Africa, neglecting its traditional medicine at its peril –Expert

Even as traditional medicine continue to be
the mainstay for health care for many
African and global herbal medicine market
had increased three fold in just five years, a
medical expert, Professor Olarewaju Moody,
said Africa was neglecting this health care
sector to its peril.
Professor Moody in an inaugural lecture,
entitled, “The sense and the Nonsense of
Traditional Medicine in Africa: The Odyssey
of an Herbalist’s Grandson in Nature’s
Laboratory” at the University of Ibadan,
declared that future of African traditional
medicine would remain bleak, if it continued
to be neglected.
According to him, despite the global
upsurge in global market for herbal
medicines, growing at the rate of 10 to 15
per cent per annum — Africa’s contribution
is so low compared to Europe and America,
which accounts for 63 per cent of the world
market.
While China continued to be the major
exporter of traditional medicine products to
the world market, he said that Africa
traditional medicine was still to be
embraced uncritically.
According to him, African traditional
medicine claims should receive more
rigorous sympathetic investigation by
groups of collaborating scientists and
clinicians to ensure that several questions
on African traditional medicine are
answered.
“There are many questions that still remain
unanswered as far as African traditional
medicine is concerned. How for example
does one explain or set about research on
the phenomenon of magun, in Yoruba land
which is still common place and which also
claim to involve the use of aspects of
traditional medicine? How does a ring worn
by a sexually active African woman prevent
conception?,” Moody queried.
He expressed concern over the prospects of
indigenous knowledge of ethnomedicine
and traditional medicine lasting far into this
millennium given the involvement of many
charlatans in traditional medicine as well as
the disappearance of forests and
knowledge of the usage of plants to heal
diseases.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that the doctrine
of signature concept on which some
ancient cultures based the use and
applications of plants in the treatment of
illnesses should not just be seen as utter
nonsense but rather a means to discovering
other new drugs.
“In the course of examining the ‘nonsense’
however, landmark discoveries leading to
enduring drugs had often emerged,” he
said.
Professor Moody stated that, “these
chanced findings known as serendipity in
science as well as those validating the
folkloric usages of plants continue to
provide the impetus for us in the discipline
of pharmacognosy and drug discovery
programmes to start from indigenous
knowledge however weird and senseless
the information might appear to be on the
surface.”
Two examples that illustrated serendipity
according to him was the scientific
investigation of Rose periwinkles reputed in
traditional medicine for the treatment of
diabetes and snake-like root of Rauwolfia
serpentine (asofeyeje in Yoruba) in the
treatment of snakebites by Indian tribe
men.
According to him, “scientific investigations
into Rose periwinkle folkloric claim by Eli-
Lilly scientists showed that extracts of this
plant rather than lower blood sugar, in fact
led to the death of the experimental
animals. The extracts and fractions cause
the destruction of the white blood cells in
rats, an observation that was to lead to the
discovery of two anti-cancer substances
with abilities to destroy abnormal disease-
causing white blood cells.”
“ Rauwolfia and its constituents such as
reserpine (with its Nigeria equivalent called
asofeyeje in Yoruba have since found their
way into modern medicine as ingredients in
hypertension treatment but not for snake
bites as the root was originally used in
traditional medicine.
Meanwhile, giving an account of his
contribution to upgrading traditional
medicine, Professor Moody declared that
through his collaborative studies both
locally and internationally, the inclusion of a
number of plants in herbal recipes for the
treatment of parasitic and microbial
infectious diseases( e.g. malaria, candidiasis,
polio) inflammatory-based diseases
( arthritis, sickle-cell anaemia) and diabetes
has scientific merit and constitute a great
national asset for further development into
clinically useful chemotherapeutic agents.
Already, he declared that plants found
useful in treatment of sickle- cell disease
included ripe and freshly fallen leaves of
Terminalia catappa (Indian almond) and
Cissus polpulnea (Yoruba : Ogbolo)
Moreover, Professor Moody affirmed that
his past efforts at evaluating and isolating
anti-inflammatory chemical substances
from plants such as sphenocentrum
jollyanum (Yoruba; Akerejupon) reputed in
Nigerian ethnomedicine confirmed its
usefulness for rheumatism.
With a hindsight into traditional medical
practice, he said the synergistic effects that
compounds have when administered as a
mixture in herbal remedies and
phytomedicines should be taken cognizance
in drug discovery and development from
medicinal plants.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that studies have
found out that inclusion of local plant foods
such as Hibiscus sabdariffa (Yoruba: sobo),
cashew, Africa breadfruit garden egg and
bitter leaf in the diet of diabetics was
helpful in regulating blood sugar level.
Nevertheless, Professor Moody said there
was an urgent need and challenge for the
government to stop playing lip service to
the issue of research and development
necessary for the standardization and
utilization of traditional medicine so that it
could be included into the national
healthcare system.
According to him, “the good aspects of
traditional medicine deserve to be salvaged
through the provision of all necessary
facilities for research and development.”
In view of the world-wide upsurge in the
interest and utilisation of herbal medicines,
he suggested that courses on aspects of
pharmacognosy and traditional medicine
should be made compulsory for students
and conventional health practitioners for
proper awareness of the issues at stake.
According to him, with over 80 per cent of
the population in Africa depending on
health care provided by traditional
medicine, it is quite clear that a more
effective utilisation of the wisdom and
knowledge in this system is critical and
necessary if health care in the region is to
improve.