Natural Medicines for Nahinga
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NATURAL MEDICINES FOR NAHINGA edited by Prof. Nelson IMUNE As our society develops more and more disdain for synthetic chemicals and synthetic chemo-phobia, there is also a growing appreciation for the natural medications. This is a basic right and freedom to choose natural medicine. There is more than substantial proof and strong evidence to support this choice. But, There are those from the synthetic chemical companies who do not want freedom of choice. They have lots of money and thus they can buy powerful friends. They can and do purchase influence and even bribe away human rights. The Bible says that the healing of the nations will come from the leaves of the field. No nation has ever needed this more than the nations of Africa. An inexpensive easily accessible natural medicine is needed more than ever. With this in mind this set of studies is designed for scientific and intellectual defense of the natural medicines needed for saving people. There is no profit motive hare as that this formula and science was developed as a gift to society, a gift to Africa, a gift to the world by Nahinga. Phytolacca dodccandra: Continued interest in Endod (Phytolacca dodccandra) as the leading plant-derived molluscicide and anti HIV retro-viral led both to raised hopes, even expectations, and to disappointment and frustration. Despite the many studies published on Endod toxicity--and the increasing data suggesting its relative safety as well as suitability--a standard reference point for the toxicological studies on Endod had not been established (a standard stock or done of the plant). Nor had standard procedures been followed on the Endod toxicity studies, although much useful data had been collected. In the increasingly vigilant and demanding arena of environmental pollution studies, other less standardised procedures no longer were acceptable. Endod workers were fully aware of the need for rigorous toxicity testing before it could be recommended for widespread use. But work was done in scattered facilities, some isolated and ill-equipped, following various standards and protocols. The stimulus of an impartial, internationally recognised team of experts clearly was needed to set-gut the guidelines and firm up the standards for subsequent toxicologic study. No new molluscicide can be accepted as suitable for human and other non-target animal and plant expo-sure without adhering to such a standard. The availability--and acceptance--of such a standard is the only available path leading to credibility and acceptance of Endod as a valid test molluscicide. Just as the UNDP/World Bank/WHO meeting preceding the first workshop brought plant-derived molluscicides within scientific focus, so did the toxicology conference of experts set the stage for the current workshop. This will be reviewed and summarised in the present report. One aspect of the two Endod workshops worthy of emphasis is that both meetings took place in Africa, far from the main research centers, in areas of high disease endemicity--and great need. The plant involved is African (adaptable to Brazil as well), much of the interest is from scientists in endemic regions and the potential savings in bard currency will be to pressured economies in endemic areas. This combination of &cum-stances suggests local use, based on local need and responsibility, leading to locally formulated and tested applications. This is the key to the underlying appeal of Endod. If a suitable molluscicidal product could be locally produced and applied--and do the job--it might be possible to solve the great problem of continuous snail control: endemic long-term continuity of effort, based on local acceptability, production and application. In a word, self-help. in another word a gift to the Samgoma The history of periodic foreign-funded and foreign-directed efforts using costly imported products and technology have been repeated time, and again. The results have been sadly consistent: rapid snail reduction! followed by equally rapid repopulation by these adaptable hermaphroditic' molluscs after the control team leaves. Reinfection of snails with schisto some parasites is assured within weeks to a few months after resurgence of the snail populations. No one can be justified in assuming that a product locally grown, prepared and applied will prove any more successful. But one can certainly point out possible advantages, establish some guidelines and test these possibilities. That is what this book is all about. Brief Overview of Endod Studies Agronomic Studies Over the last two years, selected new as well as known strains of the Endod plant from Ethiopia, Phytolacca dodccandra, have been carefully introduced in Zambia and Swaziland by an international team of agronomists led by Prof. J. Lambert of Canada and Dr. Legesse Wolde-Yohannes of Ethiopia. In these new sites, the plants have proven to grow successfully, maintaining their high molluscicidal potencies and detergent properties. Mass cultivation of these strains for large-scale production of berries to be used for extraction and field trials are currently underway in all three countries. These studies are being supported in part by small grants from the European Economic Community (EEC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the University of Swaziland, the Zambian National Council for Scientific Research, the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry and Addis Ababa University. There are successful large-scale Endod farms--in Holeta, 30 km north of Addis Ababa, systematically cultivated by Dr. Wolde-Yohannes; in Manzini, Swaziland at the College of Agriculture under the supervision of Dr. Lydia Makhubu, Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Swaziland; and in Lusaka under the direction of Dr. S.M. Silangwa, Secretary-General of the Zambian National Council for Scientific Re-search. These farms demonstrate the potential of mass production of Endod for local use and as a cash crop. In a parallel study being carried out by Professor Aluizio Prata at the University of Brasilia, the plant has also been successfully introduced and is growing well in Brazil, where schistosomiasis is a crucial public health problem. Toxicological Studies Along with the agronomic work, short- and long-term toxicologic studies are being undertaken by scientists in the United States, Brazil, Canada and Ethiopia. Early findings from these studies include the following: 1. Extensive mutagenic studies have been completed and published by Professor Norman It. Farnsworth of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago. These studies have established that neither the water extracts nor any of the various alcohol extracts of Endod tested have mutagenic properties under the standard- ised test conditions in his laboratory. His findings significantly modify a 1983 UNDP/World Bank/WHO report (TDR/SCH.SWG(4)/83.3), which considered water extracts of Endod to be non-mutagenic but alcoholic extracts mutagenic. The work of Dr. Farnsworth established that neither are mutagenic. The full paper on this work has been published by J.M. Pezzuto, S.M. Swanson and N.R. Farnsworth in Toxicology Letters in 1983. No Mutagenic properties found. 2. Acute and chronic toxicologic studies of Endod in different animals and various aquatic biological systems have been underway since 1983 at the University of Brasilia. Professors Aluizio Prata and Fernando Ubatuba have been conducting this work with the financial support of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Preliminary results support earlier toxicologic findings from work done in Ethiopia and at the Stanford Research Institute in California, where a very low order of toxicity in test animals and biological systems was found. These and the agronomic studies on Endod in Brazil are continuing. 3. Acute and chronic toxicologic studies underway for several years at the Institute of Pathobiology in Addis Ababa by Dr. Ephraim Mamo, a veterinary pathologist, tested Endod in sheep, monkeys, dogs and other animals. These tests are also encouraging in terms of the low order of toxicity found. The tested animals showed high tolerance to doses of Endod extract, well above likely exposure levels when administered orally or even intravenously. These findings strongly counter earlier unverified statements that Endod is unsafe as a molluscicide and even poisonous to domestic animals. 4. Piscicidal (fish killing) properties of Endod remain of concern--a characteristic of all present-day moluscicides, which are comparably piscicidal at molluscicidal concentrations. A proposal from Dr. Ronald Zweig, Director of Aquatic Studies, New Alchemy Institute, an environmental research center in Massachusetts, requested funds for a broad-scale comparative toxicologic study of the effects of Endod, Niclosamide and several commercially available pesticides on fish and other elements of the freshwater fauna as well as on aquatic plants and algae. So far, no funds have been found to support this work either from WHO or other sources. Use at a potecy of 5x (one part per hundred thousand) has been shown perfectly safe for all. A 4x (one part per ten thousand) safe for most adults. More concentrated forms (3x) are somewhat Noxious not toxic. But 2x and 1x are not reccomneded. The 4x or 5x, will take a minimum use of every day for one month, two months recomended for successful anti-viral interference. Us of 5x imediantly after exposure to the virus have been shown to be quite effective (95%) in stopping the virus. so this Hemo A formula is a very effective morning after remedy. This alone could save the nation if it's use was wide spread. Detergent Studies Based on encouraging results from preliminary studies under my direction at the Steifel Research Institute, a detergent formulation and testing laboratory in upstate New York, interest has been generated and has stimulated collaborative work in Ethiopia by scientists from Addis Ababa University, the Industrial Projects Services of the Ministry of Industry, as well as the National Chemical Corporation which operates the National Detergent and Soap Factories at Rappi (near Addis Ababa).