Embracing herbal medicine

In their quest for food during the nomadic era, human beings encountered some edible plants that produced bizarre and unusual effects on their health and well-being.

Some of them would relieve pain and counteract disease.

Today, such experiences, which have been passed from generation to generation, are recognised for their vital role in global health.

The herbs form the origin of modern medicine, with a quarter of conventional prescribed drugs originating from plants.

However, herbal medicines were discarded from traditional medical practice in the middle of the 20th century not because they were primitive or ineffective, but less profitable for pharmaceutical companies. Interestingly, the interest in ‘natural health’ and herbal products grew in the 1960s as a result of worries about the adverse side effects of conventional medicine.

In fact, one researcher found that almost all rural Malawians could be practising herbalists as they know plants that can cure some diseases, including diarrhoea.

The rural dwellers also use herbs as preventive medicine against snake bites, wild animals, witches and bad luck.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) acknowledges the significant role of herbal medicine in providing essential care.

WHO encourages countries to incorporate traditional medical practices into their health systems as over eight in 10 Africans use medicinal plants and herbal remedies as traditional medicine.

In 1963, a meeting convened by Malawi’s founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda at the Kwacha International Conference Centre in Blantyre acknowledged the importance of traditional medicine in Malawi.

The summit gave rise to the African Traditional Medicine Association of Central Africa, renamed the International Traditional Medicine Council of Malawi in 1974.

Regrettably, many medicine-like products on the Malawian herbal market remain unregistered.

Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to find any documentation on the use of herbal medicine in Malawi.

Besides, the use and trade of unprocessed herbal products are loosely regulated.

The country should close the information gap before the herbs can be used in conventional medicine.

Misinformation abounds in books and online as much of the literature is published to market products using unsubstantiated claims.

However, herbal medicines can no longer be disregarded by conventional clinicians.

Health workers must be aware that many patients use herbal remedies, so they have to understand their properties and effects. As such, they should be willing to talk about herbal remedies with their patients.

When a patient discloses using herbs, the clinician may have the chance to persuade them towards conventional medical treatment which is more efficient.

However, education, training and research in herbal medicine do not receive the attention and support they deserve.

Some patients occasionally combine herbal medicine and prescription medications.

The potential danger associated with the interaction of the two drugs in the body leaves clinicians and medical laboratory scientists concerned about patients’ safety.

When a patient is taking conventional medication, herbal preparations should only be taken with caution and only under the guidance of herbalists who understand the relevant conventional pharmacology.

Regardless, consumers need assurance that the herbal remedies they are buying are safe and contain what they are supposed to.

Consumers should also be given science-based information on dosage, side effects and efficacy.

To achieve this, the Ministry of Health should work closely with the Malawi Bureau of Standards, the Pharmacy and Medicine Regulatory Authority, researchers, academic institutions.

The selection, preparation and application of herbal medicines can be guided by thousands of years of traditional use.

However, this requires rigorous scientific and clinical validation to demonstrate their safety and efficacy before can be recognised as a potent alternative to contemporary medicine.