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Traditional medicine refers to the sum total of knowledge, skills, and
practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to
different cultures that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent,
diagnose, improve, or treat physical and mental illnesses. Traditional medical
practices can include plant, animal and mineral-based medicines, massage,
spiritual therapies and a variety of other techniques unique to different
regions and cultures. In Ethiopia where modern public health services are
limited or not accessible, 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine
for primary health care. Traditional medical services are also sought in urban
areas of Ethiopia, where allopathic services are more readily available and
contribute considerably to the public health care system.
Herbal therapy appears to play a prominent role in Ethiopian traditional
medicine. Ethiopia is considered the home of some of the most diverse plant
species in Africa that serve as sources of many traditional medicinal plants.
Most of these plants are obtained from local sources in the wild by
knowledgeable traditional practitioners. It has been reported that
approximately 800 species of the medicinal plants grown in Ethiopia are used
for treating about 300 medical conditions. In the traditional treatment of
mental illnesses in Ethiopia, various plants parts either in combination, whole
plant part or alone are employed. In the combination situation, the
practitioners may believe that the active therapeutic ingredient is found at
two or more parts of the plant. In conclusion traditional healers still play a
great role in the primary health care systems in Ethiopia. The sparsely
distributed forests were important resources of healers and repositories of
medicinal plants gene pools.
Keywords: Medicinal plants,
Traditional medicine, Ethiopians
INTRODUCTION
According World Health
Organization (WHO), traditional medicine refers to the sum total of knowledge,
skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous
to different cultures that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent,
diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illnesses [1]. Traditional
medical practices can include plant, animal and mineral-based medicines,
massage, spiritual therapies and a variety of other techniques unique to
different regions and cultures [2]. Traditional medicine is typically
contrasted with conventional medicine, also referred to as allopathic, modern,
orthodox or Western medicine, which is based on biochemical theories of illness
[1,2].
In countries with
limited access to allopathic medicine, traditional medicine is often the main
source of health care. In some countries in Asia and Africa, 80% of the
population uses traditional medicine for primary health care needs [1]. In many
developing nations, there are more traditional healers than there are allopathic
practitioners, and the population of allopathic practitioners is often
concentrated in urban areas, further reducing rural access to medical care. In
Uganda, the ratio of biomedical practitioners to the population is
approximately 1:20,000, while the ratio of traditional healers to the
population can be as low as 1:200 [2]. Other studies report that Uganda has at
least one traditional healer per village, and four out of five Ugandans seek
care from traditional healers [3].
Traditional medicines
have always played a key role in world health and continue to be used to treat
a vast array of conditions and complaints. A survey completed by WHO’s Roll
Back Malaria programme showed that in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Zambia, around
60% of all febrile cases in children, presumably due to malaria, are treated at
home with herbal medicine [7,8]. Information compiled by UNAIDS revealed that
approximately two thirds of HIV/AIDS patients in a variety of developing
countries seek symptomatic relief and manage opportunistic infections through
the use of traditional medicines [7-9]. TM/CAM use is also prevalent in the
cities of San Francisco and London, as well as throughout much of South Africa,
where a reported 75-78% of people living with HIV/AIDS use these interventions
as well [7,10]. Other conditions commonly addressed with traditional medicines
include digestive or intestinal diseases, sickle-cell anemia, hypertension,
high cholesterol, headaches, insomnia, diarrhea, microbial infections,
bronchitis, diabetes, burns, rashes and menopause [6,8]. In Brazil, a reported
89% of patients diagnosed with cancer use TM/CAM products to treat their
conditions [10].
RESULTS
According a study
conducted in Gindeberet district, Western Ethiopia to investigate the medicinal
plants and traditional knowledge of the community of the district showed that,
a total of 26 species of medicinal plants were collected and identified for
treating 36 human ailments. The preparations and administration of medicinal
plants are through oral, dermal and nasal routes. However, oral application (33
preparations, 67.3%) was the highest and most commonly used route of
application followed by dermal application (15 preparations, 30.6%). The most
commonly used plant parts for herbal preparations in the area were leaves (28%)
and roots (28%) followed by barks (14%) and fruits (14%). 72.5% of the healers
were rural residents [11].
Another study
conducted in Dek Island, Ethiopia, indicated that the informants, in both age
categories, that reported a medicinal plant as a remedy for an illness were
able to identify the plants during the collection of medicinal plants for
depository. Eighty-nine informants reported 60 medicinal plants that are used
to treat both human and animal diseases. Of which 14 individuals reported 6-11
medicinal plants. The female informants reported five medicinal plants: Glinus lotoides, Momordica foetida, Brassica
carinata, Justicia schimperiana
and Zingiber officinale that are used
to treat ‘mich’, ‘kosso’ (Tapeworm) and ‘hodkurtet’ (stomachache). The 60
medicinal plant species are distributed across 40 families and 58 genera. In terms
of number of medicinal plant species, Asteraceae are the dominant family (4
genera, 5 species) followed by Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae and Poaceae (3 genera,
3species), Amaryllidaceace, Brassicaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Lamiaceae, Olacaceae,
Sapindaceae, Solanaceae and Verbenaceae each has two genera and two species.
