Thesis (M. Sc. (Microbiology)) --University of Limpopo, 2019 / Informal street traders and traditional health practitioners at Ga Maja (Limpopo Province) primarily offer consumers semi-processed herbal concoctions that are indicated to have blood-cleansing, immune-boosting, detoxifying, antidiarrheal, antiHIV/AIDS and pain-relieving therapeutic properties. The focus of this study was to validate the pharmacological effects and safety of these herbal concoctions as indicated by the traders. Five herbal concoctions and their medicinal plant recipies used for their preparation were purchased from five independent traders. A laboratory concoction was prepared according to the traders’ instructions. Possible microbial contaminants were identified using Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-offlight mass spectrometry and VITEK 2. Nutritional content of the concoctions was determined by a plasma atomic emission spectrophotometer. Qualitative phytochemical analysis was determined using standard chemical tests and thin layer chromatography. Total polyphenol content was quantified calorimetrically. Antioxidant activity was quantified using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing power assays. Antimicrobial activities were determined using a broth micro-dilution assay and bioautography. Anti-HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activity was used to determine the antiviral potential of the concoctions. Anti-inflammatory activity was determined using the cyclooxygenase inhibition assays and possible cytotoxic effects of the concoctions were evaluated using MTT cell viability assay. Growth on potato dextrose and nutrient agar plates indicated heavy microbial contamination. Sodium, potassium and zinc were most abundant in the concoctions. The concoctions had similar phytochemical profiles, and together with plant decoctions consisted primarily of polyphenolic constituents. Generally, some plant decoctions had higher antioxidant (EC50: 15.71 – 40.87 µg/mL) and antibacterial (MIC: 0.04 – 0.63 mg/mL) activities. The antimicrobial activities of the concoctions were as a result of synergistic effects of the compounds because no single compound was observed to have antimicrobial activities on the bioautograms. Combination studies showed that the combination of crude decoctions from different plant species resulted in reduced antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal activities. The laboratory concoction had higher anti-HIV reverse transcriptase activity (EC50: 2.90 µg/mL) than the positive controls used (EC50: 36.65 – 40.90 µg/mL). The concoctions also demonstrated considerable antiinflammatory activity. The lack of standardisation of phytomedicines reduces their xxi pharmacological potential and consistency. However, this study validated the ethnopharmacological use of the different plant species and herbal concoctions towards the treatment of human immune-deficiency virus, pain caused by inflammation, infectious diarrhoea and for immune-boosting. This study also highlighted the complexities associated with combinations of aqueous extracts and the importance of appropriate knowledge on which plant species are to be mixed to enhance their therapeutic properties. Although the concoctions did not exhibit cyctotoxic effects, toxicities may arise from endotoxins produced by the microbial contaminants. Hygienic processing and packaging are essential to ensure that consumers receive quality products that are safe to consume.

MAAS / Centre for African Studies / See the attached abstract below

PhD (African Studies) / Department of African Studies / Traditional health practice is an important and often underestimated part of health care. Since time immemorial traditional health ensured and covered all major areas of health promotion, which included preventative, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and surgical practices. In low- and middle-income countries where the number of practitioners of modern medicine may not be enough to meet the health care needs of the country, traditional health promotion is central. Given that in many societies the practices are done in secret, it therefore makes it difficult for people in general to access proper service from traditional health practitioners. This study explored the role of traditional health practitioners in promoting health in a rural community. The study adopted a qualitative approach which was descriptive, explorative and interpretative, targeting the registered traditional health practitioners in villages of Ward X of the Pfura Rural District Council. A non-probability purposive and snowball sampling method was used to identify twenty-two (22) male and female participants. The participants were registered diviners, herbalists and traditional birth attendants. The data which was collected through in-depth interviews, field notes, audio recordings and observation were thematically analyzed using Tesch’s method of data analysis and presented in categories, themes and subthemes. The study revealed that the traditional health practitioners in Pfura, are playing a vital role in offering primary health care for the people. Traditional health practitioners offer healing through their extensive knowledge of herbal and animal-based medicines and therapeutic actions such as rituals. The study established the use of herbs, traditional ceremonies, taboos, cultural norms as health promotive practices. Traditional healers in Pfura have demonstrated their efficacy and remained a powerful establishment in society through their easy access to the ancestral spirits, which has sustained the healing culture of Kore-kore people. Despite the central role being played by traditional health system in health promotion, impediments were found against the practice and its practitioners. Poor professional development, research and training of the Traditional Health Practitioners as well as the advanced age of practitioners is a setback in the practice as it contributed negatively to the sustainability of the traditional health practice. Guided by both study findings, key action areas of health promotion of the Ottawa Charter and the objectives of the World Health Organization, Traditional Medicine Strategy of 2014-2023 target, a framework/guide was developed and recommended an integrative and sustainable health promotion in a rural setting. / NRF

