%T Asian elephant self-medication as a source of ethnoveterinary knowledge 
%T among Karen mahouts in northern Thailand
%A Alexander M. Greene
%A Prateep Panyadee
%A Angkhana Inta
%A Michael A. Huffman
%V © 2020 Elsevier B.V. Ethnopharmacological relevance: Ethnoveterinary med
%V icine is often assumed to be a subset of human medicinal knowledge. Here
%V  we investigate the possibility that some ethnoveterinary medicine rathe
%V r originates from observations of animal self-medication. We document an
%V d analyze the ethnoveterinary medicine used by Karen mahouts for elephan
%V t care and attempt to determine whether this knowledge originated from h
%V umans or elephants. Materials and methods: Elephant camp owners and maho
%V uts in four communities in northern Thailand were interviewed about thei
%V r knowledge and use of plants for ethnoveterinary elephant care. For eac
%V h ethnoveterinary plant, data were collected on Karen human medicinal us
%V es and whether elephants independently consume them. Based on overlaps b
%V etween ethnoveterinary use, human medicinal use and elephant dietary use
%V , plants were classified into three categories: those that originated fr
%V om Karen human medicine, those that originated from Asian elephant self-
%V medication, and those which were present in both human and elephant know
%V ledge traditions. Results: The use of 34 plants (32 identified at least 
%V to genus) and two additional non-plant remedies (salt and human urine) w
%V ere reported to be used in ethnoveterinary elephant medicine. A total of
%V  44 treatments in 11 use categories were recorded: tonic, wounds, compre
%V ss, eye problems, indigestion, broken bones, galactagogue, snakebite, fa
%V tigue, skin and musth regulation. Of the ethnoveterinary plants, 55% had
%V  the same use in human medicine, 43% had different uses and 2% had no us
%V e. Elephants consume 84% of the ethnoveterinary plants as part of their 
%V natural diet. Discussion: Analysis indicates that 32% of plant uses like
%V ly originated from Karen human medicine, 60% of plant uses likely existe
%V d independently in both human and elephant knowledge systems, and 8% of 
%V plant uses likely originated from elephant self-medicating behavior. The
%V  tonic use category shows the strongest evidence of influence from obser
%V vations of elephant self-medication. The use of tonic medicines appears 
%V to be increasing as a way to mitigate the unnaturally limited diet of el
%V ephants in tourist camps. Conclusion: Ethnoveterinary medicine for eleph
%V ant care is influenced by both human medicinal knowledge and elephant kn
%V owledge of plants for self-medication. The ethnoveterinary knowledge dom
%V ain appears to be the result of an interactive process linked to converg
%V ent evolution or co-evolution between humans and Asian elephants.
%K Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics
%V https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85084518
%V 534&origin=inward;http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/71015
%D 2020
%V 18727573;03788741
%0 CMU e-Journals Article