Ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants used in traditional veterinary medicine in Northern Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa)

This paper reports an ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological survey describing medicinal plants used for veterinary purposes by rural communities of Northern Côte d'Ivoire. For a large majority of theses resource-poor breeders, ethnoveterinary medicine is the main resort for treating various diseases and ailments of their livestock. Breeders reported 55 medicinal recipes that employ 44 plant species belonging to 40 genera and 30 families. The botanical names, plant parts used, multiple usages, forms of preparation and applications are described here. Herbal remedies were mostly used as decoctions, pounded fresh plants or powdered plant material to treat diseases of the skin, eyes, gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Administration was oral in most cases, followed by topical applications, and drops to treat ears and eyes. This study contributes to the conservation ex situ of ethnoveterinary knowledge of herdsmen, covering 25 plants species described for the first time for veterinary use in Côte d'Ivoire.