Traditional knowledge about animal-derived remedies in human and veterinary ethnomedicine on Rujan Mt, Serbia

ANIMAL-DERIVED REMEDIES ON RUJAN MOUNTAIN

Abstract

Small rural areas represent significant sources of ethnopharmacological knowledge preserved in these areas since ancient times. This study aimed to systematize traditional knowledge about the use of animal remedies in human and veterinary ethnomedicine according to the data collected from the inhabitants of Rujan Mt. This rural area is unique both in terms of the flora and fauna present in the area and in the fact that two different ethnic groups, Serbs and Albanians, have inhabited this area for centuries. The study recorded 36 animal-based remedies, including 29 for 13 categories of human ailments, 3 for ritual-medicinal purposes, and 4 for veterinary ethnomedicine. The antidote prepared from venomous snakes in "komovica" brandy is the only folk medicine used to treat humans and animals. Mammals, birds, reptiles, snails, and insects are used for the preparation of folk remedies, and the domestic goat was the most frequently mentioned animal species in the survey. Skin and respiratory groups of human ailments are mostly treated with traditional animal-derived remedies, and goat pulmonary pleura was reported as the most used animal ingredient in the researched area. Five new species unknown in previous ethnozoological research (Dendrocopos sp., Garrulus glandarius, Streptopelia turtur, Vipera berus, and V. ammodytes), 14 new animal remedies, and 67 new applications were reported in the study. The collected data contribute to preserving and expanding traditional knowledge about animal remedies in ethnopharmacology, but can also form a scientific basis for further pharmacological research.