Assefa Alembrhan, Mesfin Kalayu, Girmay Teklay
Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Science, Aksum University, P.O. Box, 1010, Axum, Ethiopia.
Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Science, Adigrat University, P.O. Box, 50, Adigrat, Ethiopia.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2025 Apr 11;21(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s13002-025-00767-3.
Zootherapy is the treatment of human and livestock ailments using medicines derived from animals and their products. The objective of this review paper was to compile and document ethnozoological knowledge on traditional medicinal animals used to treat various human and livestock ailments, along with the associated indigenous knowledge from different parts of Ethiopia.
Scientific databases were employed to conduct an exhaustive systematic search of published articles in the English language. A collection of 21 articles focused on animals and their by-products utilized in Ethiopian traditional medicine was compiled from accessible international online databases like Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate, and various journal Web sites.
According to the sources, a total 112 animal species used to treat 167 different ailments were identified. Among these, mammals are the most frequently used, followed by birds, arthropods, and reptiles. Most remedies are sourced from wild animals, with treatments for serious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and cancer, being reported. The most commonly used animal parts for medicine preparation are meat and fat, followed by internal organs, with cooking being the predominant preparation method.
The medicinal use of animals is under threat due to illegal hunting and deforestation. The Ethiopian people possess rich indigenous knowledge of animal-based traditional medicine. To ensure the sustainable use of medicinal animals and support the development of modern medicine, further comprehensive ethnozoological research is urgently needed.
动物疗法是使用来自动物及其产品的药物治疗人类和牲畜疾病的方法。本综述论文的目的是汇编和记录关于用于治疗各种人类和牲畜疾病的传统药用动物的民族动物学知识，以及来自埃塞俄比亚不同地区的相关本土知识。
利用科学数据库对英文发表文章进行详尽的系统检索。从Scopus、科学网、谷歌学术、PubMed、研究之门等可访问的国际在线数据库以及各种期刊网站中汇编了21篇聚焦于埃塞俄比亚传统医学中使用的动物及其副产品的文章。
根据资料来源，共确定了112种用于治疗167种不同疾病的动物物种。其中，哺乳动物使用最为频繁，其次是鸟类、节肢动物和爬行动物。大多数药物来源于野生动物，还报道了针对包括艾滋病毒/艾滋病和癌症在内的严重疾病的治疗方法。制备药物最常用的动物部位是肉和脂肪，其次是内脏，主要制备方法是烹饪。
由于非法捕猎和森林砍伐，动物的药用受到威胁。埃塞俄比亚人民拥有丰富的基于动物的传统医学本土知识。为确保药用动物的可持续利用并支持现代医学的发展，迫切需要进一步开展全面的民族动物学研究。
