Alternative antimicrobials: Medicinal plants and their influences on animal infectious diseases

Abstract

Ethnoveterinary medicine refers to the beliefs, knowledge, methods, practices and techniques used in the promotion of healthcare and well-being for animals. Since the 1940s, antibiotics were fed to livestock animals to boost their productivity by growing them bigger faster and at a cheaper price. Nonetheless, over the years many antibiotics which were once used successfully to attenuate or kill disease-causing microorganisms have now become inefficacious. Additionally, the number of antibiotic leads and novel antibiotics proposed by pharmaceutical companies has stalled considerably. Hence, there is an urgent need to provide newer classes of antibiotics or to derive modern strategies to combat disease-causing microorganisms. This chapter mentions 275 plant species used in different countries around the world to treat infectious ailments in animals. Plants listed in this chapter provide an indication of medicinal plants used in parts of Africa such as in South Africa and Uganda; in Asia such as in India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan; as well as in other countries such as Brazil and Iran. Interestingly, the results of in vitro studies provide valuable insights with respect to the antimicrobial properties of plants used in traditional medicinal systems over the world. These results can unlock diverse avenues for screening novel compounds, leads or even plant extracts that can be successfully developed as antimicrobial agents.