<b>Ethnoveterinary medicines used for mitigating goat diseases in Zimbabwe: A narrative review.</b>

Livestock production, including goat farming, is important for rural development as it provides food security and fast-turnaround cash for the household. However, goats are often susceptible to various diseases and ailments. The current study was aimed at identifying and analysing medicinal plants used as ethnoveterinary medicines to treat and manage goat diseases and ailments in Zimbabwe. Ethnobotanical information on medicinal plants used to treat and manage goat diseases and ailments in Zimbabwe was systematically collected using relevant keywords from online databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, SpringerLink, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct and Scielo. Additional information was also obtained from pre-electronic sources such as books, journal articles, dissertations, book chapters, theses, and other scientific articles obtained from the university library. A total of 76 medicinal plants belonging to 34 families are used to treat 62 goat diseases and ailments. Fabaceae (14 taxa), Asteraceae (six), Solanaceae (five), Apocynaceae and Rubiaceae (four taxa each), Anacardiaceae, Asparagaceae, Meliaceae and Pedaliaceae (three taxa each) were the most frequently used plant families. The most treated diseases are endoparasites (53.9%), diarrhoea and wounds (26.3% each), ecto–parasites and ticks (21.1% each), and tick-borne diseases (14.5%). Common plant parts used are roots (38.2%), leaves (30.3%), bark (21.2%) and whole plants (18.4%). Baseline data provided in this study about medicinal plants used to treat and manage goat diseases and ailments in Zimbabwe are important and of great value when evaluating the therapeutic potential and ethnopharmacological properties of medicinal plants. Such data can be used for future ethnopharmacological research focusing on chemical, pharmacological and toxicological evaluations of the documented species. Although documented taxa are not currently threatened with extinction, harvesting roots, bark, and whole plants as sources of traditional medicines is not sustainable and therefore not recommended.