by Ines Vivian Domingo.
BEFORE USING A PLANT FOR TREATMENT Be very sure you have identified the correct plant. If you are unsure, ask people with skills in using herbal treatments for their advice. Never use a plant unless you are sure it is the right one.
TO MAKE A POULTICE Pound and soften the fresh plant material. Mix with a little warm oil, apply to the skin and hold in place with a piece of clean cloth. Sometimes, mashed boiled rice or corn flour is used instead of oil.
TO BOIL LEAVES Use earthen pots if possible and boil for 15–20 minutes. Cool and strain liquid before using.
1 cup is approximately 200ml.
1. Bitter gourd
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT anaemia, internal parasites
- METHOD M. charantia can also be used as a dewormer. Pound the leaves and extract the juice to give as a drench in water 1–3 times within one day. Repeat after 2 weeks.
2. Guava
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT diarrhoea, wounds
- METHOD Boil half a kilo of leaves in 3 glasses of water and use as a drench twice a day for 3–4 days. Boil fresh leaves and use the liquid to clean scratches, cuts and wounds. Make a poultice from fresh leaves to stop bleeding of shallow cuts.
3. Moringa
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT anaemia, bleeding
- METHOD The fresh leaves are rich in iron. Give to animals who do not usually graze, such as pigs. Pound a handful of leaves and give 5 drops (1cc) of the juice extract per piglet twice a day for 3–4 days. Apply a poultice of fresh leaves to stop bleeding of shallow cuts.
4. Tamarind
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT cold, cough and fever
- METHOD Boil a kilo of leaves in 4.5 litres of water. When cool, divide the liquid into small doses and drench the animal with 1 dose 2–3 times a day until the animal recovers. Boil the leaves and use liquid as a sponge bath to relieve fever in animals.
5. Turmeric
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT wounds
- METHOD Pound fresh leaves and apply the juice or a poultice of fresh leaves to heal cuts and wounds.
6. Ervatamia
- PART USED juice
- TO TREAT wounds
- METHOD Pound fresh leaves and apply the milky sap or a poultice of fresh leaves to heal cuts and wounds
7. Garlic
- PART USED cloves
- TO TREAT poisoning
- METHOD Burn 3 heads of garlic, pound and mix with 1 glass of water. Give 1 glass of the mixture as drench to make the animal vomit. Repeat if no vomiting occurs.
8. Five-leafed chaste tree
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT cold, cough, fever and wounds
- METHOD Boil half a kilo of leaves in 2 litres of water. Give the liquid as a drench 2–3 times a day for 3–4 days. Use as a sponge bath to relieve fever in animals. Boil fresh leaves and use the liquid to clean scratches, cuts and wounds.
9. Ginger
- PART USED rhizomes
- TO TREAT wounds
- METHOD Pound fresh rhizomes and apply the juice or a poultice of fresh leaves to heal cuts and wounds.
10. Artemisia (mugwort)
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT wounds
- METHOD Boil fresh leaves and use the liquid to clean scratches, cuts and wounds.
11. Star apple
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT diarrhoea
- METHOD Boil half a kilo of the leaves in 3 glasses of water. Give as a drench using 1–2 cups of the liquid 3 times a day for 1–3 days.
12. Coconut
- PART USED water of young coconuts
- TO TREAT dehydration
- METHOD The coconut water is given to animals with diarrhoea to prevent dehydration. Mix the water from 3–5 young coconuts with a cup of brown sugar and a little salt and give 2–3 litres of the solution as a drench 3 times a day until the animal recovers.
- PART USED charcoal from coconut shell
- TO TREAT diarrhoea
- METHOD Charcoal from the coconut shell can help stop diarrhoea. Pound the charcoal and mix with feed. It can also be powdered, mixed with water and given as drench 3 times a day. Dosage is 1 cup of the powder mixed in 500ml of water.
13. Alagaw
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT cold, cough and fever, infested wounds
- METHOD Boil 8–15 leaves in 2–3 glasses of water and give 1/2–1 cup as a drench 2–3 times a day for 3 days.
Apply the juice from pounded leaves 2–3 times a day for 3–4 days to cure wounds with maggots.
Boil the leaves and use liquid as a sponge bath to relieve fever in animals.
14. Gliricidia
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT external parasites
- METHOD Pound the fresh leaves and rub the juice on the affected area 2–3 times a day until the parasites are gone.
15. Camphor
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT cold, cough and fever
- METHOD Boil a handful of leaves in 1 litre of water for 15–20 minutes. Use earthen pots for boiling if possible. Allow to cool and strain out the leaves.
Use the liquid as a drench within 24 hours. Give 1/2–1 litre twice a day for 1–3 days.
Boil the leaves and use liquid as a sponge bath to relieve fever in animals.
16. Banana
- PART USED fresh leaves
- TO TREAT bloat
- METHOD Chop 3-5 leaves and feed to the animal twice a day until it recovers. However, this remedy is only good for mild cases or during the early stages of bloat.
17. Betel nut
- PART USED fresh nut
- TO TREAT intestinal worms
- METHOD Pound the nuts and mix with enough water to give as a drench. Repeat after 2 weeks. Cattle and buffaloes would need 8–10 nuts; goats and pigs, 3; and chickens, 1.