12^th Global Ethnomedicine and Ethnopharmacology Conference

Biography

Biography: Juan J. García B.

Abstract

In a region of Amazonas basin in Colombia, an ethnoveterinary research was carried out to know how peasant farmers treat and control bovine affections with plants available in their farms. 19 farms were randomly selected between those located in the Santo Domingo District of Florencia municipality (n= 200 farms approx.). Data collection was achieved through direct observation, participatory observation, surveys, semi-structured and in-depth interviews. The development of the study found 27 ethnomedicinal plants to supply health requirements of the herds. It was found too that the specie with the highest number of reports was Carica papaya, reported in 42% of the farms, followed by Cordia alliodora (identified as antidiarrheal, antipyretic and antidote against snakes bite), reported in 31.5% of the farms. C. papaya was noted for its associations with anti-inflammatory properties, especially in mastitis, antipyretic, immunostimulant and milk ejector. Specific therapeutic aspects of the resources were not described at this stage of the research. In general terms, when peasants detect symptoms, they supply the products as green fodder extracts or infusions. they also perform some spraying and plastering of these to the animals. The research concluded that the conservation of therapeutic agroforestry knowledge is connected with oral peasant family tradition and the creation of knowledge networks between friends and neighbors. Additionally, it is recommended the development of experimental assays, in which the pharmacological properties of the different species identified, can be revealed in methodological schemes.