Do recent research studies validate the medicinal plants used in British Columbia, Canada for pet diseases and wild animals taken into temporary care?

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: There are insufficient safe and effective treatments for chronic pain in pets. In cases such as osteoarthritis there is no commercially available cure and veterinarians use NSAIDs to manage pain. Pet owners may have to plan for a lifetime of plant-based treatment for the conditions that lead to chronic pain in pets.

Herbal fertility treatments used in North America from colonial times to 1900, and their potential for improving the success rate of assisted reproductive technology.

This paper serves to fill a gap in the literature regarding evidence for the use of botanical remedies in the promotion of fertility. It examines the botanical remedies that were used in North America (1492-1900) for all stages of reproduction from preconception to birth, and discusses their potential for future use with present-day infertility treatments. Each medicinal plant discussed in this paper is assessed using an ethnomedicinal methodology that entails examining the published ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological data.

Possible similarities between the folk medicine historically used by First Nations and American Indians in North America and the ethnoveterinary knowledge currently used in British Columbia, Canada.

Aims Of The Study: This paper compares sixty-four plants used as ethnoveterinary remedies in British Columbia with First Nations folk medicine.

Materials And Methods: In 2003, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 60 participants obtained using a purposive sample. The data was then compared with historical documents on First Nations plant use.

Organic parasite control for poultry and rabbits in British Columbia, Canada.

Plants used for treating endo- and ectoparasites of rabbits and poultry in British Columbia included Arctium lappa (burdock), Artemisia sp. (wormwood), Chenopodium album (lambsquarters) and C. ambrosioides (epazote), Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle), Juniperus spp.

Medicinal plants used in British Columbia, Canada for reproductive health in pets.

In 2003, semi-structured interviews were conducted in British Columbia, Canada with participants obtained using a purposive sample on the ethnoveterinary remedies used for animals. Twenty-nine participants provided the information in this paper on the ethnoveterinary remedies used for reproductive health in dogs and cats. The plants used for pregnancy support and milk production in pets were raspberry-leaf (Rubus idaeus), motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) and ginger (Zingiber officinale).

Man better man: the politics of disappearance.

The discourses of Antillanité and Créolité are both based on the absence of women. This is more important in the discourse of Créolité since it silences the grandmothers, great aunts and village midwives who are the transmitters of folk tales, folk medicines and oral culture. In the struggle for recognition between Caribbean males and western males folk medicine may be too closely associated with the denigrated female role to be considered a suitable inclusion into modern development.

Medicinal plant treatments for fleas and ear problems of cats and dogs in British Columbia, Canada.

Research conducted in 2003/2004 documented and validated (in a non-experimental way) ethnoveterinary medicines used by small-scale, organic livestock farmers in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Interviews were conducted with 60 participants who were organic farmers or holistic medicinal/veterinary practitioners. A workshop was held with selected participants to discuss the plant-based treatments.

Ethnoveterinary medicines used to treat endoparasites and stomach problems in pigs and pets in British Columbia, Canada.

This paper documents the medicinal plants used to treat endoparasites and stomach problems in dogs, cats and pigs in British Columbia, Canada. Ethnoveterinary data was collected over a 6-month period in 2003. The majority of the information on pets came from 2 naturopaths, 10 herbalists, 5 dog trainers, breeders and pet shop owners, 9 holistic veterinarians and 6 of 27 organic farmers.

Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for reproductive problems.

Background: Throughout history women have tried to control or enhance their fertility using herbal remedies, with various levels of societal support. Caribbean folk medicine has been influenced by European folk medicine, either through the early Spanish and French settlers or through the continuous immigration of Spanish-speaking peoples from Venezuela. Some folk uses are ancient and were documented by Galen and Pliny the Elder.

Ethnoveterinary medicines used for ruminants in British Columbia, Canada.

Background: The use of medicinal plants is an option for livestock farmers who are not allowed to use allopathic drugs under certified organic programs or cannot afford to use allopathic drugs for minor health problems of livestock.

Methods: In 2003 we conducted semi-structured interviews with 60 participants obtained using a purposive sample. Medicinal plants are used to treat a range of conditions.

Comparison of plants used for skin and stomach problems in Trinidad and Tobago with Asian ethnomedicine.

This paper provides a preliminary evaluation of fifty-eight ethnomedicinal plants used in Trinidad and Tobago for skin problems, stomach problems, pain and internal parasites for safety and possible efficacy. Thirty respondents, ten of whom were male were interviewed from September 1996 to September 2000 on medicinal plant use for health problems. The respondents were obtained by snowball sampling, and were found in thirteen different sites, 12 in Trinidad and one in Tobago.

Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus.

Background: This paper is based on ethnobotanical interviews conducted from 1996-2000 in Trinidad and Tobago with thirty male and female respondents.

Methods: A non-experimental validation was conducted on the plants used for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus: This is a preliminary step to establish that the plants used are safe or effective, to help direct clinical trials, and to inform Caribbean physicians of the plants' known properties to avoid counter-prescribing.

Results: The following plants are used to treat diabetes: Antigonon leptopus, Bidens alba, Bidens pilosa, Bixa orellana, Bontia daphnoides, Carica papaya, Catharanthus roseus, Cocos nucifera, Gomphrena globosa, Laportea aestuans, Momordica charantia, Morus alba, Phyllanthus urinaria and Spiranthes acaulis.

Ethnoveterinary medicines used for horses in Trinidad and in British Columbia, Canada.

This paper investigates the commonalities in ethnoveterinary medicine used for horses between Trinidad (West Indies) and British Columbia (Canada). These research areas are part of a common market in pharmaceuticals and are both involved in the North American racing circuit. There has been very little research conducted on medicinal plants used for horses although their use is widespread.