TRADITIONAL PRACTITIONERS SEEK COLLABORATIVE SUPPORT FOR HERBAL MEDICINE

IN the light of growing relevance of local
herbs in managing immune compromised
opportunistic infections, traditional
practitioners said dwindling support for
herbal research have prevented their
findings from passing clinical trials.
Studies showed that there are medicinal
plants of interest, which herbal medical
practitioners claim are useful in treating
infections including Human Immuno-
deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) opportunistic
infections like tuberculosis, diarrhoea, and
others.
The State Publicity Secretary, National
Association of Nigeria Traditional Medicine
Practitioners (NANTMP), Dr. Lambo Adebisi,
told The Guardian that there had been
ground-breaking findings on remedies for
diseases such as HIV/AIDS but regretted that
the findings have not enjoyed sufficient
support from conventional medicine.
“Yes and I can tell you of two of our
members that have treated HIV/AIDS and
have the patients cured. I can demand for
the documents to that effect. For us there is
no separating tradition from herbal
medicine. Traditional practitioners are
disgruntled to hear that something is
impossible,” he said.
Noting that there is apparent social rivalry
in the practice, Adebisi explained: “When
members of NANTMP were at College of
Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL) for
training, this was part of things that we
fought for, that they should provide us with
patients and allow us to treat them with our
traditional medicine, and then having the
requisite department monitor the clinical
pathology over time. But it was all
constrained.”
He observed that partnership with experts
in conventional medicine have helped to
upgrade the knowledge of the traditional
practitioners.
“We understood so many things, including
clinical analysis, trials, evaluation of drugs
and registration. Some of our members
succeeded in having their products
registered but there have been nothing
more. We were made to understand that
perhaps because of the cheaper rates that
traditional medical practitioners charges, the
orthodox medical practitioners are not
comfortable.”
Adebisi commended the effort of the CMUL
pharmacognosy department on the new
Model Herbal Clinic at the Pharmacy
department of the institution. He added that
the project’s failure to incorporate other
practitioners in the country further shows
limited support for the entire practice.
He said: “The major players in traditional
medicine in the country were not invited
for whatever reason. They ought to have
invited us in the same manner in which we
were invited at the commencement of the
National Herbal Medical Research Centre.
“Without herbal medicine practitioners,
there is no pharmacognosy. We want more
collaboration between the NANTMP on
behalf of all the traditional medicine
practitioners and the pharmacognosy
department. It is the only department that is
functioning well in traditional medicine,
when compared with other universities. We
give them credit for that.”
Nigeria is a large country with numerous
rich natural medicinal plants and human
resources. The country has immense
potential in the area of using preparations
from these plants to complement what the
western world offers in treatment and/or
prevention of infections including HIV/AIDS
opportunistic infections.