A review of ethnoveterinary medicines used for poultry health management in Zimbabwe

Poultry farming represents an important sector for the livelihood of rural communities in Zimbabwe. Farmers raise poultry in order to meet demands on household food and as additional sources of income. However, the production of birds is hampered by a variety of diseases including Newcastle disease and coccidiosis. The impact of diseases is severe for poor communities who have limited access to modern veterinary services and, therefore, rely on traditional herbal medicines for the treatment of livestock ailments. The objective was to review medicinal plants that are used for the management of poultry health in Zimbabwe, including the parts of the plant used, methods of preparing the remedies, and the methods of administration during use. Fifty-three plants were used among the non-commercial poultry producers in Zimbabwe. Most of the plants used for treating poultry belonged to the Fabaceae family followed by Solanaceae. Cited in almost all studies reviewed, Aloe species were the most widely used plant although there were problems in identifying specific aloe species. Leaves were the most widely used part of the plant for treatment. The most widely used method of preparing plant material for treatment was crushing. An analysis of the cross-cultural agreement among languages in different study areas was done and we found a high degree of consensus for the language and typology of study participants. It would be useful to conduct more field surveys to document more plants used in different parts of the country and to investigate the therapeutic effectiveness of the various plant materials under clearly defined experimental conditions. The ultimate aim would be to isolate and identify compounds that are potentially useful for the treatment of poultry diseases.