This study explores and describes curanderismo (folk curing) and the cultural disease concepts of mollera caida, empacho, mal de ojo, and susto as researched in a rural Oregon community. Chicano cultural disease concepts and beliefs are then related to modern health delivery services, and a case is made for the need for cultural awareness, respect, and sensitivity on the part of medical personnel who deliver services. The approach of a curandera (curer) and a doctor are compared. It is strongly stated that Chicanos’ health beliefs and practices do not exist in isolation from the rest of their culture, and that the concept of familias is a particularly important focal point in the harmony of this culture. It is suggested that health delivery services as well as all helping services cannot afford to neglect the totality of a Chicano cultural viewpoint if their services are to have relevance. Practical suggestions for health personnel are included. Data were collected primarily through the participant-observer method.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Microbiology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Sexually transmitted infections represent one of the main health problems related to reproductive and sexual function, constituting one of the main causes of infertility. Plants have been employed traditionally in treating diseases for centuries. Elephantorrhiza burkei, Securidaca longepedunculata and Wrightia natalensis medicinal plants were selected for this study based on their use in traditional medicine to treat sexual health problems in Limpopo Province. The aim of the study was to determine antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the selected plants. Different extraction procedures coupled with solvents of varying polarities were used in the extraction of the plant materials. Possible microbial contaminants were identified using the VITEK 2 instrument. 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. In vitro antimicrobial activities were determined using a broth micro-dilution assay and bioautography. Combinational effects of the addition of multiple plant species on antimicrobial activity were investigated for additive, synergistic and antagonistic interactions. The plant species phytochemical profile contained polyphenols that are known to have antimicrobial effects against two Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213) and Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), a Gram-negative bacterium, as well as the fungus, Candida albicans (ATCC 10231). Elephantorrhiza burkei exhibited high antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity against the test pathogens, although most of the interactions were antagonistic and indifferent. Toxicity was found in the herbal treatment and acute toxicity was found in the selected plants. Based on the good correlations which were found in E. burkei, it was selected for bioactivity guided by an isolation of antibacterial compounds. Elephantorrhiza burkei was not successfully isolated, but the fraction collected showed exceptional biological activity that validates its usage against disease-causing pathogens related to sexually transmitted infections, which compromises male sexual health. This study suggests that the evaluated plants are potential sources of novel anti-infective agents. Further in vivo and in vitro studies are recommended for all the plants, respectively. / University of Limpopo and CSIR

