Aim of the study: In traditional healing, the burning of selected indigenous medicinal plants and the
inhalation of the liberated smoke are widely accepted and a practiced route of administration. This
study elucidated the rationale behind this commonly practiced treatment by examining the antimicrobial
activity for five indigenous South African medicinal plants commonly administered through inhalation
(Artemisia afra, Heteropyxis natalensis, Myrothamnus flabellifolius, Pellaea calomelanos and Tarchonanthus
camphoratus).
Material and Methods: An apparatus was designed to simulate the burning process that occurs in a traditional
setting and the smoke fraction was captured for analysis and bioassay. Methanol and acetone
extracts as well as the essential oil (for the aromatic species) were prepared and assayed in parallel with
the smoke fraction.
Results: Antimicrobial data revealed that in most cases, the ‘smoke-extract’ obtained after burning had
lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values than the corresponding solvent extracts and essential
oils. The combustion, acetone and methanol extracts produced different chromatographic profiles as
demonstrated for Pellaea calomelanos where several compounds noted in the smoke fraction were not
present in the other extracts.
Conclusion: These results suggest that the combustion process produces an ‘extract’ with superior antimicrobial
activity and provides in vitro evidence for inhalation of medicinal smoke as an efficient mode of
administration in traditional healing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1000386 |
| Date | 19 August 2008 |
| Creators | Braithwaite, M, Van Vuuren, SF, Viljoen, AM |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | Elsevier |
| Relation | Journal of Ethnopharmacology |
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