No description available.

The majority of South African citizens experience inadequate healthcare due to underfunding, mismanagement, staff shortages, and infrastructure problems. Before a healthcare system was created, the sick turned to traditional herbal healers for care. South Africa’s Zulu healers possess specialized knowledge of local plants and medicine thought to have physical and spiritual healing properties. The country’s increasing reliance on Western biomedicine has created a current concern from indigenous medicine conservationists regarding the future of this kind of knowledge. In order to assess the effects of Western medicine on traditional healing practices, I collected data on the various uses of traditional medicine, the frequency in which it is used relative to Western medicine, and how it is maintained in the community. The data identified the various uses and potential problems of Western medicine and Zulu traditional herbal practice in helping the community. The traditional herbal healers revealed close connections between the informational, spiritual, physical, and cultural components of the practice that characterize its livelihood and practice for generations to come. This information allows for a greater understanding of how culture and medicinal knowledge can be entwined together and the positive or negative effects of biomedicine interacting with traditional medicine to help solve sicknesses in not only South Africa, but potentially in our global community.

In West African medicine, Entada africana Guill. & Perr. from the family of Fabaceae is used to treat inflammatory conditions in the management of fractures, wounds, and sprains in the northern region of the Republic of Benin. The aim of the present study was to isolate and elucidate phenolic compounds from a hydroalcoholic leaf extract from E. africana and to identify compounds with anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. Eleven compounds were purified from three fractions, which have shown strong to medium anti-inflammatory activity. The isolated compounds were characterized by HRESI-MS and NMR methods as gallic acid (1), ethyl gallate (2), 5,7-dihydroxychromen-4-one (3), 3′,4′,7-trihydroxyflavone (4), dihydrokaempferol-7-O-glucoside (5), catechin (6), quercetin-3-O-[β-apiosyl- (1‴→2″)-β-glucoside] (7), quercetin-3-O-glucoside (8), naringenin-7-O-glucoside (9), aromadendrin (10), and myricetin-3-O-glucoside (11). Nine of the major phenolic compounds were tested using TNF-α stimulated human keratinocytes (HaCaT) as skin inflammation model to identify molecules, which may explain the use of the plant leaves as an anti-inflammatory remedy by assessing the release of proinflammatory cytokines IL-8 and IL-6. The hydroacoholic leaf extract of E. africana exerted a medium inhibitory effect on the release of IL-8. 3′,4′,7-trihydroxyflavone, aromadendrin, dihydrokaempferol-7- O-glucoside and ethyl gallate demonstrated a strong to medium effect on the release of IL-6. For the release of IL-8, 3′,4′,7-trihydroxyflavone demonstrated a medium activity. This study provides for the first time a detailed screening of phenolic compounds occurring in the hydroethanolic leaf extract of E. africana. Additionally, it is shown that E. africana contains active compounds which may justify its traditional medicinal use as an antiinflammatory remedy to treat inflammatory and pain-related skin conditions in the Republic of Benin.

