Ethno-veterinary treatment of digestive parasites of cattle in Vina division, Adamawa region, Cameroon

Digestive parasitosis constitutes a serious health hazard for animals especially in Africa. Vina, a division in the Adamawa region is rich in plants used in ethno veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to gather empirical veterinary knowledge from livestock farmers, usually deemed useful in the treatment of digestive parasitic diseases in animals and which is rarely available in scientific literature. An ethno veterinary survey was carried out among 120 livestock farmers and agro-pastoralists in Cameroon's agro-ecological zone II. Most of the respondents were foulbes (82.5%), agro-breeders (73%) and those who used traditional veterinary pharmacopoeia (87%). All groups were illiterates, Muslims and 85% practiced only self-treatment. They dewormed their animals (95%) and confessed to being able to farm without chemotherapy (72%). A total of 27 plants, including Khaya senegalensis (43.33%), Carica papaya (16.67%) and Sesbania spp (13.33%), the most frequently cited by farmers, were used to treat digestive strongylosis in cattle, and 15 plants, including Carica papaya (12.20%), Khaya senegalensis (10.57%), Piliostigma thonningii (9.76%) and Stereospermum kunthianum (7.32%), the most frequently cited, were inventoried for their medicinal role in cattle. The most commonly used plant parts were the leaves and barks, and majority of the traditional veterinary remedies were prepared in decoction form. The flora of Cameroon's high Guinean savannah is richly diverse in medicinal plants. This study revealed a total of 42 plant species as medicinal plants, including 27 with anti-parasitic efficacy. Out of these 27, 3 were most commonly used by farmers pointing to their supposed efficacy. It was realized that farmers do not have any standard ways of measuring the volumes or weights of the plant-based medications and carrying out prognosis, combined with paucity of scientific information on these plants.