viable alternate. World Health organization and many international Institutions are showing deep concern to this issue and recommending researchers to go for a viable ecofriendly alternative to antibiotics with lesser or no harmful effects.
Ethno veterinary medicine using medicinal herbs/herb spices provide immense potential as an alternative to antibiotics and synthetic drugs and they are employed widely in pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics and in food industry. But unfortunately these are being less utilized by the poultry industry.
Advantages of EVM
It provides poultry health care at farmer’s door step making it farmers friendly.
It provides cost effective treatment in poultry using locally available herbs when compared to western medicines.
It reduces the risk of residues in animal products
It minimizes the antibiotic usage thereby aids to prevent antibiotic resistance.
It helps to preserve the indigenous technical knowledge for sustainable usage.
It helps to preserve the medicinal herbs biodiversity.
It provides herbal intervention for treatment of some viral diseases such as Newcastle disease and Fowl pox disease in poultry.
Use of herbs in the ethno veterinary practices
Plants are the most commonly used ingredients in the preparation of ethno veterinary medicines. All parts of the plants, including leaves, bark, fruits, flowers, seeds are used in medicinal preparations. At present over 35,000 plants are known to have healing properties. Atleast 1,00,000 species of plants are used by humans as food, medicine, fibre, fuel, oils, shelter, poisons, intoxicants, ornamentals and other purposes. By virtue of specialized biochemical capabilities, plants synthesize and accumulate a vast array of primary and secondary metabolites/chemicals. For reasons both cultural and economical, 75 % of the world’s population depends on medicines from plants. Of the proprietary medicines in the western market, 35 % are phytic in origin; however these medicines are derived from less than 0.1 % of known plant species. So far, more than 100,000 biologically active secondary plant compounds have been isolated from higher plants, these diverse structures falling into four main chemical classes. The phenolics (phenols, flavonoids, quinones, tannins and lignins), terpenoids (monoterpenes, lactones, diterpenes, saponins and others), sulphur compounds (glucosilates, disulphides and acetylenic thiophenes) and nitrogen compounds (alkaloids, amines, non-protein aminoacids and cyanogenetic glycosides). Certain organic acids and polyacetylenes are also known to exist.
Mode of action of herbs
The action of medicinal herbs is considered to be due to plant secondary metabolites. Plant secondary metabolites are terms used for more than 30,000 different substances which are exclusively produced by plants. The plants form secondary metabolites for protection against pests, as coloring, scent or attractants and as the plants own hormones. Secondary metabolites carry out a number of protective functions in the human body. Plant secondary metabolites boost immune system, protect the body from free radicals and kill pathogenic germs and much more. The role of certain important phytochemicals is as follows;
Flavanoids
This large group of phytochemicals includes more than 1500 separate compounds with varied functions. Flavanoids enhance the effects of vitamin C and function as antioxidants. They are also known to be biologically active against liver toxins, tumours, viruses and other microbes, allergies and inflammation. They protect our blood vessels especially the tiny capillaries that carry oxygen and nutrients to our cells and are believed to slow down the development of cataracts in persons who have diabetes.
Phyto-Oestrogens
These are naturally occurring plant compounds that structurally resemble mammalian oestrogen. They copy or counteract the effect of oestrogen in the body. Consumption of Isoflavone, a phyto-oestrogen, is associated with cancer prevention, improved cardiovascular health and improved bone health.
Phytosterols
Phytosterols are plant sterols that occur in most plant species but appear to be most abundant in the seeds of green and yellow vegetables. They are important in the human diet because they help to reduce the amount of dietary cholesterol absorbed by the body by blocking uptake in the intestine.
Carotenoids
These are plant pigments found in bright yellow, orange and red fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids are generally well known as vitamin A precursors, meaning that once ingested, the body converts the compounds into vitamin A. The vitamin A precursors as well as other carotenoids such as gamma carotene, lycopene and lutein have been shown to be protective against lung, breast, uterine, colorectal and prostate cancer.
Saponins:
Saponins and flavor additives which boost the immune system lower the cholesterol levels in the blood and reduce the risk of intestinal cancer.
Terpenes:
Terpenes are plant flavours. e.g. The menthol in peppermint oil or the essential oils in herbs or spices. Terpenes decrease the risks of cancer.
Sulphides:
Sulphides inhibit the growth of bacteria, lower cholesterol levels, protect the body from free radicals and have preventive effects against cancer.
Alkaloids:
Alkaloids are a member of a large group of chemicals that are made by plants and have nitrogen in them. Many alkaloids possess potent pharmacologic effects. Alkaloids include cocaine, nicotine, strychnine, caffeine, morphine, pilocarpine, atropine, methamphetamine, mescaline, ephedrine, and tryptamine.
By:-
M.Sakthi Priya, (Assistant Professor), T. R. Gopala Krishna Murthy, (Professor and Head)
Tamil Nadu Veterinary & Animal Sciences University
Directorate of Centre For Animal Health Studies, Chennai-51 Ethno Veterinary Practices For Backyard Poultry, Ethno Veterinary Herbal Research Centre for Poultry, Veterinary Hospital Campus, Trichy Road, Namakkal 637001, Tamil Nadu, India.