Cell and Tumor Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, North-Eastern Hill University, Umshing, Shillong, 793022, India.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2017 Jun 30;13(1):39. doi: 10.1186/s13002-017-0167-6.
India has an immense faunal, floral, as well as cultural diversity with many ethnic communities who are primarily dependent on the traditional medicinal system for their primary health care. Documentation and evaluation of this indigenous remedial knowledge may be helpful to establish new drugs for human health. The present study is intended to look into different zootherapeutic medicinal uses in the traditional health care system among the native inhabitants adjacent to the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India.
Field survey was carried out from March 2015 to August 2015 by personal interviews through semi-structured questionnaires. In some cases where participants were uncomfortable with the questionnaires, informal interviews and open group discussions were conducted with a total of 62 indigenous respondents (43 male and 19 female) who provided the information regarding various medicinal uses of animals and their products (local name of animal, mode of preparation, application etc).
The study recorded a total of 44 different species, 44 genera and 36 families of animals which are used for the treatment of 40 different ailments. Insects occupied the highest uses (30.9%), followed by mammals (23.8%), fishes (16.7%), reptiles (11.9%), amphibians (7.1%), annelids (4.8%) and gastropods (4.8%). Further, some zootherapeutic animals i.e. cockroach (Periplaneta americana), praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) and earthworms (Metaphire houletti, Pheretima posthum) are used for the treatment of asthma, otorrhoea and cancer respectively.
The findings suggest that the traditional zootherapeutic remedial measures followed by the native people adjacent to Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary plays an important role in their primary health care. The documentation of this indigenous knowledge on animal based medicines should be very helpful in the formulation of strategies for sustainable management and conservation of bio-resources as well as providing potential for the novel drugs discovery.
印度拥有丰富的动物群、植物群和文化多样性，许多民族社区主要依赖传统医学体系来满足基本医疗需求。对这种本土治疗知识进行记录和评估，可能有助于为人类健康开发新药。本研究旨在调查印度阿萨姆邦临近长臂猿野生动物保护区的本地居民传统医疗体系中不同的动物治疗药用用途。
2015 年 3 月至 8 月，通过半结构化问卷进行个人访谈，开展实地调查。在某些情况下，如果参与者对问卷感到不适，我们会与总共 62 名土著受访者（43 名男性和 19 名女性）进行非正式访谈和公开小组讨论，他们提供了有关动物及其产品的各种药用用途的信息（动物的当地名称、制备方式、应用等）。
该研究共记录了 44 种不同的动物物种、44 个属和 36 个科，这些动物用于治疗 40 种不同的疾病。昆虫的使用最为广泛（30.9%），其次是哺乳动物（23.8%）、鱼类（16.7%）、爬行动物（11.9%）、两栖动物（7.1%）、环节动物（4.8%）和腹足纲动物（4.8%）。此外，一些动物治疗用动物，如蟑螂（美洲大蠊）、螳螂（中华大刀螳）和蚯蚓（威廉环毛蚓、赤子爱胜蚓），分别用于治疗哮喘、耳漏和癌症。
研究结果表明，临近长臂猿野生动物保护区的本地居民所采用的传统动物治疗方法，在他们的基本医疗中发挥了重要作用。记录这种本土动物药用知识，对于制定生物资源可持续管理和保护的策略以及为新药发现提供潜力非常有帮助。