The rest have one species each [12].
The medicinal plants
species are used to treat 45 diseases. Twenty-two are used to treat
gastrointestinal illness and intestinal parasites followed by 17 for internal
and respiratory diseases, 14 for evil eye, 13 for skin infection and external
injuries, 11for cancer and swellings and 6 for ‘mich’. Three medicinal plants
are used as a remedy for rabies, 2 for snakebite and 2 for venereal disease and
impotence. Fourteen multiple plants treatments with different combinations of
medicinal plants are used to treat cancer, evil eye, internal and external
illnesses. Six are used to treat internal illness followed by 3 for evil eye
and 2 for cancer and gastrointestinal illness. The highest number of medicinal
plants in a multiple medicinal plants prescription is ten that is used to treat
evil eye. Analysis of the growth forms of the medicinal plants used in single
treatment elucidated that 33 species are herbs, 10 shrubs, 9 trees and 2
climbers. In multiple treatments, 26 are herbs, 17 trees, 7 shrubs and 1
climber. The herbaceous species constituted the largest number or proportion in
both types of treatments [12].
A study conducted in
Laelay Adi-yabo, Northern Ethiopia reported that a total of 37 medicinal plant
species belonging to 37 genera and 24 families. The habits of the plants were
29% each (shrubs, trees and herbs) and 10% climbers. Most frequently used plant
part were leaves (34%) followed by roots (24%), seed (6%) and the remaining
were other parts. Crushing was the most common way of remedy preparation.
While, healing knowledge transfer varies within family. The result of the study
revealed the existence of traditional healing knowledge had conserved the
diversity of medicinal plants [13]. Seventy-two plant species distributed into
48 families and70 genera were documented as having medicinal value in the study
area. Sixty-five (71%) of the medicinal plants were collected from natural
vegetation and 27 (29%) from home gardens. Of these 45 (62%) were used as human
medicines 15 (21%) as livestock medicines and 13(18%) were used for treating
both human and livestock diseases [14].
DISCUSSION
Traditional medicine
plays a significant role in the healthcare of the majority of the people in
developing countries, including Ethiopia, and medicinal plants provide valuable
contribution to this practice. Emerging evidence indicates that cancer is
becoming one of major health problems in Ethiopia. Relying primarily on field
surveys, there have been recent efforts to assess the use of Ethiopian
traditional medicinal plants for treatment of various diseases including
cancer. The present paper is an overview of the literature reporting the use of
these plants for cancer treatment. It was reported that 30 species of plants
were used for treating human cancer, with most of them belonging to different
plant families. In addition to cancer, a large majority of the plants were also
used against various types of other diseases. For most of the plants reported
(73%), there was some kind of independent experimental/clinical evidence
supporting their claimed anticancer activity. A small number of medicinal
plants (13%) were mentioned to be used only in Ethiopia for cancer treatment,
but no experimental/clinical confirmation was available [15].
Herbal therapy appears
to play a prominent role in Ethiopian traditional medicine. Ethiopia is
considered the home of some of the most diverse plant species in Africa that
serve as sources of many traditional medicinal plants. In Ethiopia, medicinal
plants contribute, to about 80% of the traditional medicines used in the
country (the others being animal and mineral origins) [16,17]. Most of these
plants are obtained from local sources in the wild by knowledge able
traditional practitioners. It has been reported that approximately 800species
of the medicinal plants grown in Ethiopia are used for treating about 300
medical conditions [18].
About one hundred
fifty four plant species find applications by the traditional medical
practitioners of the country to treat different types of mental disorders.
Those plants were identified and distributed in 61 families. According to this
report there is high species diversity of medicinal plants used which may be
due to the climate variation that exists with the different parts of the
country. Families, Fabaceae and Asteraceae each account 18 (11.7%) and 17
(11%), respectively [19]. In the traditional treatment of mental illnesses in
Ethiopia, various plants parts either in combination, whole plant part or alone
are employed. In the combination scenario, the practitioners may believe that
the active therapeutic ingredients found at two or more parts of the plant.
According to this review, root was the most commonly used plant part in the
preparation of remedies as compared to other parts. But, the use of plants
roots for various purposes has its own problems on the survival of the plant
species [19].
CONCLUSION
Traditional Healers
still play a great role in the primary health care systems in Ethiopia. The
sparsely distributed forests were important resources of healers and
repositories of medicinal plants gene pools.
COMPETING INTERESTS
The authors declare
that they have no competing interests.
AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTION
GT and GG wrote and
edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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