Thesis (M. A. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Though recent South African legislation and policy documents have called for closer collaboration between Western-trained and traditional health practitioners, there is little evidence to show that there is a formal collaboration between the two categories of health care providers. Located within the interpretivist paradigm, and using an exploratory descriptive design, the researcher sought to explore the perceptions of Western-trained health practitioners (WTHPs) in Sekhukhune District (Limpopo Province) towards collaboration between themselves and traditional health practitioners (THPs) in treating mental illness. Seventeen WTHPs (males = 07; females = 10) from three hospitals in Sekhukhune District were selected through purposive sampling and requested to take part in the study. The sample comprised of five clinical psychologists, five medical officers working in psychiatric units, and seven psychiatric nurses. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed through thematic analysis. Specifically, Renata Tesch’s eight steps were used to analyse the data. The following psychological themes emerged from the study: (a) shared goals on collaboration; (b) a good effect on collaboration is anticipated; (c) managing interdependence between traditional and Western-trained practitioners; (d) proposed ideal structures of governance to govern the collaboration; (e) recommended legislations and policies on collaboration; (f) suggested factors that may foster collaboration; (g) proposed factors that hinder collaboration; and, (h) referral systems that exist in the health care. The findings suggest that some WTHPs are willing to collaborate with THPs, especially if proper guidelines for collaboration could be provided by the government. Some recommendations on an ideal structure of governance and legislation on collaboration were made by the WTHPs. The WTHPs highlighted factors that may hinder or facilitate closer collaboration between themselves and THPs in providing mental health services to communities.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Biochemistry)) --University of Limpopo, 2017 / Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder characterised by perpetual hyperglycaemia. Various oral pharmacological theraputic management strategies currently exist but are too expensive and having a host of undesirable side effects. Therefore people resort to the use of traditional medicinal plants as they offer a cost effective and readily available health care avenue. Despite the wide-spread use of traditional medicinal plants, several worrisome concerns about their effectiveness, clinical modes of action and safety have been raised. Leaves of five selected plants (Toona celliata, Seriphium plumosum, Schkuhria pinnata, Olea africana, Opuntia ficus-indica) were collected from Mankweng area, Capricon Local Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. Ground plant materials were exhaustively extracted by maceration in methanol, acetone or hexane. The presence of different plant secondary metabolites in the crude extracts was determined using various standard chemical tests and thin layer chromatography (TLC). A myriad of compounds which represented various secondary plant metabolites groups were observed on the TLC plates and were best resolved in the non-polar (BEA) and intermediate (CEF) mobile phases. The total phenolic content and total flavonoids of the different extracts were determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu`s phenol reagent method and Aluminium chloride colorimetric assay respectively. The plants contained comparatively higher amounts of total phenolic compounds as compared to the flavonoids. The antiglycation activity of the plant extracts were determined using the bovine serum albumin assay. The acetone extract of Seriphium plumosum (SPlA) exhibited the most glycation inhibitory activity among all the examined extracts, as it resulted in 2,22% glycation. The antioxidant potential of each of the different extracts was quantitatively determined spectrophotometrically using the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and the ferric ion reducing power assay. The methanol extract of Seriphium plumosum showed the best antioxidant activity among all the extracts in this study. It exhibited the lowest EC50 values of 0.72 mg/ml and 2.31 mg/ml for the DPPH scavenging activity and the ferric reducing power assay respectively. The cytotoxicity profiles of the different plant extracts on C2C12 cell line were determined using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium xiii bromide (MTT) assay. It was concluded that since the all the extracts investigated had CC50 values greater than 50 μg/ml they were generally non-toxic. The amount of glucose taken up by differentiated C2C12 cells was quantified using the glucose uptake assay. Treatment of the C2C12 cells with the hexane extract of Seriphium plumosum resulted in the best glucose utilisation effect of 35,77% which was higher than that of insulin which was 26,06% after 6 hours. The translocation assay was used to determine the effect of the plant extract on GLUT4 translocation while the expression of various mitogen activated protein kinases in the cells was determined using the human MAPK profiler assay. It was established that treatment with Seriphium plumosum hexane extract resulted in increased GLUT4 translocation from the intracellular vesicular stores to the cell surface membrane. The increase in GLUT4 translocation may have resulted from the upregulation of expression of phosphorylated Akt-1, Akt-2, GSK3β, ERK1, ERK2 p70S kinase and MKK3 under the influence of Seriphium plumosum hexane extract. The study documents a probable insulin-mimetic activity of the hexane extract of Seriphium plumosum. This activity may be responsible for its hypoglycaemic capability and may occur via the augmentation of proximal mitogen activated protein kinases involved in the GLUT4 translocation pathway. Further investigations need to be conducted to ascertain this novel finding which may help provide a cost-effective and readily available antidiabetic therapeutic agent. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

