Ethnoveterinary medicine based on Ayurveda plants

Abstract

Traditional plants used for medicine exist for several thousand years ago in India to solve human health problems. The Ayurveda concept involved in the balancing of five basic elements including earth, water, fire, air, and space (ether) because of various active ingredients in remedies. Nowadays, traditional plant uses in veterinary medicine in many regions have been documented and reported such as in Spain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil and Kenya. Catharanthus roseus (Apocynaceae) is an important medicinal plant containing vincristine used in veterinary medicine for treatment of canine transmissible venereal tumor and canine lymphoma. Additional evidences in China showed that Salacia oblonga root in Ayurvedic recipe was able to ameliorate hypertriglyceridemia and excessive ectopic fat accumulation in laying hens. Moreover, crude extract from Terminalia arjuna L. (Combretaceae) bark decreased blood pressure in anaesthetized dogs. However, World Health Organization (WHO) recently focuses in standardization, safety and efficacy of Ayurveda medicine to establish this herbal medicine system. Ayurveda in veterinary medicine still need further clinical research to provide more clear, comprehensive, and practical pharmacological information to improve constantly therapeutic qualities.