The fungus growing termite species Macrotermes bellicosus (M. bellicosus) is used in nutrition and traditional medicine in the Republic of Benin for the treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases. Previous findings demonstrated evidence of anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic properties of M. bellicosus. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of different extracts of M. bellicosus samples and determine the chemical profile of an ethanolic M. bellicosus extract. Chemical profiling was conducted using centrifugal partition chromatography and 13C-NMR, followed by MALDI-TOF MS. Major identified compounds include hydroquinone (HQ), methylhydroquinone (MHQ), 3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl glycol (DHPG), N-acetyldopamine (NADA) and niacinamide. The fatty acid mixture of the extract was mainly composed of linoleic and oleic acid and highlights the nutritional purpose of M. bellicosus. Using the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion and broth microdilution assay, an antibacterial activity of M. bellicosus samples was observed against various clinical strains with a highest growth inhibition of S. aureus. In addition, HQ and MHQ as well as fractions containing DHPG, niacinamide and NADA inhibited S. aureus growth. The reported antimicrobial activity of M. bellicosus and identified active substances provide a rationale for the traditional medicinal use of M. bellicosus.

Prior to the advent of biomedicine, rural communities in Nepal relied on phytochemically active compounds in medicinal plants as their primary source of medicine; however, ethnobotanical practices have shifted over time due to economic, environmental, and sociocultural stimuli. Findings from 2016 fieldwork conducted in Dumrikharka, Nepal and Tutung, Nepal are compared to existing literature to describe the political ecology of medicinal plants in rural Nepal. Anthropogenic climate change threatens individual plant species and ecosystem biodiversity. Globalized markets unabated by weak conservation programs place increasing demands on medicinal plants. As indigenous plants become overharvested and more difficult to access, Nepalis incorporate non-indigenous plants into the local pharmacopeia. Novel use of non-indigenous plants illustrates both the dynamic, resilient nature of traditional medicine systems and a loss of biodiversity. Social changes, including outmigration to other countries, notions of modernity, and preference for pharmaceutical drugs, reduce potential candidates to learn and preserve ethnobotanical knowledge. Waterborne pathogens caused by inadequate sanitation infrastructure continue to endanger Nepali populations. The dearth of clinical facilities throughout rural areas, when coupled with the decline ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional healers, poses a gap in healthcare jeopardizing vulnerable, marginalized populations. These factors reinforce the unequal distribution of resources in one of the world’s poorest countries, buttressing power inequalities and economic inequities.

Traditional medicines prepared from Sutherlandia frutescens are used to manage diseases including HIV and cancer. This study aimed at isolating and identifying biologically active compounds isolated from S. frutescens. Sutherlandia frutescens plants were collected in Petrusburg and Paarl. Powdered plant material was extracted using ethanol or water and their metabolite composition was compared using UPLC-MS. A novel cycloartane, an acetylated variant of this compound as well as a Sutherlandioside B triterpenoid was isolated and characterised using chromatographic and analytical techniques such as NMR and UPLC-MS. Preliminary biological studies were conducted to assess the activity of plant extracts on cell toxicity, herpes virus replication and cytokine expression. The results of this study suggest that aqueous extracts from S. frutescens do not appear to be cytotoxic or show anti-herpetic activity, but may activate the immune system by increasing expression of IL-6, IL-10 and TNFα. Further research should be conducted to confirm and optimise these results. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M. Sc. (Life Science)