Thesis (Ph.D. (Botany)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023 / The use of medicinal plants as a source of treatment for various ailments including fungal infections is still practised in South Africa and across the globe. Fungal infections especially of Cryptococcus, Candida and Aspergillus species are the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Traditional medicine is used as a source of remedies worldwide and has contributed extensively towards the development of modern medicine. Twelve selected medicinal plants (Kleinia longiflora DC. Berchemia discolor (Klotzsch) Hemsl., Persea americana Mill., Sansevieria hyacinthoides (L.) Druce, Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wright &Arn, Withania somnifera Dunal (Ashgandh), Momordica balsamina L., Lonchocarpus capassa, Pappea capensis, Rhus lancea L. fil, Peltophorum africanum, Maytenus heterophylla (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Robson) were analysed qualitatively for antifungal activities against Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The plant materials were extracted with solvents of various polarities such as acetone, dichloromethane, methanol, hexane, and water. Methanol extracted the highest amount of crude extracts from all the plant species as compared to other organic solvents. Chemical components of the extracts were analysed using aluminum backed Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) plates and developed using three different eluent systems: Ethyl acetate: methanol: water [EMW], Chloroform: ethyl acetate: formic acid [CEF] and Benzene: ethanol: ammonia hydroxide [BEA]. CEF was the best eluent solvent system since it separated more compounds from plant extracts. This indicates that the active compounds were relatively non-polar. More chemical compounds were observed in TLC chromatograms separated with CEF, followed by BEA and EMW. All plant extracts had shown different chemical components when separated from the three solvent systems. The bioautography and serial dilution assays were used to determine the biological activity of plant extracts against the tested microorganisms, respectively. All the tested plant extracts revealed some varying degrees of fungal inhibition, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values ranging between 0.02 mg/ml and 2.5 mg/ml. The aqueous extracts had shown some activity against the tested microorganisms. Noteworthy, antifungal activity was observed in acetone, DCM, hexane, and methanol root extracts of D. cinerea against the three tested microorganisms with MIC values ranging between 0.02 mg/ml and 0.04 mg/ml. Furthermore, acetone extracts of D. cinerea and P. africanum had excellent activity against three fungal pathogens with MIC values of 0.02 mg/ml and 0.08 mg/ml. Active compounds were observed in dichloromethane extracts of W. somnifera with Rf values of 0.40 and 0.64. In TLC chromatograms separated with BEA, active compounds were observed in acetone, hexane, and methanol leaf extract of P. americana, this indicates that the fungal compounds were relatively non-polar. No active compounds were observed in plant extracts of K. longiflora. Active compounds were visible in all extracts of P. capensis in TLC chromatograms developed in CEF and EMW. The antioxidant present in plants prevents the free radicals from causing various diseases in humans by inhibiting the oxidation of free radicals at the cellular level. The qualitative and quantitative 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods were used to determine the antioxidant activities of plant extracts. The presence of antioxidant compounds was indicated by yellow bands against the purple background on the TLC plates. More antioxidant compounds were observed in acetone and dichloromethane extracts of S. hyacinthoides developed in BEA compared to other plant species tested. Methanol, hexane, and water extracts of L. capassa revealed good antioxidant activity against DPPH by having a high percentage of inhibition compared to other solvents. Noticeably, extracts of P. africanum possess strong antioxidant activity as compared to other plant species. Solvent-solvent fractionation using column chromatography of the acetone extract led to the isolation of six compounds. The biological activity of the isolated compounds of L. capassa was investigated against the tested pathogenic fungi. The isolated compounds revealed some varying degrees of inhibition to the fungal pathogens. The largest quantity was isolated from compound 1 (80 mg), compound 4 (39 mg), compound 3 (27 mg), compounds 2 and 5 (14 mg) and the least was compound 6 (4.8 mg). However only three compounds were successfully identified as Lupeol (compound 1), Friedelin (compound 3) and 6-(γ,γ-Dimethylallyl)-3’,4’-dimethoxy-6”,6”- dimethylpyrano-[2”,3”:7,8]-flavanone (compound 4). Compounds 2, 5 and were not identified due to some impurities. More importantly, the isolated compounds exhibited good antioxidant activity in qualitative and quantitative scavenging assays, which indicates that isolated compounds of L. capassa can scavenge the free radicals causing fungal infections in humans. The results support the traditional use of the selected plants to combat fungal infections and related ailments by the local people and traditional health practitioners in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. The (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol) -2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide) (MTT) assay was used to determine the toxic effects of the plant crude extract and isolated compounds. Lupeol and 6-(γ,γ-Dimethylallyl)-3’,4’-dimethoxy-6”,6”-dimethylpyrano-[2”,3”:7,8]- flavanone revealed the same degree of cytotoxicity against the Vero monkey kidney cells. All the compounds were not toxic with an LC50 value of ˃ 0.2 mg/ml. / University of Limpopo and National Research Foundation

Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023 / With the realisation that both the traditional and western health care systems are consulted in South Africa, the Traditional Health Practitioners Act, No 22 of 2007 was promulgated. In addition to the Act, there was a growing body of literature proposing the integration of the two health systems to improve the overall South African health system. This study explored the possibility for such collaboration by investigating case formulation by western-trained clinical psychologists and traditional health practitioners regarding selected cases of mental disorders. A qualitative research design, specifically a case study method was used in the present study. Six clinical psychologists and six traditional health practitioners were selected through purposive sampling and were requested to participate in the study. The researcher further sampled two vignettes of Major Depressive Disorder and Schizophrenia for data collection purposes. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and vignettes and analysed through Braun and Clarke‟s thematic content analysis steps. Six main themes that related to case formulations by clinical psychologists emerged. These themes were: a). Collateral information as a major determinant in the assessment and treatment of mental illness; b). Classifications of mental illness; c). The symptomatology of mental illness; d). Causes of mental illness; e). The multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of mental illness; and f). Views regarding the collaboration of Clinicians and Traditional Health Practitioners. On the other hand, eight themes that related to the case formulations by traditional health practitioners were identified. These themes were: a) Divination as the main process of enquiry, b) Descriptive names of mental illnesses, c) Conceptualisations of stress related and depressive disorders by Traditional Health Practitioners, d) Views on causes of mental illness, e) The effectiveness of the Western approach in the treatment of some forms of mental illness, f) The relationship between religion and African traditional practices; g) A calling as symbolised by symptoms of mental illness, and, h) Traditional health practitioners‟ views on the collaboration between themselves and western health practitioners. The study has further revealed that there are some similarities as well as differences in the way clinical psychologists and traditional health practitioners formulate cases. The convergences in their formulations were revealed in the following themes; a). The conceptualisation of stress and related conditions; b). The western system is the most appropriate in the management of stress-related and depressive disorders and c). The benefits of the collaboration between western and African healing systems. The following divergences were further identified from the way clinical psychologists and traditional health practitioners formulate their cases: a). The conceptualisation of the presenting symptoms from the two cases; b). The causal factors of mental health conditions; c). The initial methods of enquiry; and d). The management of mental health conditions. The study has further revealed that both traditional health practitioners and clinical psychologists have positive views regarding the collaboration of western and African traditional health systems, especially in the management of mental disorders. The study has further uncovered the convergences and divergences in the conceptualisation of mental health conditions between traditional health practitioners and clinical psychologists.

