Pure Appl. Biol., 8(1): 222-231, March, 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2018.700180 Research Article Zootheraputic practices in Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Pakistan Waqas Ahmad Shams1*, Gauhar Rehman1, Zahid Ullah2, Sumbal Ara1, Sadaf Niaz1, Abid Ali1, Khurshid Khan1, Huma Alam1, Nida Gul1, Tahira Naz1, Saif ul Islam3 and Abdul Jamil khan1 1. Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Khyber Paktunkhwa-Pakistan 2. Department of Zoology, University of Buner Khyber Paktunkhwa-Pakistan 3. Department of Zoology, Government Degree College Lahor Swabi, Khyber Paktunkhwa-Pakistan *Corresponding author’s email: [email protected] Citation Waqas Ahmad Shams, Gauhar Rehman, Zahid Ullah, Sumbal Ara, Sadaf Niaz, Abid Ali, Khurshid Khan, Huma Alam. Nida Gul, Tahira Naz, Saif ul Islam and Abdul Jamil Khan. Zootheraputic practices in Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Pakistan. Pure and Applied Biology. Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp222-231. http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2018.700180 Received: 22/07/2018 Revised: 11/10/2018 Accepted: 21/10/2018 Online First: 02/11/2018 Abstract The use of animals for therapeutic purpose is an important filed from ancient time. They utilize animals for different purposes like art, religion, music, and literature. In Zoo therapy different parts of the animal body, their products, or non-animal materials such as nests and cocoon are used. It has an important contribution to understanding traditional subsistence and medical knowledge and practices. The present study is intended to look into different zoo therapeutic medicinal uses in the traditional health care system among the native inhabitants of district Swabi, Khyber PakhtunKhawa Pakistan. It is of immense importance that 47 different types of animals species use for different type of diseases like cancer, diabetes, snake bite, fever etc. The part used, how they used and what is the Fidelity level (FL) and Relative frequency of citation (RFC) is the key points. This study highlights traditional zoo therapeutic remedial measures and verify it so that it used for the welfare of human on a commercial level. Keywords: Ethno zoology; Fidelity level; Relative frequency of citation Introduction bioactive compounds extracted from natural From the very beginning the peoples of resources traditionally used by various different areas using plants and animals as indigenous cultures around the globe [5]. Bio resources [1, 2]. In the modern health Although plants and plant derivatives have care system traditional medicinal knowledge been used as a major constituent of traditional is an important alternative in society i.e. medicine, the identification of animal about 70–80% of the world rural population resources for a medicinal cure is also depends on it [3]. The percentage of the important in human health care [1, 6]. The population using traditional medicines for healing of human ailments by using animals primary health care is more (60–90%) in or products of animals is called Zootherapy. developing countries than that in developed The use of animals for the therapeutic countries (23–80%) [4]. around 60% of purpose is an important filed from ancient commercially available drugs are based on time. In Zoo therapy different parts of the Published by Bolan Society for Pure and Applied Biology 222 Shams et al. animal body, their products, or non-animal Materials and methods materials such as nests and cocoon are used. Study area It has an important contribution to This paper explains the zootherapeutic in understanding traditional subsistence and Swabi district of Khyber Paktun Khwa, medical knowledge and practices [7,8]. Pakistan is given. This information was The zootherapeutic practices ratio are collected during the field survey on ethno different in different parts of the world e.g. In zoology uses for the Ph.D. thesis. A brief Latin America, 584 animals distributed are summary of a district is given. The used for traditional therapeutic medicinal information was collected from 210 value [9], 283 animal species are used in interviewers most of them know about plant Brazil [10, 11], 180 animal species were uses but some of them (10%) given recorded in the semi-arid region of information about zoo therapy. Northeastern Brazil, Toba (Qom) Methodology communities of Argentine Gran Chaco Before starting the survey a Questionnaire region use 72 animal [12, 13]. In the whole was formed. In Questionnaire different world, China is on top in use of the animals question was included like a local name of the for the traditional purpose. They use more animal, part used, for which disease it is used, than 1500 animal species for medicinal how it prepared, route of administration, the importance [14]. In Israel, the use was limited dose used, time of treatment etc. The age of to 20 animal species as traditional drugs [Lev respondents varied from 30 to 62 years. 