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The newly published PROTA 11(1):Medicinal plants handbook has been highly commended for its comprehensiveness and in-depth documentation of medicinal plants by participants at the just concluded sixth brainstorming workshop on medicinal plants.
The workshop, held in Nairobi from November 16-19, attracted over 30 participants drawn from universities, research institutions and developmentorganizations from across tropical Africa. Researchers, developers and those from academia felt that the hand book forms a good basis for research and an excellent reference material.
The participants were unanimous in their call to move a step further, from documentation, synthesis to product Brainstorm workshop on medicinal plants: Well done, but what next? development if this information is to improve the livelihoods of people in Africa and beyond.
“A lot of data/information has been synthesized on medicinal plants of tropical Africa. There is a lot of information on which plant are used to treat what diseases, the chemical and pharmacological properties of these medicinal plants and even the active ingredients responsible for the therapeutic effects,” stated Prof. Sanogo Rokia, Department of Traditional Medicine, University of Bamako, Mali. “What is required now is the development and promotion of phytomedicine to treat common diseases like malaria, HIV, sickle cell anemia, diabetes and hypertension among others.”
Participants of the Sixth PROTA brainstorming workshop on medicinal plants
She recommended two approaches to development of phytomedicine in Africa: one, develop drugs from crude extracts; two, isolate molecules for industrial drug development.
Mrs. Julie Asante-Dartey, Country Manager, Agribusiness in Natural Plant Products, Ghana, noted that there was great need for further research and work to develop products locally from the numerous alkaloids in the plants to diversify the current use and market for the medicinal plants. Kasaija Amooti, Tooro Herbal Medicine and Research Centre, Uganda, reiterated the need to move from theory to practice. “It is good we have received all these information and theory on medicinal plants. It is now time for practical trainings on how to prepare the herbal remedies. We should not confi ne the use of the book for informational purposes only, but translate the information into products – tinctures, infusions, decoctions, syrups, herbal soaps and jellies among other herbal products.”
Amooti recommended that this knowledge be disseminated for instance to schools, communities, women groups among others.
However, most participants felt that moving form knowledge synthesis to product development needs government support. Unlike in Asia, where the governments long recognized the social, economic and commercial importance of traditional medicine, many African governments have either ignored it or paid lip service to its development. Very few countries have polices and regulatory frameworks on traditional medicine or medicinal plants. There are neither guidelines/ regulations governing the exploitation of medicinal plants nor the regulation of herbal medicine.
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