Recognition and respect for african traditional medicine. Introduction to medicinal and aromatic plants in africa. Up to 80% of the population relies on these traditional medicines. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 19 1987 670 67 eisevier scientific publishers ireland ltd. The threat posed by o v e r exploitation of medicinal plants has serious implications on the survival of several plant species, many of which are faced with extinction. A total of 36 plant species used in traditional medicine for the treatment of candida infections and belonging to 21 plant families were identified. The booklet is a guide to the most commonly utilised. Map of the study area indicating surveyed informal herbal medicine shops and districts. Professionalisation of traditional medicine in zimbabwe, harare, jongwe. In many parts of rural africa, traditional healers prescribing medicinal plants are the most easily accessible and affordable health resource available to the local community and at times the only therapy that subsists. Africa, traditional healers and remedies made from plants play an important role in the health of millions of people. The book covers the rich diversity of plants found in kenya, tanzania and uganda, from sea to alpine plants. Traditional medicine has remained as the most affordable and easily accessible source of treatment in the primary healthcare system of resource poor communities in zimbabwe. The use of medicinal plants as a fundamental component of the african traditional healthcare system is perhaps the oldest and the most assorted of all therapeutic systems.
Encephalartos fridericiguilielmi harvested for traditional medicine. Botanical names and families have all been updated to the latest revised flora parts of the region. The values of medicinal plants plants in traditional medicine it is estimated that 7080% of people worldwide rely chie. Medicinal plants and traditional healing in contemporary. Proximate analysis, mineral contents, amino acid composition, antinutrients and phytochemical screening of brachystegia eurycoma harms and pipper guineense schum and thonn. Map 5 plate vi vi1 map 6 plate vii vii1 map 7 plate viii map 8 villl v11l2. Traditional medicinal plant practice in southern africa. Of the close to 6400 plant species used in tropical africa, for instance, more than 4000 are used as medicinal plants. The traditional medicinal plants of hadiya were studied ethno botanically. Investigation of medicinal plants at katakhali pouroshova of rajshahi district and their conservation management was carried out from december 20 to july 2015. This new edition has a second introduction into the area of traditional medicine as practised by both. Information on the botany, main traditional uses and active ingredients of the most commonly used and best known south african drug plants is presented in this photographic guide. Commemoration of african traditional medicine day in cameroon. An appraisal of ten potent african medicinal plants m.
A situation analysis in zambia and zimbabwe iv executive summary southern africa is a globally recognized centre of biodiversity richness and endemism. It is the use of plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of such uses. East africa also has a rich ethnic diversity and a large number of herbalists whose traditional knowledge and practices are. Thus, decreasing positive attitude towards use of medicinal plants in traditional medicine by young generation indicate the loss of vital indigenous knowledge.
Introduction to traditional medicine pharmaceutical press. Medicinal plant resource map within the villages of motseng, lititjhereng and thabatjhitja. However, says the network on medicinal plants and traditional medicine eastern africa, loss of these genetic resources and their habitat is escalating. Pdf traditional african medicine tam is characterized by a belief in the supernatural as a.
In many parts of rural africa, traditional healers prescribing medicinal plants are the. Traditional medicinal plants utilization, management and. The data were collected from traditional healers and knowledgeable hadiya people using semistructured interview, field. Some medicinal forest plants 67 of africa and latin america. Knowledge and use of traditional medicinal plants by the setswanaspeaking. This is an alphabetical list of plants used in herbalism the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are possibly used to perform important biological functions, and to defend against attack from predators such as insects, fungi and herbivorous mammals is called herbal medicine. The cape floral kingdom alone has nearly 9000 species and is the most diverse temperate flora on earth.
Medicinal plants traded in informal herbal medicine. Page 30 ethnobiological survey of traditional medicine practice for the. According to the world health organisation who the definition of traditional medicine may be summarized as the. An overview of the use and trade of plants and animals in. Prior to the introduction of cosmopolitan medicine, traditional medicine used to be the dominant medical system available to millions of people in africa in both rural and urban communities. Some selected medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria under ongoing. This list may not reflect recent changes learn more. There were 57 medicinal plant uses out of which leaves. Its aims are to supplement the already published book entitled poisonous plants of east africa and to try to answer the many puzzling questions about the traditional use of medicinally active herbs. Most of the existing texts on traditional medicine in africa deal only with medicinal plants and their uses, ignoring chemical and pharmacological studies. Overview on medicinal plants and traditional medicine in africa. The p h a r maceutical potentials of african medicinal plants a r e immense.
Overview on medicinal plants and traditional medicine in. Africa medical general medical pharmacology medicinal plants medicinal plants africa medicine, primitive therapeutics therapeutics africa traditional medicine traditional medicine africa. The following 82 pages are in this category, out of 82 total. Thus a study was undertaken to document medicinal species used by the bapedi traditional healers to treat reproductive ailments in the limpopo province of south africa. Most of the research works done on traditional medicine in southern ethiopia were on areas of south west and almost nothing has been done around wolaita zone. Yet, so many stereotypes exist for the traditional healers and their medicines that are collectively called muti. Medicinal plants used in traditional medicine by oromo. It was at this time that the whos traditional medicine programme was established. The present study represents an attempt to document information on the traditional medicinal plants that used in nigeria. Hypoxis hemerocallidea african potato has been used as a traditional medicine in south africa and probably the best known muti plant in the country. Traditional medicinal plant practice is widely accepted as an alternative to modern medicine in rural, periurban and urban areas. African traditional medicine is the oldest, and perhaps the. Beneficiaries of the practice cut across the gender, age, education and social status divide.
