Farmers' knowledge in the Swiss canton Valais: cultural heritage with future significance for European veterinary medicine?

BACKGROUND: The demand for natural product-based treatment options for livestock is increasing by animals' owners, veterinarians and policy makers. But at the same time, the traditional knowledge about it is at risk of falling into oblivion in Europe. The present study recorded this knowledge for the linguistically and geographically interesting Swiss canton of Valais. METHOD: Open, semi-structured interviews were used to collect detailed information on formulations and applications, including plant species and natural substances, origin of material, extraction and preparation of herbal products, indication and type of application, dosage, sources of knowledge, frequency of usage and self-assessment of the treatment. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In the course of 43 interviews, 173 homemade single species herbal remedy report (HSHR) were recorded. They included 53 plant species from 30 botanical families. Plant species from the botanical families of Asteraceae, Rubiaceae and Cupressaceae were mentioned the most, while the most frequently documented plant species were Coffea arabica L., Juniperus sabina L., Arnica montana L. and Matricaria chamomilla L. For the 173 HSHR, a total of 215 uses were mentioned, most of which were for the treatment of gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders, followed by skin lesions and genito-urinary tract problems. Regional peculiarities emerged, such as the use of Leontopodium alpinum Cass. for diarrhea in the French-speaking Valais, while Matricaria chamomilla and Camellia sinensis L. were used in the German-speaking part instead. In comparison with other regions of Switzerland, 10 plants were reported for the first time, including Juniperus sabina with 18 use reports. CONCLUSION: The daily use on farms and the high satisfaction of farmers with homemade herbal remedies demonstrate their high practical relevance. In conclusion, the traditional regional knowledge about the use of medicinal plants is not only a cultural heritage worth protecting, but also an essential resource for the further development of European veterinary medicine.

Trends of Medicinal Plant Use over the Last 2000 Years in Central Europe.

Medicinal plant knowledge in Central Europe can be traced back from the present to antiquity, through written sources. Approximately 100 medicinal plant taxa have a history of continuous use. In this paper, we focus on use patterns over time and the link between historical and traditional uses with the current scientific evidence. We discuss our findings against the backdrop of changing eras and medicinal concepts. Based on use-records from totally 16 historical, popular and scientific herbals, we analyze how use categories of 102 medicinal plant taxa developed over time. Overall, 56 of the 102 taxa maintained continuous use throughout all time periods. For approximately 30% of the continuous uses, scientific evidence supporting their use exists, compared to 11% for recently added uses and 6% for discontinuous uses. Dermatology and gastroenterology are use categories that are relevant across all time periods. They are associated with a high diversity of medicinal taxa and continuously used medicinal species with scientific evidence. Antidotes, apotropaic (protective) magic, and humoral detoxification were important use categories in the past. New applications reflecting biomedical progress and epidemiological challenges are cardiovascular and tonic uses. Changes in medicinal concepts are mirrored in plant use and specifically in changes in the importance of use categories. Our finding supports the concept of social validation of plant uses, i.e., the assumption that longstanding use practice and tradition may suggest efficacy and safety.

What can we learn from past and recent Bavarian knowledge for the future development of European veterinary herbal medicine? An ethnoveterinary study.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: While the interest in finding medical solutions for the worldwide antibiotics crisis is rising, the legal possibility of simplified authorization of herbal veterinary medicinal products is dwindling. An important basis for both the preservation and development of knowledge in veterinary herbal medicine are pharmacological and clinical studies on the performance of herbal remedies, based on historical written sources on the treatment of farm animals with medicinal plants, as well as current ethnoveterinary research. Nevertheless, there is only limited systematic ethnoveterinary research in Europe, with the exceptions of the Mediterranean region, Switzerland and Austria. We conducted a survey on the ethnoveterinary knowledge of farmers in Bavaria, and analyzed two regional historical textbooks. AIM OF THE STUDY: We documented the local veterinary knowledge about livestock in Bavaria based upon local historical textbooks and upon ethnoveterinary interviews to discover opportunities for the future development of European veterinary herbal medicine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 2018/2019 we conducted 77 semi-structured interviews with 101 farmers from different types of farms. Detailed information about homemade herbal remedies (plant species, plant part, manufacturing process, source of knowledge) and the corresponding use reports (target animal species, category of use, route of administration, dosage, source of knowledge, frequency of use, last time of use and farmers' satisfaction) were collected. To compare our data with the literature, the use reports of two local historical textbooks were analyzed and compared with the data from the interviews. RESULTS: 716 homemade remedy reports (HRs) for altogether 884 use reports (URs) were documented in this study. We picked the 363 HRs that consisted of a single plant species with or without other natural products (HSHRs) for a deeper analysis. These HSHRs were prepared from 108 plant species that belonged to 57 botanical families. The most URs were documented for the families of: Asteraceae, Linaceae and Urticaceae. Calendula officinalis L. (Asteraceae), Linum usitatissimum L. (Linaceae) and Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) were the most often documented single species. A total of 448 URs were gathered for the 363 HSHRs. The largest number of URs was for treatments of gastrointestinal disorders and metabolic dysfunctions, followed by skin alterations and sores. For nearly half of the URs the source of knowledge was family and friends. For 80 URs the source of knowledge was different from that of the corresponding HSHRs. For 68% of the URs farmers mentioned at least one use during the last 5 years. Half of the plant species that were mentioned in the historical literature were also mentioned in URs by the interviewees. CONCLUSION: In Bavaria, medicinal plants are actively used by farmers to treat their livestock with a high level of satisfaction. The knowledge is not passed on from generation to generation in a purely static way, but is dynamically developed by the users in almost one fifth of the URs. Ethnoveterinary research combined with data from regional historical textbooks may facilitate pharmacological and clinical studies in veterinary medicine, and the discussion about a simplified registration for traditional herbal veterinary medicinal products.

Herbalists of Today's Switzerland and Their Plant Knowledge. A Preliminary Analysis from an Ethnobotanical Perspective.

BACKGROUND: Herbal medicine is a popular part of primary health care in Switzerland. Following an ethnobotanical approach, in this study we seek to identify Swiss herbalists with broad, empirical medicinal plant knowledge and use. We aim to consider different areas of the medicinal landscape including biomedicine, complementary and alternative medicine, and self-medication. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 61 expert interviews were conducted from February 2010 to November 2011. The transfer of knowledge was analyzed according to a Switzerland-related selection of historical and recent popular as well as scientific herbal books. RESULTS: A total of 254 medicinal plant species, belonging to 218 genera and 87 families, were recorded in 934 use reports. Predominantly leaves and flowers are used for the treatment of dermatological, respiratory, nervous, and gastrointestinal problems. Recent to historical herbal books are an important source of plant knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Medicinal plants are used for self-medication and professional health care and despite different underlying medicinal concepts and philosophies, herbalists largely agree on the most important medicinal plant species.

The use of the local flora in Switzerland: a comparison of past and recent medicinal plant knowledge.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: This analysis of documented medicinal plants of the Swiss Flora over the last two millennia provides a rich source of knowledge on earlier uses of plants and use patterns of the local flora. We ask which local plant species were used during different time periods of the last 2000 years and how the numbers of species and the use intensity of specific plant families, growth forms and habitats changed over time. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Totally 25 herbals from the antiquity, monastic medicine, Renaissance, early modern era and the contemporary time as well as five recent ethnobotanical studies were considered. Use patterns were analysed with the Bayesian approach. RESULTS: A total of 768 species, i.e. 32% of the vascular plants of the Swiss Flora have been documented as medicinal plants. Numbers increase until the monastic period (366 spp.) and the Renaissance (476) and remain relatively stable since then (modern and contemporary era: 477). But, 465 formerly documented species do not occur in the ethnobotanical studies and thus seem not to be used any more. Overall, 104 species are documented through all time periods. Archeophytes, trees and forest plants are generally overrepresented in herbals from all time periods while plants from above the timberline are generally underrepresented. Most widely used are the Lamiaceae and Apiaceae. CONCLUSION: A constant body of medicinal plant knowledge in Switzerland exists since ancient time. This knowledge was always influenced by knowledge from neighboring countries and no "typical Swiss specialties" seem to exist. Medicinal plants are not randomly chosen from the available flora. Certain species are deliberately introduced others are neglected. This process, which is still ongoing, can be traced back with the help of herbals to the antiquity.