Planta Medica International Open 2017; 4(S 01): S1-S202
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1608019
Veterinary Medicine Satellite Symposium - in order of appearance
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Ethnoveterinary herb use in the Netherlands – between ethnobotany and zoopharmacognosy

T van Asseldonk
1   Institute for Ethnobotany and Zoopharmacognosy (IEZ), Beek, Netherlands
,
C Lans
1   Institute for Ethnobotany and Zoopharmacognosy (IEZ), Beek, Netherlands
,
G Kleijer
1   Institute for Ethnobotany and Zoopharmacognosy (IEZ), Beek, Netherlands
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
24 October 2017 (online)

 

The Institute for Ethnobotany and Zoopharmacognosy (IEZ) in the Netherlands, founded in 1996, combines academic research with teaching and consultancies on the subjects of ethnobotany (including herbs for animals) and zoopharmacognosy.

With help of more than 80 students we made a survey of ethnoveterinary practices in the Netherlands at the start of the 21st century, before these newly trained animal-naturopaths came into practice. Remedies used most often we found to be preparations from Linum usitatissimum, Urtica spp. and Allium sativum.

Traditional use of herbs for animals in the Netherlands can be found in textbooks from circa 1500 – 1900. Also human traditional herbalism and observations of wild plant consumption of free ranging (farm) animals were important roots for the herbal ethnoveterinary traditions we documented. We found several similarities, both in our methodologies and in the herbs, with the ethnoveterinary traditions in British Columbia (Canada), described by Lans. Lans compaired the latter also with first nation folk medicine, unvailing 64 herbs with comparitive uses.

For an experimental validation of herbal remedies some pilot studies were performed. Examples are: feeding herbs to sows to improve piglet health; for better growth of pigs; to improve meat taste; or feeding herbs to boars to diminute aggression.

Recommended Readings

[1] Van Asseldonk & Beijer. Herbal folk remedies for animal health in the Netherlands. Proceedings ICEB 2005.

[2] Van Asseldonk. Case study Netherlands. Ch 16. in Ethnoveterinary Botanical Medicine, 2010 (CRC, ed Katerere/Luseba).

[3] Lans. Ethnoveterinary medicines British Columbia, 2012.

[4] Lans. J of Ethnopharmacology 192 (2016) 53 – 66.

[5] Van Asseldonk, Kleijer, Vernooij. Kruiden in de Kraamstal 2005. http://www.ethnobotany.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/E V-Klei-As-Verslag-KrKr-Provincie-Ov2005.pdf

[6] Kleijer el al. I lerbal products for pig health. WOCMAP conference 2008

[7] Van Asseldonk http://edepot.wur.nl/266411