Plant usage in protecting the farm animal health

Abstract

Phytotherapy, as form of traditional and conventional veterinary medicine, includes curing, alleviation and prevention the onset of diseases in animals based on natural medicinal raw materials and folk remedies made from plants. In animal health care, the use of medicinal and other plants as supporting therapy, in preventive purposes or as a complete therapy has a large potential regardless whether it is the question of individual or combined plant medicinal preparations which act synergistically. Phytotherapy is very intensively used in prophylactic purposes and with the aim of treatment of milder forms of diseases, chronic diseases and recurrent infections as well as in organic livestock production. Extracts and preparations from different plants are used with the aim of intensifying the activity of immune system and stimulations some functions of organism. The great number of herb metabolites shows antimicrobial and antiparasitic activity and gives the positive effects in the treatment of ectoparasitoses and endoparasitoses. This research paper gives a review of the plants most frequently used in ethnoveterinary medicine for health purposes of farm animals.