Ethnoveterinary Practices of Medicinal Plants in Management of Worms and Ectoparasites in Livestock in Karatu District, Tanzania

Abstract

Livestock production plays a critical role in supporting rural livelihoods across Tanzania. However, the sector faces constraints due to high disease prevalence and limited access to veterinary services, which are often costly. Thus, many smallholder farmers rely on ethnoveterinary practices. This study surveyed agropastoral households in Karatu District to explore their knowledge, attitudes, and use of medicinal plants for animal health management. A cross-sectional study was conducted, where 145 agropastoral households were purposively selected based on livestock population size. The households encompassed a diverse age range of 15 to 80 years, with male respondents predominating (69.7%), and were primarily engaged in cattle, small ruminants, pigs, and poultry production. Most respondents (81.4%) had over 11 years of experience in livestock farming, and over 90% of them had attained only primary education. Respondents identified symptoms indicative of several livestock diseases, including Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (54.5%) in cattle, mange mites and worm infestations in pigs (35.2%) and worms in small ruminants (17.9%), and Newcastle disease (8.3%) in poultry. More than half of the respondents were aware of the presence of medicinal plants, which were mainly used when conventional drugs were unavailable (24.1%), costly (30.3%), or perceived as ineffective (19.3%). Most respondents (57.9%) perceived use of medicinal plants as effective and 64.1% viewed them as comparable to conventional treatments. The key plants used by the majority of respondents for parasite control was Croton macrostachyus. The study highlights that of ethnoveterinary knowledge remains a valuable alternative for livestock health management, while also emphasizing its vulnerability to erosion due to reliance on oral transmission.