Traditional medicinal plants, respiratory problems, rural people, krishna 1. During the field interview, the information was noted in. An overview of the use and trade of plants and animals in traditional medicine systems in cambodia 2 an overview of the use and trade. Medicinal plants and traditional healing in contemporary rural south africa interdisciplinary land use and natural resource management agnete stoffersen, mie winstrup, riikka nieminen and tristan allerton. For the present study research was done on the available information about medicinal plants commonly used for. Medicinal plants are plants which are used in herbalism and thought to have certain extractablecompound in their leaves, stems, flowers and fruit for medicinal purposes. Africa is considered to be the cradle of humankind, with a rich biological and cultural diversity and marked regional differences in healing practices. The demand for medicinal plants in africa is increasing dramatically due to. Review open access traditional use of medicinal plants in. After a short introduction about early traditional medicine, the bulk of the book gives an account of locally occurring plants, grouped by their medicinal actions. Five, ten, six and seventeen plants were collected from coast, dar es salaam, morogoro and tanga regions, respectively, with four of the plants being collected in more than one region. In all countries of the world there exists traditional.
Some people estimate up to 80% of the population uses traditional medicines to promote wellbeing. Pdf handbook of african medicinal plants semantic scholar. Ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants used in traditional veterinary medicine in northern cote divoire west africa witabouna mamidou kone, k. This book is the result of ten years of research work in kenya, tanzania and uganda by the author. Within the who african region, between 2005 and 2018, significant. Overview on medicinal plants and traditional medicine in africa the importance of traditional medicine in africa in all countries of the world there exists traditional knowledge related to the health of humans and animals. Herbal medicines used by bapedi traditional healers to. Southern africa has well over 30 000 species of higher plants. Pdf the use of medicinal plants as a fundamental component of the african traditional healthcare system is perhaps the oldest and the most. These extracts are used as inputs in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, insecticide and other chemical industries. Traditional african medicine is a traditional medicine discipline involving indigenous herbalism. Introduction and importance of medicinal plants and herbs. Introduction ethnobotanical use of plants has been known since ancient time and ethnomedicine which is a su bf i eld oe th n ay rm cp gv.
First published in 1986, this book describes the most important medicinal plants in tropical west africa and similar humid tropical climates. Medicinal plants used to treat neurological disorders in. An ethnobotanical survey of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used by the traditional healers of the lwamondo area, limpopo. Towards an integrated approach to health and medicine in africa. Medicinal plants of east africa is a revised edition of the book first published in 1976 on herbal remedies and he traditional medical practice of east africa.
In africa, for example, plants are used in traditional medicine to treat different infectious and noninfectious diseases through different routes of administration 1. Traditional use of medicinal plants in southcentral zimbabwe. Unlike its western counterpart, traditional african medicine is said to take a holistic approach, which is based on the premise of interconnectedness, and often includes indigenous herbalism in its treatment. The study aimed to document indigenous knowledge on use and management as well as to investigate the threats to traditional medicinal resources. Pdf toxicity studies of medicinal plants used in sub. The use of traditional medicine was observed to be widespread and prevalent in most area studied over orthodox medicines. However, the arrival of the europeans marked a significant turning point in the history of this agelong tradition and culture. Medicinal plants of ea text african books collective. African traditional medicines and indigenous knowledge. Demand for medicinal plants is incre a s i n g in africa as the population grows. Thus, this study is intended to document the indigenous knowledge on the use of traditional medicinal plants by the local people in some of the woredas of wolaita zone. Some medicinal forest plants of africa and latin america 67 food and agriculture organization of the united nations. Medicinal plants used by tanzanian traditional healers in. These healing plants treated all sorts of maladies including cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis tb as well as more benign complaints such as the.
An inventory of 41 plant species from 29 families for which were trees, 11 shrubs and 17 herbaceous plants were observed, an indication of high plant biodiversity. Medicinal plants and traditional medicine in africa. Traditional african medicine and its role in healing in a. Traditional medicine features in the lives of thousands of south africans every day. The global demand for herbal medicine is not only large, but growing srivastava 2000. Medicinal plants are used in the treatments of many diseases and illnesses, the. Herbal medicines in africa are generally not adequately researched, and are weakly regulated. Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations and finished. China and india have standardized their own indigenous medicine and pharmacopoeia yet countries in africa, despite the pressures of disease and the abundance of plant species, have not followed suit. One major difference between conventional, western medicine and traditional african medicine, is the way of viewing illnesses and their treatments. South africas biodiversity is a rich source of the medicinal plants that form the basis of traditional medicine.
Countries in africa, asia and latin america use traditional medicine to help meet some. Medicinal plants native to africa used in historical andor contemporary healing traditions. South africa is the third most biodiverse country in the world and inhabitants have for centuries employed the help of indigenous medicinal plants. For most ethnic groups in south africa, this rich indigenous knowledge on medicinal species used to manage reproductive ailments is either poorly known or misunderstood. A total of twenty six field trips were made for documentation. Trends and challenges of traditional medicine in africa. Medicinal plants and aromatic plants form the major component of african traditional medicine practice and these have become very important in the development of health systems in africa. Relevant information on the use of ethiopian traditional medicinal plants for cancer treatment. A compiled check list of these plants including their latin names. Medicinal plants in mozambique and their popular use. An overview of ethiopian traditional medicinal plants used. This study gives an insight into the strategic plan and road map set up by. The term medicinal plant include various types of plants used in herbalism herbology or herbal medicine.