Preprint / Version 1

A Comparative Assessment of Zootherapeutic Remedies From Selected Areas in Albania, Italy, Spain and Nepal

Authors

  • Cassandra Quave Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Mail Slot 511, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA ([email protected])
  • Usha Lohani Department of Zoology, Tribhuvan University, Amrit Campus, Post Box 7844, Kathmandu, NEPAL ([email protected])
  • Alonso Verde Escuela de Magisterio, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Campus de Albacete, E-02007 Albacete, SPAIN ([email protected])
  • José Fajardo Escuela de Magisterio, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Campus de Albacete, E-02007 Albacete, SPAIN ([email protected])
  • Diego Rivera Dep. Biología Vegetal, Universidad de Murcia, Fac. de Biología, E-30100 Murcia, SPAIN ([email protected])
  • Concepción Obón Dep. Biología Aplicada, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Orihuela, Ctra Beniel km. 3,2, 03312 Orihuela, SPAIN ([email protected])
  • Arturo Valdes Escuela de Magisterio, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Campus de Albacete, E-02007 Albacete, Spain ([email protected])
  • Andrea Pieroni University of Gastronomic Sciences, Via Amedeo di Savoia 8, I-12060 Pollenzo/Bra, ITALY ([email protected])

Keywords:

zootherapy, ethnoveterinary, traditional medicine

Abstract

Zootherapy is the treatment of human ailments with remedies derived from animals and their products. Despite its prevalence in traditional medical practices worldwide, research on this phenomenon has often been neglected in comparison to medicinal plant research. Interviews regarding zootherapeutic traditions were conducted with informants from Albania, Italy, Nepal and Spain. We identified 80 species used in zootherapeutic remedies, representing 4 phyla in the animal kingdom: Annelida, Arthropoda, Chordata, and Mollusca. Remedies were ranked by consensus indices. Our studies show that the selection of medicinal fauna is mediated by human subsistence patterns. Concepts of health and disease differ among our study sites in the Mediterranean and Asia, and these differences also play a substantive role in the selection and use of animal-based remedies. Keywords: zootherapy, ethnoveterinary, traditional medicine

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