Botanical remedies for livestock: A quantitative ethnoveterinary study in the Northeastern coastal region of Odisha, India

Compared to other coastal regions of India, research on the quantitative approach of ethnoveterinary useful plants is still scarce in the northeastern coastal region of Odisha. To fill this knowledge gap, here we investigated the use value (UV), informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL %) of medicinal plants, used for veterinary purposes. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 63 individuals to collect essential ethnoveterinary information. A total of 52 plant species belonging to 51 genera of 36 families were recorded to cure 12 different livestock aliment categories. Among all the plant parts, the indigenous community primarily uses leaves for preparing remedies instead of underground parts of plants, to minimize the disturbance of the natural habitat and population of plants. In our study region, oral consumption (50%), and paste (40.38%) are the common modes of consumption and formulation, respectively. Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre was the most common medicinal plant used by the majority of indigenous communities having UV of 0.86. Alocasia macrorrhizos (L.) G. Don. and Justicia adhatoda L. species are frequently used by the community for treating respiratory system disorders having ICF of 0.96. We identify Curcuma longa L. as a highly medicinal value for maximum treatments (wound treatment, reproductive disorder, and respiratory system disorder) having higher FL% (83.87%). Our documentation provides precious information on ethnoveterinary medicine that helps in-situ conservation of the highly medicinal plant as well as conserves traditional knowledge at both the local and national levels.