My Chosen Case Study:
PROMOTION OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES' STRATEGIES FOR THE CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL-PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES IN AFRICA.
In Africa more than 80 per cent of the continent's population relies on plant and animal based medicine to meet its health care requirements. For the most part the plants and animals used in traditional medicine are collected from the wild, and in many cases, demand exceeds supply. As Africa's population grows, demand for traditional medicines will increase and pressure on natural resources will become greater than ever. Africa has a history of conserving bio-diversity in medicinal plants for at least two reasons: traditional practices surrounding their use reflect local knowledge and wisdom, and the plants are readily available and relatively cheap—being either easy to gather in the wild, or simple to cultivate in Herbalists have preserved traditional knowledge and practices of herbal medicine, often using it in combination with spiritual powers. Certain families keep their recipes secret. Plants continue to provide most of the rural population of Africa with ingredients for traditional medicines. Throughout the continent for many generations, small plots of land near the homesteads have been used as home gardens. Because these gardens serve a family's own needs, they contain a wh*** range of plants that provide food and medicine. They are used widely to prevent and treat common ailments, but their conservation also means that the indigenous knowledge associated with their unique properties and correct application will be preserved.
Through a combination of participatory research and development action involving local communities, project workers first learn about the local communities' own solutions for conserving medicinal plants and for putting them to safe and effective use for traditional health care. Appropriate incentives then provide further encouragement of community efforts to safeguard bio-diversity at the village level. Economic incentives include seed funds, the promotion of income-generating activities, and help with marketing. Social incentives include technical assistance and training, information and consciousness-raising related to conservation, the provision of equipment, and technical and scientific advice and assistance. Institutional incentives include guarantees of full property rights, and the establishment of local committees and associations for purposes of monitoring and planning.
The fact that income can be generated from medicinal plants and traditional medicines helps to sustain the practice of cultivating them. Recognition for the value of traditional medicine and medicinal plants will foster sustainable methods of propagation and cultivation. Traditional knowledge and practices pertaining to medicinal plants will be preserved as herbal medicines are increasingly used to complement other forms of community health care.
An Example of This Case Study in Action in my Country South Africa:
Medicinal plants are an integral part of African culture, one of the oldest and most diverse in the world. In South Africa, 21st century drug therapy is used side-by-side with traditional African medicines to heal the sick. While plants have been used in African medicine to treat fever, asthma,constipation, esophagealcancer and hypertension, scientific analyses of the purported benefits of many plants is still scant. A team of researchers has now examined the effectiveness of 16 plants growing in the country's Kwa-Zulu Natal region and concluded that eight plant extracts may hold value for treating high blood pressure(hypertension).
Researchers have recorded (1962) that the plants was pounded into formulations and used by native South Africans to relieve stomach ailments, rheumatism and high fevers. Other researchers found (1966) that native South Africans rubbed the leaves of plants on the head for sinus headaches and used plant infusions for colic and restlessness in young children. The most direct discovery is the 1993 finding that large doses of popular garlic preparations significantly decreased the diastolic blood pressure in human patients 5-14 hours after the dose with no significant side effects. In addition, wild and cultivated garlic preparations were shown to decrease systolic blood pressure in rats.
In this study Tulbaghia violacea (Plant) has shown properties related to lowering blood pressure. Since the number of hypertensive individuals around the world is on the rise, it is worthwhile to pursue further studies involving this extract. Yesterday's folk remedies may one day be just what the 21st century doctor orders.
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