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First published in 1986, this book describes the most important medicinal plants in tropical West Africa and similar humid tropical climates. 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. Plants that affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems are discussed, as are those with antibiotic, insecticidal and molluscicidal properties. Those which affect the hormonal systems of humans are catalogued and so are others that act as adrenal-cortex, sex and thyroid hormones. There is a full botanical index, which includes the commonly found synonyms for many of the plants and the work is illustrated by the author's own water colours. It may be of particular interest and use to pharmacists, biochemists, botanists and pharmacologists and of great value to those who exploit locally available resources in treating diseases in tropical areas.
For review see: P. Wagenaar Hummelinck, in Succulenta, maandblad van de Nederlands-Belgische vereniging van liefhebbers van cactussen en andere vetplanten, jg. 63, no. 2 (febr. 1984); p. 50.
With over 50,000 distinct species in sub-Saharan Africa alone, the African continent is endowed with an enormous wealth of plant resources. While more than 25 percent of known species have been used for several centuries in traditional African medicine for the prevention and treatment of diseases, Africa remains a minor player in the global natural
The African Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AfrHP) provides comprehensive, up to date botanical, commercial and phytochemical information on over fifty of the most important African medicinal plants. The technical data were made on plant samples sourced from across the continent. These monographs prepared by leading African scientists, have been reviewed by international experts. Additional data includes micro morphology of the plant material, distribution maps and TLC Chromatograms. These data are crucial for producers, collectors and traders in medicinal plants and extracts as well as researchers, manufacturers and practitioners. The scope, quality and standard of these herbal monographs are comparable to those prepared in Europe, North America and Asia. Whilst this is the very first edition, it is being proposed to proceed to a second edition, quickly, as more plant species will be covered.
This volume in the series is devoted to Africa, a continent that possesses a vast treasure of medicinal plants and has produced some exclusive materials for the world market. This volume is expected to strengthen the medicinal plant sector in African countries by making comprehensive information on medicinal and aromatic plants available to policy-makers and entrepreneurs. It can be used to frame effective policies and create an environment conducive to the growth of the plant-based medicine industry, bringing economic benefit to African nations. It will help health organizations to improve the health of their people by using their own resources and a less expensive system of medicine, which is accepted by African society. It could also lead scientific communities to increase R&D activities in the field.
Medicinal plants and traditional medical practices from Sierra Leone in West Africa have much to offer the rest of the world. Dr. Cyrus MacFoy, an experienced researcher and scientific consultant, highlights more than two hundred plants used to cure more than one hundred diseases and illnesses in this informational guide. He provides the plant location, their botanical and local names, English common names, and the ways they are used to treat and cure ailments and diseases. He also includes findings regarding the conservation, sustainable use, and development of new drugs; ways to incorporate different techniques into the health care delivery system; and chemical analyses and biological activity testing of plant species. Discover how Africas traditional healers play a critical role in treating diseases such as HIV and AIDS. In developing countries with poor infrastructure, these healers are located in nearly every rural village setting as well as in the busy urban areas. While underappreciated, they may play a key role in solving the continents diverse health problems.
Healing Plants of Nigeria: Ethnomedicine and Therapeutic Applications offers comprehensive information on the use of herbal medicines in West Africa. Combining an evidence-based, ethnobotanical perspective with a pharmacological and pharmaceutical approach to phytomedicine, the book bridges the gap between the study of herbal plants’ pharmacological properties and active compounds for the development of clinical drugs and community-oriented approaches, emphasising local use. It demonstrates how the framework of African traditional medicine can be preserved in a contemporary clinical context. The book outlines the history and beliefs surrounding the traditional use of herbs by the local population alongside their application in contemporary phytotherapy in Nigeria and West Africa. It features a critical assessment of the scientific rationale behind the use of these plants in ethnomedicine and offers a composite catalogue of phytotherapeutic and wellness agents, detailing the safety profile, efficacy, and scientific integrity of plants used to treat diseases and optimise health. Features: An ethnobotanical survey containing over 200 full-colour photographs of Nigerian and West African plants. A unique combination of ethnobotany and pharmacognosy, bridging the divide between pharmaceutical and community-oriented approaches to herbal medicine research. Contextual discussion of the therapeutic potential of Nigerian herbal medicine. Offers a template which can be used to separate the superstitious aspects of ethnomedicine from culturally inherited deposits of knowledge. A handbook for herbal and natural medicine practitioners, the book is aimed at African thinkers, scientists, healthcare providers and students of pharmacology and ethnomedicine.
For over a century, plant specialists worldwide have sought to transform healing plants in African countries into pharmaceuticals. And for equally as long, conflicts over these medicinal plants have endured, from stolen recipes and toxic tonics to unfulfilled promises of laboratory equipment and usurped personal patents. In Bitter Roots, Abena Dove Osseo-Asare draws on publicly available records and extensive interviews with scientists and healers in Ghana, Madagascar, and South Africa to interpret how African scientists and healers, rural communities, and drug companies—including Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Unilever—have sought since the 1880s to develop drugs from Africa’s medicinal plants. Osseo-Asare recalls the efforts to transform six plants into pharmaceuticals: rosy periwinkle, Asiatic pennywort, grains of paradise, Strophanthus, Cryptolepis, and Hoodia. Through the stories of each plant, she shows that herbal medicine and pharmaceutical chemistry have simultaneous and overlapping histories that cross geographic boundaries. At the same time, Osseo-Asare sheds new light on how various interests have tried to manage the rights to these healing plants and probes the challenges associated with assigning ownership to plants and their biochemical components. A fascinating examination of the history of medicine in colonial and postcolonial Africa, Bitter Roots will be indispensable for scholars of Africa; historians interested in medicine, biochemistry, and society; and policy makers concerned with drug access and patent rights.
This book highlights the results from over a year of ethnobotanical research in a rural and an urban community in Jamaica, where we interviewed more than 100 people who use medicinal plants for healthcare. The goal of this research was to better understand patterns of medicinal plant knowledge, and to find out which plants are used in consensus by local people for a variety of illnesses. For this book, we selected 25 popular medicinal plant species mentioned during fieldwork. Through individual interviews, we were able to rank plants according to their frequency of mention, and categorized the medicinal uses for each species as “major” (mentioned by more than 20% of people in a community) or “minor” (mentioned by more than 5%, but less than 20% of people). Botanical identification of plant specimens collected in the wild allowed for cross-linking of common and scientific plant names. To supplement field research, we undertook a comprehensive search and review of the ethnobotanical and biomedical literature. Our book summarizes all this information in detail under specific sub-headings.