The stem bark of Peltophorum africanum and Bridelia micrantha are used in South Africa traditional medicine for treatment of intestinal parasites, relieve problems and human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). The growing problem of antibiotic resistance by Helicobacter pylori the major etiological agent in gastritis, gastric cancer, peptic and gastric ulcer demands the search for novel compounds from plant based sources. This study was aimed to determine the antimicrobial activity of five solvent (ethylacetate, acetone, ethanol, methanol and water) extracts of the stem bark of P. africanum and B. micrantha on clinical strains of H. pylori in a bid to identify potential sources of cheap starting materials for the synthesis of new drugs. H. pylori strains were isolated from patients presenting with gastric related morbidities at the Livingstone Hospital, Port Elizabeth for endoscopy and confirmed following standard microbiology procedures. The plant extracts including clarithromycin were tested against 31 clinical strains of H. pylori by the agar well diffusion method. The most potent extract was evaluated by the microdilution method to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC50&90), followed by the rate of kill. Preliminary phytochemical analysis was carried out. The one way ANOVA test was used to statistically analyse the results. All the extracts demonstrated anti-H. pylori activity with zone diameters of inhibition that ranged from 0 to 23 mm for the extracts and 0 to 35 mm for clarithromycin. Marked susceptibility (100%) was recorded for the ethyl acetate extract of P. africanum (P. afr. EA) and the acetone extract of B. micrantha (B. mic. A), which were statistically significant (P < 0.05) compared to all other extracts and clarithromycin. For B. micrantha ethyl acetate extract, 93.5 percent susceptibility was observed while for the control iv antibiotic, clarithromycin it was 58.1 percent. The MIC50 ranged from 0.0048 to 0.313 mg/mL for P. afr. EA, and from 0.0048 to 0.156 mg/mL for B. mic. EA; MIC90 ranged from 0.156 mg/mL to 0.625 mg/mL and 0.0048 to 2.5 mg/mL for P. afr. EA and B. mic. EA respectively. There was a significant statistical difference observed in potency of both P. afr. EA and B. mic. A compared to the two antibiotics (P < 0.05). One hundred percent killing by P. afr EA was observed at 0.05 mg/mL (½ x MIC) and 0.2 mg/mL (2 x MIC) in 66 h for strain PE466C and PE252C respectively. For B. mic. EA, 100 percent killing effect of both strains (PE430C and PE369C) was observed at 0.1 mg/mL (2 x MIC) in 66 h. Qualitative phytochemical analysis confirmed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins and saponins in the ethyl acetate extracts of both plants, which could be a potential template of lead molecule for the design of new anti- Helicobacter pylori therapies.

This thesis examined the antimicrobial activity of select neotropical plants from Costa Rica and traditional Q’eqchi Maya medicines from Belize. In particular the potential for interference with bacterial quorum sensing (QS) and biofilm formation as well as fungal growth were assessed. Of one hundred and twenty six extracts collected from Costa Rica, one third showed significant QS inhibition while 13 species displayed more biofilm inhibitory activities than the positive control allicin. The active species belonged to the Lepidobotryaceae, Melastomataceae, Meliaceae, Sapindaceae, and Simaroubaceae. Twelve Marcgraviaceae species were tested for the same biological activities; of these, three showed similar QS inhibition to that of the positive control Delisea pulchra (Greville) Montagne and five with at least 30% biofilm inhibition. Only one species inhibited fungal growth – Marcgravia nervosa Triana & Planch. Bioassay-guided isolation of this plant resulted in the identification of the active principle as a naphthoquinone, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 85 to 100 μM against Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Similarly, sixty one Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal plant species were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities. Of these, four species showed more QS inhibition than D. pulchra, seven with comparable biofilm inhibitory activities that of allicin, and two with similarly antifungal activity to berberine. Two spirostanol saponins were isolated from Cestrum schlechtendahlii G.Don, an active antifungal plant. The major saponin showed growth inhibition against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Fusarium graminearum, with MICs of 16.5 μM and 132 μM, respectively. Further analyses of this compound using chemical genomics suggested that its antifungal mechanism of action is pleiotropic, affecting multiple targets. Taken together, these findings showed that neotropical plants and traditional Q’eqchi’ Maya medicines contain phytochemicals that interfere with bacterial biofilm formation and quorum sensing as well as fungal growth.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Pharmacology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Pharmacology / unrestricted

