Traditional Uses of Animals in the Himalayan Region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Maryam Faiz; Muhammad Altaf; Muhammad Umair; Khalid S Almarry; Yahya B Elbadawi; Arshad Mehmood Abbasi

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.807831

Traditional Uses of Animals in the Himalayan Region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jun 29:13:807831. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.807831. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Maryam Faiz¹, Muhammad Altaf², Muhammad Umair³, Khalid S Almarry⁴, Yahya B Elbadawi⁴, Arshad Mehmood Abbasi^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Zoology, Women University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Bagh, Pakistan.
² Department of Forestry, Range and Wildlife Management, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur-Pakistan, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
³ College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.
⁴ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Environment Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad, Pakistan.
⁶ University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy.

Abstract

Background: The use of animals and animal-derived products in ethnopharmacological applications is an ancient human practice that continues in many regions today. The local people of the Himalayan region harbor rich traditional knowledge used to treat a variety of human ailments. The present study was intended with the aim of examining animal-based traditional medicine utilized by the population of the Himalayan region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Methods: Data were collected from 2017 to 2019 through individual and group interviews. Data on traditional uses of animal products were analyzed, utilizing following indices such as the frequency of citation, use value, relative importance, similarity index, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis to find the highly preferred species in the area. Results: Ethnomedicinal uses of 62 species of vertebrates and invertebrates were documented. Flesh, fat, bone, whole body, milk, skin, egg, head, feathers, bile, blood, and honey were all used in these applications. The uses of 25 animals are reported here for the first time from the study area (mainly insects and birds, including iconic species like the kalij pheasant, Lophura leucomelanos; Himalayan monal, L. impejanus; and western tragopon, Tragopan melanocephalus). The diversity and range of animal-based medicines utilized in these communities are indications of their strong connections with local ecosystems. Conclusion: Our results provide baseline data valuable for the conservation of vertebrate and invertebrate diversity in the region of Himalayan of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It is possible that screening this fauna for medicinally active chemicals could contribute to the development of new animal-based drugs.

Keywords: Himalayas; Kashmir; ethnobiology; medicinal animals; zootherapy.