No description available.

Traditional technologies are revelations of knowledge, skill, and wisdom of ancestors that have been used to facilitate and enhance the performance of socio-economic activities, overcome environmental challenges, and magnify symbolic presentations of cultural and spiritual engagements. Traditional technologies are still practiced in many communities despite the strides made in the advancement of modern technologies. The socio-economic significance of traditional technologies in the context of Ethiopia is even more profound. There are hardly social, economic, and spiritual activities that are not, directly or indirectly, influenced by the application of traditional technologies. The irony is, however, they are not appreciated and conserved in spite that they have been proving a sustained significance across generations while, to the contrary, modern technologies are even staggering to outlive the stage of product introduction. Although still proving to be useful, traditional technologies have been marginalized as if they are symbols of backwardness belonging to the past as irrelevant to the modern day settings. It was, therefore, the urge to look into this dilemma that became the basis for the initiation to conduct a research on the captioned topic. The study has endeavored to address how traditional technologies, specifically that of Ethiopia, are able to sustain contrary to extant theoretical predictions of technologies, and investigate why they have been deterred from getting the conservation and transformation they deserve in spite of the socio-economic significant role they have continued to play as capitulated in the statement of the problem. In addressing the statement of the problem, the paradigm of the world outlook within which the research was situated is found to be related to the Critical Theory paradigm. As a result, a qualitative research methodology based on a case study design was framed and a longitudinal field study on the sampled cases was conducted. The data generated from the study were ix filtered, coded, organized, categorized, and ultimately analyzed and interpreted using apparent analytic models until saturated and triangulated findings were established. Accordingly, the core constructs that has been defining the fate of traditional technologies were induced and their impact in deterring or promoting the conservation and transformation of traditional technologies were synthesized. Based on the outcomes of data analysis and interpretation, appropriate methods of reshaping the societal attitude and orientation in terms of conserving and transforming traditional practices are proposed as induced recommendations ultimately requiring a timely intervention. / Business Management / D. Litt. et Phil. (Business Leadership)

Medicinal plants of Thulamela municipality are experiencing challenges due to human activities, resulting in some of the medicinal plants becoming difficult to find, declining, endangered or even extinct. Unsustainable harvesting is threatening the survival of certain medicinal plant species used as a source of primary healthcare in the area. This study investigates aspects related to traditional healers' perceptions with regard to collection, ethnobotanical importance and conservation status of indigenous medicinal plants used by traditional healers around Thulamela municipality. Information on medicinal plants was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews, field walks, personal observation and a literature review. A total of 90 medicinal plant species, which belong to 47 families, from a total of 82 genera commonly used by traditional healers to treat different ailments, were recorded. About 87% of traditional healers indicated that some medicinal plants are difficult to find; only 13% of healers did not experience difficulties in finding some medicinal plants. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Ornamental Horticulture)

This study focuses on the comparison of medical and health terms with special reference to Sesotho sa Leboa and Western languages. The study was conducted in the communities of Zebediela, Groblersdal and Marble Hall. From time immemorial, traditional medical and health terms were associated with certain types of diseases and health problems among Africans. With the introduction of Western civilisation, most of the medical and health terms which were used in the past by the Basotho ba Leboa, are no longer in use, as Western languages are regarded as prestige languages compared to the indigenous African languages. This perception led to a shortage of Sesotho sa Leboa documents that explain medical and health terms. The literature review revealed that traditional medicine is used for healing by many communities. Scholars further revealed that Western health terminology is more developed than traditional health terminology. The study uses the qualitative approach to explain concepts, and coding schemes were used to categorise medical and health terms. Ethnographic and historical theories were used to analyse data. The similarities and differences between the Sesotho sa Leboa terms and their Western counterparts were discussed and assessed. The study found that a relationship exists between diseases and the body parts in both Sesotho sa Leboa and Western terminology, and that the diseases were classified according to the affected body parts. The medical terms of both languages have similar and different semantic properties. Most of the differences were brought about by the cultural differences of the two communities. As the Sesotho sa Leboa medical terms are inimitable, the culture specific terms used in this study are discussed in Sesotho sa Leboa rather than in Western terminology. Conversely, as most of the recent outbreaks of diseases are named in Western terminology, they are translated into Sesotho sa Leboa. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)