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Information Science / unrestricted

Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm / In conclusion, the results obtained firstly indicated that the BP, EMEA and WHO were in fairly good agreement on the criteria and specifications that can be used to assesses the pharmaceutical quality of a traditional plant medicine such as Phela. Secondly, the Phela plant powders were found to have acceptable pharmaceutical properties that did not complicate or adversely affected the capsule manufacture. Thirdly, the Phela capsules produced were generally of acceptable pharmacopoeial standard. Fourthly, HPLC fingerprinting and pattern recognition analysis proved useful to examine the chemical stability of selected marker compounds of Phela and indicated that the capsules had no practical shelf life under elevated temperature and humid conditions. Overall, the Phela capsules should thus be suitable for use in a short time clinical trial, but for use in a long period trial the long term stability of the Phela capsules under ambient conditions must still be confirmed. / South Africa

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) R. Br. (Fabaceae), indigenous to the Western Cape region of South Africa, is found in a Mediterranean-type climate known for its many environmental stressors that can influence the levels of metabolites found in plants. Sutherlandia frutescens contains many known potential active constituents among them, flavonoids such as sutherlandins 3 and 4 (Su3 and Su4) and terpenoids such as sutherlandiosides B and D (SuB and SuD). Whether the profiles and levels of Su3, Su4, SuB and SuD are significantly affected by the environmental factors found in this area is however, unknown. iBatech™ is an ethanolic plant extract that is manufactured by researchers in the Department of Medical Biosciences, UWC, for use as a pesticide. HPLC analysis performed on Lycopersicon species treated with the iBatech™ product have shown that it also caused an increase in the concentrations of total polyphenols in the plant (Klaasen et.al., unpublished data). Whether the treatment with iBatech™ might also cause an increase in the polyphenols such as sutherlandins 3 and 4 and sutherlandiosides B and D is also unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine the concentrations of sutherlandins 3 and 4 (Su3 and Su4) and sutherlandiosides B and D (SuB and SuD) in S. frutescens collected from different sites and after the treatment with the iBatech™ product. The specific objectives were: a) to locate and categorize sites where S. frutescens is grown, based on a selection of pertinent environmental growth factors, b) to determine and compare the concentrations of sutherlandins 3 and 4 and sutherlandiosides B and D in S. frutescens collected from the different environmental growth sites and after treatment with the iBatech™ product. To realize these objectives, S. frutescens samples were collected from eight different sites and broadly categorized into three environmental categories. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using diode array ultraviolet detection (HPLC-DAD) for the simultaneous analysis of flavonoids and terpenoids was developed and validated, and used for the profiling and determination of the average levels of sutherlandins 3 and 4 and sutherlandiosides B and D in the samples from the sites and that treated with the iBatech™ product. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine statistically significant differences among the environmental categories. The post ANOVA, Dunn's Multiple Comparison test was performed to determine which groups were significantly different. The Mann-Whitney, two-tail, t-test was used to compare each environmental category to the standard and the column statistics of the raw data was analyzed to determine significant differences among samples from the same environmental category. In the samples collected from the sites, the values represent the average levels of metabolites for each environmental category whereas the significance values indicated were among samples from the same environmental category. The levels for sutherlandin 3 were Afriplex™ (Std.) 2495.08, the natural field (NF) 2810.33 (P=0.0005), the cultivated field (CF) 2519.81 and the greenhouse (GH) 2580.25. The levels for sutherlandin 4 were significantly different when comparing the (NF) 1495.67 (P=0.0001), (CF) 3114.42 (P=0.0140) and (GH) 2361.72 (P=0.0001), with the CF group showing the highest levels of Su4 and the NF showing the lowest. The levels for sutherlandioside B were (NF) 189.7 (P=0.0189), (CF) 594.56 (P=0.0140) and (GH) 326.72 (P=0.0001), however, the CF group showed the highest average levels for SuB. The levels for sutherlandioside D were (NF) 144.1 (P=0.0192), (CF) 544.37 (P=0.0308) and (GH) 387.49 (P=0.0001), with the NF category having the lowest average levels. In the iBatech™ treated samples, the values indicate the average levels of three samples in each treatment group. The levels for sutherlandin 3 were (control) 9758.43, the (50%) 2232.63 and the (100%) 2031.97 treatment groups. The levels for sutherlandin 4) were (control) 2241.63, the (50%) 2247.47 and the (100%) 2392.60, with the 100% treatment group having the highest levels. The levels for sutherlandioside B were (control) 289.66, the (50%) 284.93 and the (100%) 332.30. The levels for sutherlandioside D were (control) 282.77, the (50%) 280.60 and the (100%) 315.13 treatment groups, with the 100% treatment group having the highest levels. The levels of Su3, Su4, SuB and SuD were significantly different (P=0.0001) among all treatment groups. In conclusion, the data shows that only sutherlandin 4 (Su4) was significantly different when comparing the environmental groups. Due to the significant differences in the Su3, Su4, SuB and SuD levels among samples from the same group the levels of these metabolites cannot be correlated with the environmental groups.

The purpose of the study was to explore perceptions of PLWHA towards using traditional medicines (TM) together with antiretroviral therapy (ART). The study was conducted in two ART health facilities in the Manzini Region in Swaziland. Audiotaped individual interviews were conducted to collect data. The study population was PLWHA using TM and ART and were aged 18-49 years. Voice recording was used to capture data during the in-depth interviews until saturation was reached. One grand tour question was asked and follow-up probing questions were asked dependent on participant responses and study objectives. Findings of the study revealed that PLWHA are still searching for a cure, and the preexistence of TM prior to ART is influencing them to combine TM and ART. Several reasons for combining the two treatment modalities were, to boost the immune system, enhancing appetite, to treat opportunistic infections and ART side effects. There was stigma associated with long-life ART and discrimination for using TM experienced by PLWHA. It could benefit the country to repeat the similar research at National level, to include all the four regions, in both rural and urban settings. / Health Studies

"The aim of this paper is to highlight the human rights dimension in the protection of traditional healing practices (THP) in Malawi. At first glance there might not seem to be considerable human rights issues involved. However, the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic entails that traditional health practitioners have a crucial role to play in ensuring the right to health. Furthermore, THP represent an important component of the cultural tapestry of Malawian life. It is this combined cultural and health import that prompts this study. ... This paper explores the relationship between THP and the progressive realisation of the right to health. An investigation is made of the extent to which suppression of THP impacts the right to health in an attempt to discern whether there is a need to regulate and protect these practices. There is some tension between THP, as a cultural right, and the right to health given that THP have the potential to infringe peoples' right to health. However, there is also an intersection between the two rights since health is integrally related to culture and to cultural practices. A person's place in their culture is an essential part of their self-identity, so that if a culture is at risk, that person's psychological and emotional health is also at risk. Consequently this paper will consider the meaning, content and role of the right to culture (is it a collective or individual right?) and whether THP are part of culture, deserving protection as such. ... This paper is divided into five chapters. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the objectives of the study and a definition of THP. The chapter also discusses the research methodology employed in the paper and reviews the main literary works consulted by the author. To establish that THP form an aspect of culture, it is necessary to examine the qualities of THP and compare those to the qualities of recognised forms of culture. The second chapter comprises of an investigation of the legal provisions relating to culture and the various concepts of culture in human rights law. An attempt is then made to place THP within the context of the right to culture. The relationship between THP and the right to health is discussed in the third chapter. In this study it is suggested that the core minimum content of the right to health includes the right to an accessible and acceptable primary health source, and that this implies a right to access THP. The chapter attempts to show that non-regulation impedes THP thus violating the state's obligation to respect the right to health. In the fourth chapter there is an evaluation of the South African Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2004 (the TH Act). Essentially, the law in Malawi defines and licenses the 'practice of medicine' in terms that entrench the medical profession and that exclude all other forms of healing as the 'unauthorised' practice of medicine, a crime. This chapter considers whether the South African legislation is a model for the inclusion of THP. More specifically, whether the development of THP as a form of culture is captured by the TH Act and whether Malawi can draw guidance from this legislation. The fifth and final chapter concludes the paper. The chapter reverts to the original research questions, the concepts propounded in the paper and the various conclusions drawn to establish whether the original problems presented have been resolved. This concluding chapter also contains recommendations to the Government of Malawi ensuing from the study." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Prepared under the supervision of Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The research reviews that the majority of Black South Africans will frequent a traditional African healer as a primary means of health care. This may be partly due to the fact that traditional African healer is accredited as offering more affordable means of health care. Traditional African healing has been esteemed in treating the physical, mental and spiritual health of the population. This paradigm is also respected for its holistic approach which stretches beyond sole biological assumptions in the pursuit of optimum health. Depression is also confirmed as being an illness which is rife in contemporary living. South Africans may also be at an increased risk with regards to this mood disorder, due to harsh psychosocial circumstances including poverty, unemployment and crime. The research offers that the social worker and mental health care professional alike are under increased pressure to obtain ‘cultural competence’ in understanding how traditional African discourse constructs common mental illnesses like depression. Therefore in light the above, the research attempted to explore an understanding of depression amongst a sample of traditional healers in Johannesburg. There is little research done on this subject. Therefore a qualitative research approach was adopted. Qualitative research may offer a more reflective space as a point of entry into a subject which has not been explored. The case study research design, specifically a collective case study was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted, using an interview schedule. The researcher interviewed 10 traditional healers. The interview aimed to explore how traditional healers understand depression. iii The research used a content analysis to draw common themes from the transcribed interviews with the participants who formed part of the sample, selected by means of purposive sampling. The themes derived from the interviews offer some reflections on the traditional healers’ understanding of depression. These themes included: relevancy of depression; distinctions between depression and sadness; intuitive assessments of depression; external circumstances and psychosocial circumstances; relevance of biomedical interventions; treatment by the African traditional healer; counselling; supernatural and spiritual influences; punishment; depression experienced as a collective vs. individualistic cultural experience; somatisation and specific emotional difficulties related to the vocation of traditional African medicine. The research concluded that the traditional healers’ conception of depression was in a state of flux and was very much dependent on the individual interpretations by the traditional healer. This appeared to be influenced by the level of the traditional healers’ acculturation into westernized culture and exposure to biomedical interventions. The relevancy of the concept of depression was viewed as being both redundant and ripe in relevance by the sample. Depression and sadness could not always be distinguished between. However, there was a conceptualization of depression as being a more intense and severe form of sadness. Intuitive assessments of depression were generally adopted as opposed to exploring specific diagnostic criteria. Cognitive distortions such as ‘thinking too much’ and external circumstances were recognized as significant contributors. Depression was mostly indirectly recognized as an illness. Allopathic medicine was both rejected and held in high regard. Counselling was viewed as being necessary. This was not always adopted by the traditional healers. The spiritual significance was graded on a subjective spectrum of making meaning of depressive experiences. However the ancestors were still revered in all assessments and interventions. Depression was viewed on a continuum between individualistic and collective cultures. There were no significant somatic reports. In a nutshell the research concludes that there is no unified perception of depression, but highlights some common cultural variables. The research specifically highlighted the psychosocial and spiritual qualifying factors which may differentiate and qualify this paradigm from other biological and allopathic interventions. iv The research paves the way for further research to be done in this area. Recommendations are made for social workers and mental health care professionals alike to become more fluent in traditional African healing discourse in the area of mental health and depression in order to understand their clients from the African culture. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Social work and Criminology / unrestricted

L’épilepsie est une maladie neurologique chronique fréquente. En 2018, en Asie du Sud-Est, l'épilepsie est toujours entourée de croyances négatives liées au contexte socioculturel. En République Démocratique Populaire Lao, Les pratiques traditionnelles sont profondément enracinées dans les perceptions et les croyances en matière de santé et de maladies. La médecine traditionnelle est utilisée pour des maladies chroniques et aiguës, telle que l'épilepsie. Ce travail de doctorat a été raisonné comme une recherche en santé publique visant à comprendre les itinéraires thérapeutiques des patients vivant avec une épilepsie (PVEs) en RDP Lao. Nos travaux de recherche ont été conduits avec trois groupes de personnes (PVEs, leur entourage et les personnels soignants) au travers de recherches observationnelles transversales. Ce travail se compose ainsi de 3 études.(i) La non-adhérence des PVEs aux soins communautaires : cette étude a montré que les principaux facteurs sont l’indisponibilité ou les difficultés d'accès aux médicaments antiépileptiques (MAEs), le niveau de revenu, et le médicaments prescrit sur le lieu de consultation éloigné du lieu de résidence.(ii) Concernant l’influence de l’entourage des PVEs (famille, chef du village et agent communautaire de santé) sur leurs décisions thérapeutiques : deux formes d'influences se distinguent (famille vs communauté villageoise), alors que la médecine traditionnelle était considérée comme un complément à la médecine conventionnelle. (iii) Enfin, une étude exploratoire avec des soignants (médecins conventionnels et médecins traditionnels) a montré que les médecins traditionnels avaient conscience de l’efficacité de la médecine conventionnelle et la recommandaient systématiquement aux PVEs, alors que l’inverse était beaucoup plus rare. En conclusion, améliorer la disponibilité des médicaments dans le pays et au niveau communautaire, la mise en place de campagnes d’information, d’éducation, et de communication (IEC), ainsi qu’une collaboration entre la médecine conventionnelle et la médecine traditionnelle nous a permis de décrire et de schématiser les itinéraires thérapeutiques des PVEs en RDP Lao, afin d’élaborer d’une intervention appropriée. / Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disease. In 2018, in Southeast Asia, epilepsy is still surrounded by negative beliefs related to the socio-cultural context. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), traditional practices are deeply rooted in perceptions and beliefs about health and disease. Traditional medicine is used for chronic and acute diseases, such as epilepsy. This doctoral work has been described as public health research aimed at understanding the therapeutic pathways of patients living with epilepsy (PWE) in Lao PDR. Our research was conducted with three groups of people (PWE, entourage and caregivers) through cross-sectional observational research. This work thus consists of 3 studies : (i) Non- adherence of PWE to community care: this study showed that the main factors are unavailability or difficulty in accessing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), income level, and prescribed medication in the place of consultation far from where they live. (ii) Concerning the influence of the entourage of PWE (family, village headman, and community health worker) on their therapeutic decisions: two forms of influence are distinguished (family vs. village community), while traditional medicine was considered as a complement to conventional medicine. (iii) Finally, an exploratory study with caregivers (conventional and traditional doctors) showed that traditional doctors were aware of the effectiveness of conventional medicine and systematically recommended it to PWE, while the opposite was much rarer. In conclusion, improving the availability of medicines in the country and at community level, the implementation of information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns, as well as collaboration between conventional and traditional medicine, has enabled us to describe and schematize the therapeutic pathway of PWE in Lao PDR, in order to elaborate an appropriate intervention.