210 and Amar (2000). Our neighbor country interviewers were included in this study. The India has a great faunal diversity accounting interviewers were selected on the basis of for about 10% of the reported biological their experience, recognition as an expert species. 15–20 percent of Ayurvedic knowledgeable persons, traditional healers medicine is based on animal-derived concerning traditional medicine. All the substances [15]. It is hoped that by additional ingredients were noted thoroughly, using research the zoo therapeutic will be standard literature, scientific name and increased. species name of animals was identified [17, In Zoo therapy Mostly vertebrates were used. 18]. It does not mean that invertebrates are of no Data analysis significance. A number of invertebrates are The method used by Manash and Surya 2017 of main importance like the honey bee, were used with little modification [19]. silkworm etc. In vertebrates mammals, birds, Relative frequency of citation shows the fishes, and reptiles are of main importance. native reliance on each species. The Amphibians are less commonly used among following formula use for their calculation. medicinal vertebrates. Ulysses et al reported RFC = FC/N that at least 165 species of reptiles, 101 FC denotes the number of interviewer species of primates. 55 species of Bovidae mentioning the use of the species and N is and 46 carnivorous mammals used in zoo total number of interviewer [20]. This RFC therapy [16]. index is in between 0 to 1. When RFC is 0, it Many studies have been undertaken on Zoo means no interviewer given information therapy. However, there is no report available about the animal usefulness and when RFC is about its ethnozoology of district Swabi, 1, it shows that all given information about Khyber Pakhtun Khawa Pakistan. Present the animal usefulness [21]. study highlights and verify for the welfare of human on the commercial level. 223 Pure Appl. Biol., 8(1): 222-231, March, 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2018.700180 Fidelity level selected and interviewed in different the Fidelity level is used for the determination of Tehsils of Swabi district. The age of animals used for the treatment of specific respondents varied from 30 to 62 years. The disease. It shows that most of the inhabitant percentage of a local medicinal practitioner of this area use specie for treating certain with age lower than fifty was found to be very diseases. Fidelity level is calculated by less with only 21% as compared to 79% of Mootsamy and Mahomoodly 2014 formula the age group of society above 50 years . The as given below: demographic details in the table show that the FL (%) = Np x 100/N old local practitioners are more Where Np is denotes the number of knowledgeable than younger ones [24]. Most interviewer mentioning the use of the species of these local practitioners have knowledge to treat a specific disease and N total number of Zootherapy from their elder’s one. The of interviewer who used the animals as a reason for less traditional medicinal medicine to treat any given disease. knowledge among the younger generation Results and discussion could be due to urbanization and the Demographic details of interviewer assimilation of alien culture. Most of the The inhabitants of Swabi district have great secondary level education while some of knowledge of animals and plants used for them were up to graduation level (Table 1). different diseases. They use it in their own Only 12 respondents (19.4%) were formally ways and beliefs. Most of the interviewer employed in government sector mainly as were local practitioners known as Hakeem. school teachers while others were mostly Demographic information of the respondents farmers, workers and local traditional was collected through face to face healers. Most of the informants practiced this interaction. During the survey, respondents traditional therapy as a part-time job to serve comprised an uneven distribution of the the society. However, some are renowned male-female ratio, 99.80 % were male well-known herbalist/healers who practice interviewers. The same trend was also this traditional medicinal knowledge in large reported in other studies [22, 23]. The scale as their profession. respondents or local practitioners were Table 1. Demographic profile of the informants included in survey (N = 51) Demographic features Percentage Number of people Percentage Gender Male 49 98.80 Female 2 1.20 Education Primary Education 7 13.72 Secondary Education 19 37.25 Graduate 21 41.17 Extra Qualification 4 7.83 Age Of Traditional Healer 31-40 7 13.72 41-50 21 41.17 51-62 25 49.01 62 > 2 3.92 224 Shams et al. Ethnozoological analysis both vertebrates (37 species) and About 46 animal’s recorded in this study. invertebrates (15 species).the study reveals They used to treat 47 diseases as summarizes that mostly the peoples and healers of this in (Table 2). They are given under name of district use insect .The second highest zoo phylum, English name, scientific name, local therapeutic animals to be used are mammals name, the parts or byproduct of the species as some of them are domesticated animals used to treat the disease.