En République Démocratique du Congo, la crise économique nationale, la dévaluation du franc Congolais et les guerres de ces dernières années ont entraîné une dépendance croissante des populations des villes et des campagnes vis-à-vis de la médecine traditionnelle. Deux types de médecines traditionnelles sont pratiqués par les bantous et les pygmées de Bikoro. La médecine traditionnelle populaire, c'est-à-dire celle connue de la majorité de la population du village et la médecine traditionnelle spécialisée, c'est-à-dire pratiquée par les spécialistes (Guérisseurs).<p>Une enquête ethnobotanique sur l’utilisation des plantes en médecine traditionnelle par les bantous et les pygmées a été réalisée dans 10 villages du territoire de Bikoro, durant 11 mois. Dans chaque village, l’enquête s’est déroulée en deux étapes :la première sur les maladies soignées, les plantes et les recettes utilisées en médecine traditionnelle populaire et la seconde sur les maladies soignées, les plantes et les recettes utilisées en médecine traditionnelle spécialisée. Les informations relatives à la médecine traditionnelle populaire ont été récoltées au cours d’entretiens collectifs en utilisant un questionnaire semi-structuré, tandis que celles relatives à la médecine traditionnelle spécialisée ont été collectées au cours d’entretiens directs en utilisant le même type de questionnaire.<p>Au total, 133 affections sont soignées en médecine traditionnelle par les pygmées et les bantous de Bikoro. Elles font intervenir 205 espèces botaniques et 976 recettes. En médecine traditionnelle populaire, les pygmées soignent 42 affections, utilisent 73 espèces botaniques et emploient 150 recettes. Les bantous soignent 41 affections, utilisent 62 espèces botaniques et 128 recettes. En médecine traditionnelle spécialisée, les pygmées soignent 54 affections, utilisent 74 espèces botaniques et 151 recettes. Les spécialistes bantous soignent 119 affections, utilisent 185 espèces botaniques et 704 recettes.<p>En médecine traditionnelle populaire de Bikoro, les bantous et les pygmées utilisent souvent les mêmes organes végétaux, les mêmes modes de préparation des drogues et les mêmes modes d’administration de recettes. Ils soignent en général les mêmes maladies. Les différences s’observent au niveau des plantes utilisées et des recettes préparées par chaque communauté. Si les pygmées Twa et leurs voisins Oto utilisent les mêmes organes des plantes et emploient les mêmes modes de préparation et d’administration de recettes en médecine traditionnelle spécialisée, il existe une différence significative entre les maladies soignées, les plantes utilisées et les recettes préparées par ces deux communautés. <p>Cette étude a permis de caractériser le territoire de Bikoro concernant son recours à la médecine traditionnelle et a mis en évidence l’existence des flux d’utilisations des plantes entre la médecine traditionnelle populaire (bantoue et pygmée) et la médecine traditionnelle spécialisée (bantoue et pygmée). <p><p><p><p>Mots clés :Plantes, Médecine traditionnelle populaire, Médecine traditionnelle spécialisée, Bantous, Pygmées, Bikoro.<p> <p>Abstract<p>In the Democratic republic of Congo, the national economic crisis, the devaluation of the Congolese franc and the wars of the last decades involved an increasing dependence of the populations of the cities and rural areas with respect to traditional medicine. Two types of traditional medicines are practiced by the bantus (Oto) and the pygmies (Twa) of Bikoro. Popular traditional medicine, that is to say the one known to the majority of the village population, and specialized traditional medicine, which is only practiced by specialists (Healers).<p>An ethnobotanic investigation on plant use in traditional medicine by the Bantus and the pygmies was carried out in 10 villages of the territory of Bikoro, during 11 months. In each village, the investigation proceeded in two stages: the first concerning the treated diseases, as well as the plants and the recipes used in popular traditional medicine and the second concerning the treated on the looked after diseases, as well as the plants and the recipes used in specialized traditional medicine. The information relative to popular traditional medicine were collected during collective meetings with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire, while those relating to specialized traditional medicine were collected during direct interviews with the same type of questionnaire. <p>On the whole, 133 affections are treated in traditional medicine by the pygmies and the Bantu of Bikoro. They make use of 205 botanical species and 976 recipes. In popular traditional medicine, the pygmies Twa address 42 affections, use 73 botanical species and employ 150 recipes. The Bantu (Oto) address 41 affections use 62 botanical species and 128 recipes. In specialized traditional medicine, the pygmies address 54 affections, use 74 botanical species and 151 recipes. The specialists Bantu address 119 affections use 185 botanical species and 704 recipes. <p>In the Bikoro region, both Bantus (Oto) and pygmies (Twa) do use the same plant parts, the same modes of preparing drogues and the same processes of administering drogues in their respective popular traditional medicine. There are differences in plant species used and drogue types prepared by each community. If the Twa pygmies and their neighbors Oto use the plant parts and the same processes in administering drogues in their specialized medical practices, there is, nevertheless, a significant difference between types of treated diseases, utilized plant species and prepared drogues between the two communities.<p>This study made possible the characterization of the territory of Bikoro concerning its recourse to traditional medicine and highlighted the existence of flows of plant uses between popular traditional medicine (bantu and pygmy) and specialized traditional medicine (bantu and pygmy). <p><p><p><p><p>Key words: Plants, popular traditional Medicine, specialized traditional Medicine, Bantus, Pygmies, Bikoro. <p> / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished