The Status of Medicinal Plants in Central African Countries 79 5.1 Introduction 79 5.2 Burundi 80 5.3 Cameroon 81 5.4 Central African Republic 86 5.5 D

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Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences and Technologies ICS-UNIDO, AREA Science Park Padriciano 99, 34012 Trieste, Italy Tel.: +39-040-9228108 Fax: +39-040-9228136 E-mail: [email protected] Compendium of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants AFRICA

Karan Vasisht Vishavjit Kumar Preface

Africa is the world’s second largest continent after Asia, both in terms of area and population. The continent has a unique diversity of geographic and climatic factors and exceptionally rich, varied flora with an estimated 68,000 plant species, of which about 35,000 are known to be endemic. Madagascar is renowned for the highest percentage of plant species endemism in the world. Despite vast natural resources, most African countries are still struggling to provide basic amenities for their people. Health facilities are deplorable and most of the population continues to rely on traditional remedies derived from medicinal plants. The rich cultural heritage of using medicinal plants for health maintenance could have a wider ramification and potential in discovering new medicines. Medicinal plant resources in Africa are also the major source of income. In addition to domestic trade, medicinal plants are widely exported in large volumes to the international market. The continent comes second to Asia in export figures. The increased awareness of medicinal plant potential has led to a rising demand for plant medicines in the USA, Europe and Japan. The global market of herbal drugs is estimated to be about US$ 60 bn per year, growing at a rate of 7%. Increasing demand has resulted in unsustainable use of medicinal plants all over the world and particularly in Africa where poverty is widespread, opportunities to make quick profits from the sale of medicinal plants abound, and there is a lack of regulatory mechanisms and their en- forcement. Large-scale deforestation has added to the problem. The situation in the medicinal plant sector has undergone a dramatic change in the last two decades. All over the world much importance is being given to the documentation of knowledge on traditional health remedies, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, cultivation, value addition, and development of standards for indigenous drugs. Unfortunately it is difficult to find comprehensive information in this sector at a global level. In an attempt to overcome this lack, the International Centre for Science and High Technology (ICS) is in the process of compiling a compendium of medicinal and aromatic plants for each continent. The present and first volume in the series is devoted to Africa, that possesses a vast treasure of medicinal plants and has produced some exclusive materials such as Prunus africana and pyrethrum for the world market. The compilation, in addition to the resources and status of medicinal plants in each African country, presents an over-

I view of the socio-economic importance and ecological impact of the use of medicinal and aromatic plants. The available qualitative and quantitative data on medicinal plant resources, R&D activities, the status of their use in traditional systems of medicine and the trade and marketing situation have been compiled for each country. Most of the information presented is of an indicative nature, primarily based on published and unpublished reports and does not necessarily reflect official views or statistics. This volume is expected to strengthen the medicinal plant sector in African countries by making comprehensive information on medicinal and aromatic plants available to policy-makers and entrepreneurs to frame effective policies and create an environment conducive to the growth of the plant-based medicine industry, bringing economic benefit to African nations from the rising world demand for medicinal plants. It will help health organizations to improve the health of their people by using their own resources and a less expensive system of medicine, which is accepted by African society. It could also lead scientific communities to augment R&D activities in the field.

Gennaro Longo Director of Environment Area Special Adviser on Technology Development

II Contents Page Introduction 1

1. The Status of Medicinal Plants in North African Countries 5 1.1 Introduction 5 1.2 Algeria 5 1.3 Egypt 6 1.4 Libya 13 1.5 Morocco 16 1.6 Tunisia 17

2. The Status of Medicinal Plants in West African Countries 23 2.1 Introduction 23 2.2 Benin 24 2.3 Burkina Faso 25 2.4 Côte d’Ivoire 26 2.5 Gambia 26 2.6 Ghana 26 2.7 Guinea 30 2.8 Guinea-Bissau 31 2.9 Mali 31 2.10 Niger 33 2.11 Nigeria 34 2.12 Senegal 37 2.13 Sierra Leone 37 2.14 Togo and Chad 38

3. The Status of Medicinal Plants in East African Countries 41 3.1 Introduction 41 3.2 Djibouti 42 3.3 Eritrea 42 3.4 Ethiopia 42 3.5 Kenya 52

III Page 3.6 Somalia 55 3.7 Sudan 56 3.8 Tanzania 61 3.9 Uganda 66

4. The Status of Medicinal Plants in Insular East African Countries 71 4.1 Introduction 71 4.2 Madagascar

5. The Status of Medicinal Plants in Central African Countries 79 5.1 Introduction 79 5.2 Burundi 80 5.3 Cameroon 81 5.4 Central African Republic 86 5.5 D. R. Congo 86 5.6 Equatorial Guinea 87 5.7 Gabon 88 5.8 Republic of Congo 89 5.9 Rwanda 90 5.10 Sao Tome and Principe 91

6. The Status of Medicinal Plants in South African Countries 97 6.1 Introduction 97 6.2 Angola 105 6.3 Botswana 105 6.4 Lesotho 106 6.5 Malawi 106 6.6 Mozambique 108 6.7 Namibia 110 6.8 South Africa 112 6.9 Swaziland 118 6.10 Zambia 118 6.11 Zimbabwe 120

IV Introduction

Africa is the world’s second largest to one of the world’s largest rainforests con- continent after Asia, both in terms of area stituting many medicinal plant species of and population. The mainland and the is- commercial importance. There are about land nations in the southwestern Indian 3,000 medicinal plant species in southern Ocean and Atlantic Ocean constitute the Africa of which 10% have found common floristically rich and diverse sub-Saharan and widespread uses in traditional health- Africa. care systems. Northern Africa has about Africa has a rich diversity of flora 10,000 plant species of which around 70% with an estimated 68,000 plant species of are known to be valuable as food and medi- which about 35,000 are endemic to the cines among other uses. Over 10% of the continent. Madagascar has the highest region’s floristic diversity has potential for rate of species endemism. About 82% of commercial exploitation and half of them a total of 10,000 to 12,000 species are are underutilized. endemic to the country. The lowland rain- About 80% of the African population forests of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, relies on traditional medicine for health- Liberia and Nigeria; the montane forests care needs. Some people use traditional of eastern Congo, Rwanda and western medicine only, while others combine it with Uganda; the coastal areas of Kenya and conventional drugs. The use of medicinal Tanzania; and the arid lands of Ethiopia, plants by local people accounts for 70% Namibia and Somalia are known as the or more of basic health-care treatments in major centres of species endemism. Africa. Traditional medical practitioners Medicinal plants, and the drugs de- (TMPs) are a crucial component of the rived from them, are the most important health-care delivery system. Medicinal and readily available source of health-care plants are used mainly in local, traditional remedies to rural people in Africa. In east- medicine rather than exported to foreign ern Africa, many biological resources are markets. Demand is increasing and often used for obtaining pharmaceuticals that exceeds supply. have a high national and international eco- The health budget for Africa is nomic value. Western Africa is the home largely spent on conventional medicine and

1 is not sufficient to meet requirements. samples of temperate flora from South Public expenditure on health is about 2% Africa for anticancer and anti HIV/AIDS of gross domestic product (GDP) and ac- screening programmes of the United States cess to health services and sanitation National Cancer Institute. The Royal Bo- stands at 64 and 49% respectively. In tanic Garden, Kew, London, the UK, has a addition, the ratio of modern medical doc- similar project in Africa. tors and facilities to population is inad- Many African countries have made equate. The State cannot afford to pro- efforts to formulate policies on traditional vide costly modern medicines for everyone. medicine, recognized the role of TMPs and As a result, most of the rural population established departments of traditional relies on TMPs. pharmacopoeia. Despite these efforts, Africa accounts for only 5% of glo- many constraints and problems hinder the bal pharmaceutical trade. However, for development of traditional medicine in crude drugs it is next to Asia for the ex- Africa. Herbal medicines have not been port of medicinal and aromatic plants. officially recognized in most countries and Medicinal plants are a common item at ur- their regulation and registration have not ban markets. Most medicinal plant mate- been established. In countries with appar- rial is exported to Europe and the rest to ent recognition, appropriate budgeting to the USA and Asia. In 1996 about 26,500 facilitate the functioning of traditional tonnes of medicinal and aromatic plant medicine authorities is inadequate or to- material were exported to Europe. tally lacking. The traditional medicine Most medicinal plant material is community operates outside the framework sourced from wild collection and some from of national legislation for collection and cultivation. Over-exploitation and habitat trade in wild species. Many African coun- destruction of commercially important tries do not have procedures to register me- medicinal plant resources threatens their dicinal plant preparations although these existence in the wild. The World Bank, are widely used by the majority of popula- the International Development Research tion. Regulation, if any, is very stringent, Centre (IDRC), and the Danish Agency for requiring the same standards as modern Development Assistance (DANIDA), medicines. In brief, it can be concluded among many other international agencies, that the medicinal plant sector in Africa is are making considerable efforts to conserve highly unorganized. African biodiversity. The Missouri Botani- The increasing interest on medicinal cal Garden, St. Louis, the USA is collect- and aromatic plants, the global resurgence ing specimen samples of tropical flora from of plant-based medicines and their poten- Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, tial to provide viable alternatives to con- Gabon, Madagascar and Tanzania, and ventional drugs prompted the International

2 Centre for Science and High Technology frame effective policies, formulate projects (ICS-UNIDO) to prepare a document on to augment the R&D activities and create the status of medicinal and aromatic plants an environment conducive to the growth in Africa. The document presents in-depth of plant-based medicine. It will help Afri- information on medicinal plant resources can countries to improve the health of their including R&D activities, and the trade and populations, using their own resources and marketing situation in African countries. a system of medicine which is less expen- The intention is to help policy-makers, the sive than modern medicine and already ac- scientific community and entrepreneurs to cepted by African society.

3 Chapter 1

The Status of Medicinal Plants in North African Countries

1.1 Introduction 1.2 Algeria

North Africa includes Algeria, Egypt, In Algeria, there are about 3,164 Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia species of vascular plants (EGA, 2001). (Walter, 2001). The region consists of the Medicinal and aromatic plants are used by biota of semi-closed Mediterranean and the local communities as well as by TMPs. Red seas, with diverse ecosystems consti- The most widely used medicinal plant spe- tuting about 10,000 vascular plant species include Adansonia digitata L., Acacia cies (Hegazy, 2000, 2000a). It has arid, albida Delile, A. nilotica (L.) Delile, Boscia semi-arid and a range of sub-climatic senegalensis (Pers.) Poir., Balanites zones. The Mediterranean basin is one of aegyptiaca Del., Anogeissus leiocarpa the 25 internationally recognized biodi- (DC.) Guill. et al., Salvadora persica L., versity hot spots in the world and it has Commiphora africana Engl., Prosopis extraordinary plant diversity and species juliflora (Sw.) DC. and Sclerocarya birrea endemism. Morocco has the highest rate (A. Rich.) Hochst. (FAO, 1992). of species endemism in the region (WCMC, As regards the Algerian Public Health 1992). Code of 23 October 1976, the practice of About 70% of plant species found in medicine without a licence is an offence the wild have medicinal, aromatic and (Anonymous, 1978). Herbalists are allowed other uses. Over 10% of these have the to practise traditional medicine without a potential for commercial exploitation as a licence under the Section 364 of the Code. source of drugs and pharmaceuticals (Ucko This monopoly on the practice of medicine and Dimbleby, 1969; WWF and IUCN, was retained and fortified in the Law 85- 1994; UNESCO/UCO, 1998). There is 05 of 16 February 1985 relating to health potential for developing herbal-based in- protection and promotion, which replaced dustry in the region. the Code from 1976 (Anonymous, 1985). The broad language of provisions contained in Section 214 emphasizes the exclusion of traditional medicine.

5 1.3 Egypt Traditional Systems of Medicine

Egypt has a long history of use of The practice of traditional medicine medicinal and aromatic plants and drugs, in Egypt is limited to very few TMPs (WHO, prevalent since the pre-dynastic Amratian, 1992). In Egypt, all herbal preparations Badarian and Gerzean cultures. Egyptian and products should meet the same stand- knowledge of medicinal plants, their uses ards as manufactured chemical prepara- and methods of application was supposedly tions. Herbal preparations and products enriched in the period from 600 to 3000 are manufactured in a licensed pharma- B.C., following the migration of people ceutical plant according to local and in- from Abyssinia to the Nile Valley. Evidence ternational good manufacturing practices of widespread use of medicinal and aro- (GMPs). These products are registered matic plants in ancient Egypt was found in with the Central Administration of Phar- the fossil studies of food remains in the in- maceutical Affairs. The National Organi- testinal tracts of the mummies of the Kings zation for Drug Control and Research is of the First Dynasty (3000 B.C.) and pres- responsible for undertaking medicinal plant ence of flower essences coupled with me- analysis and inspection of herbal prepara- dicinal herbs in the tombs of the Kings of tions and products for safety. Herbal the Fourth Dynasty. The earliest written preparations and products are priced ac- record of herbal medicines practice in Egypt cording to the law and are distributed ex- was found in the medical books “Ebers Pa- clusively to pharmacies. pyrus”, dating back to the sixteenth century B.C. These books contain 877 prescriptions Medicinal Plant Resources and recipes based on many medicinal and The most impressive characteristic of aromatic plants. The medicinal plants Egypt is the presence of several oases that mentioned (opium, cannabis, myrrh, frank- represent enclaves for special rare and incense, castor oil, fennel, senna, thyme, endemic plants. In Egypt, a total of 2,121 henna, juniper, linseed, aloe and garlic) are species of native and naturalized vascular still in use. The ancient Egyptian herbal plants can be found and out of these, 54 medicines were respected in the Mediter- are endemic (Madcour and Zeid, 1996). ranean world and herbal knowledge was Egypt is home to many wild relatives of payed with gold, copper and slaves. pastoral medicinal and aromatic plants and Ever since the days of Cleopatra, food crops. Egypt has been closely associated with the The southern Sinai Peninsula is an perfume and cosmetics industry, while Al- important centre of plant diversity. It is exandria has long been the main school- strongly influenced by the continental flora ing centre for herbal medicines. and is one of the globally significant arid

6 and semi-arid ecosystems that capture high cies. Organic production techniques have inter-specific endemism. Out of 316 plant also been successfully tried. As organically species recorded in the plant inventories produced medicinal plant material is in of the St. Katherine protectorate of the Pe- considerable demand on the international ninsula, 102 are used for their medicinal, market, the organic production techniques aromatic, cosmetic and culinary properties. could play an instrumental role in regain- Forty-seven species have been considered ing the country’s position on the interna- as potential medicinal plants for human use tional market. and nine species for veterinary purposes. The state has established an author- Bedouins, the inhabitants of the St. ity to make an inventory of wild plants of Katherine protectorate, have ample knowl- medicinal value, registering them as a edge of medicinal plants and their uses and means of protecting private property and rely on them as a source of income. introducing a mechanized farming system Bedouin women traditionally collect and for their production. As a result of the ef- use these plants for medicinal, aromatic forts, more arable land has been brought and culinary use (Hobbs, 1985). The over- under commercial cultivation of medicinal exploitation of medicinal plant resources plants. Some cultivated medicinal plants to meet increased demand from local con- of high economic value are given in Table sumption, traditional healers (Hakims) and 2 and 3 (UNDP, 2001). medicinal plant traders threaten the exist- The leaves and flowers of Origanum ence of many important species of com- majorana L. are in considerable demand mercial value. Some important medicinal as flavouring agents in the food industry. and aromatic plants are given in Table 1 They are sourced from the Nile Valley. (UNDP, 2001). Various aromatic herbs or undershrubs of The Egyptian soil is world-famous for the genera Origanum and Majorana are growing high-quality plants. Many medici- also called marjoram. A list of some com- nal plant species are cultivated in the coun- mercially exploited medicinal and aromatic try. About 35,000 feddans (2.52 mn hec- plants in Egypt is given in Table 4 (UNDP, tare) of total arable land of 6 mn feddans 2001). (14,709 mn hectare) is under medicinal and aromatic plants cultivation (Anony- Herbal Drug Industry in Egypt mous, 2001). Medicinal plants cultivation The demand for medicinal and aro- is mainly concentrated in the regions of matic plants is increasing both at domestic Assuit, Fayyoum, Aswan and Matrouh, and international level. The Egyptian phar- Sharq al-Owainat and Siwa Oasis. Rose- maceutical industry was worth US$ 649.60 mary, wild thyme, sweet basil and henna mn in 2000. The annual import of herbal are the commercially cultivated plant spe- medicines grew to US$ 1.9 mn in 2000 from

7 Table 1: Some important medicinal and aromatic plants of Egypt

Bdotanical name Psart(s) use Therapeutical uses/indication Achillea fragrantissima (fForssk.) Sch. Bip. Lcea Eye lotion, coli Aerva javanica (tBurm. f.) Juss. ex Schult. Reoo Acne like conditions of the fac Anabasis articulata M,oq.-Tand. & DC. Whole plant Skin diseases, soap industry branch Apium graveolens Lt. Fsrui Bladder disease Artemisia herba-alba Atsso Wthole plan Antispasmodic, antiflatulen Artemisia judaica Ltour. Wthole plan Antispasmodic, anthelmintic, insec repellent Atraphaxis spinosa Lt. Wyhole plan Antidiabetic, skin allerg Balanites aegyptiaca D,el. Seed, fruit, flower Abdominal pain, purgative, antimalarial, bark and root antisyphilis, antirheumatic, skin and gastro-intestinal problems, cold, fever Ballota undulata (Sieber ex Fresen.) Wyhole plant Skin allerg Bentham Capparis cartilaginea Dtecne. Wchole plant, frui Antirheumati Capparis spinosa L,. Whole plant Antirheumatic branch Citrullus colocynthis (dL.) Schrad. Ftruit pulp and see Purgative, gastro-intestinal stimulan Cleome chrysantha Dtecne. Wshole plan Anthelmintic, infantile convulsion Cleome droserifolia Dtelile Wshole plan Anthelmintic, infantile convulsion Coriandrum sativum Lf. Feruit, lea Carminativ Crotalaria aegyptiaca Btenth. Wrhole plan Antitumou Cymbopogon proximus (Hochst. ex A. Lceaf Antispasmodi Rich) Stapf Fagonia mollis Dfel. Lcea Antibioti Foeniculum vulgare Mdill. Seee Skin lotions, stomachach Glinus lotoides Lt. Wshole plan Diarrhoea, bilious attack Globularia arabica Jtaub. & Spach Wshole plant, roo Burned skin, stomach disease Hammada elegans (dBunge) Botsch. Lseaf, see Labour problem Haplophyllum tuberculatum (Forssk.) A. Wchole plant Analgesi Juss. Heliotropium supinum Lt. Wehole plan Veterinary medicin Hibiscus sabdariffa Ld. Bau Herbal te Hyoscyamus muticus Lf. Lsea Bronchial disease Jasione montana Lt. Wchole plan Antispasmodic, kidney diseases, emeti Juncus sdpp. Ssee Labour problem Matricaria recutita Lr. Falowe Herbal te Mentha longifolia (fL.) Huds. Wchole plant, lea Antispasmodi Ochradenus baccatus Dtelile. Wchole plan Hair toni Ocimum basilicum Lt. Wshole plan Nausea, diuretic in kidney disease Ocinum menthaefolium Htochst. ex Benth. Lceaf, whole plan Analgesi Origanum syriacum Lt. Seeed, roo Urine retention, toothach Continued

8 Table 1 continued

Bdotanical name Psart(s) use Therapeutical uses/indication Peganum harmala Ld. Ssee Dental lotion Pimpinella anisum Lf. Drried powdered lea Kidney failure, cance Pimpinella schweinfurthii Adschers. Leaf, flower an Herbal tea small branch Psoralea plicata Ddel. Leaf, branch an Antibiotic for wounds, antiemetic bark Pulicaria stpp. Rcoo Antiemeti Retama raetum (hForssk.) Webb Bdranc Antirheumatic, analgesic, stimulant an tonic in amenorrhoea Rhus tripartita (fUcria) DC. Fdlower, lea Expectorant,col Salvadora persica Ld. Leeaf and po Purgativ Salvia acetabulosa Lf. Lcea Urinary tract diseases, antisepti Senna alexandrina Mtill. Wahole plan Bronchial asthm Solenostamma arghel Htayne Wshole plant, roo Digestion, skin disease Stachys aegyptiaca Pterson Wchole plan Antispasmodic, antiallergeni Teucrium polium Lt. Wyhole plan Antispasmodic, skin allerg Thymus decussatus Leaf, whole plant, Antispasmodic, toothache flower and root

a range of US$ 0.43 to 0.64 mn in 1999. Table 2: Cultivated medicinal plant species Most of the imports originate in China, in Egypt Taiwan and India (Gutberelt, 2000). Achillea fragrantissima (Forssk.) Sch. Bip. In order to recover the lost glory of Apium graveolens L. Artemisia herba-alba Asso the herbal industry in Egypt, the government Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. is promoting local production of herbal Coriandrum sativum L. medicines by making importation more dif- Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ficult. Recently, the government has raised Matricaria recutita L. non-tariff barriers on imports of herbal Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds. Ocimum basilicum L. medicines in order to support the local Ocimum menthaefolium Hochst. ex Benth. pharmaceutical industry in the production Origanum syriacum L. of food additives and herbal medicines. Pimpinella anisum L. There are about 150 herbal medicines cur- Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd. rently registered at the Egyptian Ministry of Health as food additives. Since Janu- ary 2000, in a bid to follow government istered as locally manufactured products. policy, 45 herbal products registered as Ragab Pharma is the major herbal imported food additives have been re-reg importer in the country. Its pharmaceuti-

9 cal division imports herbal medicines from products used in the treatment of heart European manufacturers such as Alsitan disorders, cancer, hepatitis and psychologi- (Germany), Cefac (Germany), Richelet cal, immunological and gastrointestinal (France) and Arkopharma (Switzerland). disturbances. It exports to U. Walter It is now taking the lead in home-based GmbH (Germany), and Euro Herb bio B.V. manufacturing of herbal medicine. In this (The Netherlands). direction, two new factories in Cairo and Arasi Lawrence Company, based in Alexandria have started production of five Assiut, processes essential oils and abso- herbal medicines since October 2000. lutes for domestic use and export. It also exports crude drugs. There are several Table 3: Potential medicinal plants of Egypt Cairo based companies dealing with herbal for commercialization medicinal products, such as Chemical In- Capparis sinaica dustries Development (CID) and El-Kahiro Capparis spinosa L. Hyoscyamus muticus L. Company that export medicinal herbal Lavandula coronopifolia Poiret. teas, natural products and cosmetics to Lavandula pubescens Decne most Arabian, some African and European Moringa peregrina Fiori countries. The Memphis Company manu- Senna spp. factures and exports extracts, phytophar- Solonostemma arghel Hayne Thymus decassatus maceuticals and crude drugs to Asia, Eu- Varthemia montana (Vahl) Boiss. rope, the USA and Canada. The Egyptian fragrance and flavour industry has become one of the most so- Sekem Biological Products Labora- phisticated industries in the region, with tories is the major herbal medicine manu- companies exporting raw materials and fin- facturer. The company produces a wide ished products to the Middle East, Africa range of herbal medicines for a variety of and Europe. Products such as jasmine, ge- illnesses including constipation, diarrhoea, ranium, basil and chamomile are exported. cough and the common cold. Most of the In addition to jasmine, chamomile, medications are registered as food addi- geranium, myrrh, basil, mint, thyme, rose- tives, only a few as herbal drugs. The medi- mary oils and henna, many other herbs cations registered as herbal drugs are for have considerable industrial potential in immunology and neuro-psychiatric disor- Egypt. Cymbopogon proximus (Hochst. ex ders. Sekem relies on integrating locally A. Rich) Stapf is used as a source of active available inputs in the manufacturing proc- constituent of proximal, an antispasmodic ess. In a joint venture with Gebrueder drug. It is interesting to note that the mar- Schaette, Germany the company manufac- ket value of C. proximus (Hochst. ex A. tures an array of natural pharmaceutical Rich) Stapf as a dry plant material exceeds

10 Table 4: List of some medicinal and aromatic plant species exported from Egypt

Beotanical name Cdommon nam Part(s) use Achillea fragrantissima (wForssk.) Sch. Bip. Ytarro Whole plan Anethum graveolens Ddill See Artemisia herba-alba Adsso Wformwoo Lea Artemisia judaica Ldour. Jfudean wormwoo Lea Calendula officinalis La. Clalendul Peta Capsicum annuum Lr. Htot red peppe Frui Senna alexandrina Maill. Sfenn Lea Carum carvi Ly. Cdarawa See Citrullus colocynthis (hL.) Schrad. Ctolocynt Dry frui Citrus sepp. Stmall dried orang Dry frui Corchorus olitorius Lw. Jfew's mallo Lea Coriandrum sativum Lr. Cdoriande See Eurca sativa Rdocket See Foeniculum vulgare Mlill. Cdommon fenne See Glosrostemo bruigurei Mtoghat Roo Glycyrrhiza glabra Ls. Ltiquorice root Roo Hibiscus sabdariffa Ls. Hribiscu Flowe Hyoscyamus muticus Le. Etgy. henban Whole plan Lactusa virosa Le. Ldettuc See Lawsonia inermis L). Hfenna (Egyptian Lea Ocimum basilicum Ll. Bfasi Lea Origanum majorana Lm. M-arjora Matricaria recutita Le. Crhamomil Flowe Mentha spicata Lt. Sfpearmin Lea Mentha piperita Lt. Pfeppermin Lea Portulaca oleracea La. Rdegl See Punica granatum Le. Ptomegranat Dry frui Ricinus communis Lt. Cdastor oil plan See Solenostemma arghel Hlayne Arrghe Flowe Tamarix skpp. Mtanna tamaris Whole plan Urginea maritima (lL.) Baker Stquil Whole plan Zygophyllum coccineum Lr. Btean cape Frui

that of the processed extract. The price of tial for industrial utilization of its saponins. the extract ranges from US$ 647.59 to Despite its nutritional and medicinal value, 1,295.20 per tonne, depending on the level balanites is practically not used in Egypt, of processing. probably because of its scattered natural Balanites aegyptiaca Del. has poten- growth in relatively small areas (Belal et

11 al., 1998). Hyoscyamus muticus L. is andrina Mill.), which grows wild and is known to contain a number of tropane al- cultivated, is also a significant export item. kaloids widely used for their mydriatic, Major markets for medicinal plants trade antispamodic and antiasthmatic properties. in Egypt are Attarin in Cairo, El-tour, It is a potential natural source of drugs Sharm El-Sheikh and Dahab. The small- for the pharmaceutical industry. Some scale pharmaceutical production units in drug companies have started to use El-tour also export some quantity of me- Salvadora persica L. extract in the manu- dicinal plant material. facture of toothpaste. Jatropha curcas L. In 1998, 5 tonnes plant material of is a promising and commercially viable each, Artemisia herba-alba Asso and Senna alternative to diesel oil. It has desirable alexandrina Mill., were exported from St. physicochemical and performance charac- Katherine protectorate. Most of the coun- teristics comparable to diesel (Reyagh, try’s demand for medicinal plants is 1997). sourced from the wild. The cost data for medicinal plant cultivation in the Nile Val- Trade and Marketing ley indicate a net revenue that ranges be- Medicinal, aromatic and spice crops tween US$ 5,000 and 13,290 per hectare. have the potential to boost Egyptian ex- The indicative prices of some medicinal ports. The potential export of these crops plants on the Cairo market are shown in lies in growing world demand. Trade in Table 5 (UNDP, 2001). medicinal plants plays only a small role in the Egyptian economy, although there is Table 5: Indicative prices of some medicinal plant species on the Cairo market an expanding private sector, which culti- Average retail vates and processes medicinal plants. Botanical name price (US$/kg) Egypt is world famous for its high-quality Artemisia judaica L9our. 10.7 raw material of over 150 medicinal and Artemisia herba-alba A8sso 3.8 aromatic plants. Cleome droserifolia D7elile 6.4 The annual export of medicinal plants Mentha longifolia (9L.) Huds. 10.7 Origanum syriacum L8. 3.8 is more than US$ 43.17 mn. High quality Salvia acetabulosa L7. 6.4 added value crops such as chamomile, fen- Senna alexandrina M1ill. 2.8 nel, and peppermint have the potential to Teucrium polium L3. 8.6 boost Egyptian exports. The country is the Thymus decussatus 9.71 main supplier of German chamomile (Mat- ricaria recutita L.). About 500 to 600 tonnes of Egyptian henbane (Hyoscyamus Egypt is one of the leading African muticus L.) are exported annually to Ger- exporters of medicinal and aromatic plant many. Alexandrian senna (Senna alex- material to the international market. The

12 country is the fifth biggest exporter of me- and has a huge underground water supply. dicinal plants worldwide. In the period The rest of the landmass is covered by a between 1992 and 1995, Egypt exported semi-desert region with sparse grazing 11,250 tonnes of medicinal plant material lands for sheep, goats, camels and cattle, per year, worth US$ 12.35 mn (Lange and and natural farmland along the Mediter- Mladenova, 1997). In 1995, the annual ranean coast. On the northwestern plains export of plants used for pharmaceutical, and in the northeastern highlands, farm- perfumery, insecticidal and fungicidal pur- ers use mainly traditional methods to grow poses (HS 1211) was valued at US$ 13.79 crops such as oranges, olives, almonds, mn. During the period 1993-97, the ex- wheat and grapes. port volume to the European Union regis- Medicinal Plant Resources tered an average of 4,266 tonnes. In 1999, 3,574 tonnes of dried basil leaf, worth US$ In Libya there are about 1,825 vas- 5.1 mn, were exported to the USA, prima- cular plant species, of which 134 are en- rily from Egypt and Mexico. Egypt also demic. About 450 species are reported to supplies smaller amounts of Hibiscus to the be of medicinal value (Auzi, 1999). Some international market. The main crops ex- important plant families are Apiaceae, ported are mint (Mentha spp.), basil Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae, Faba- (Ocimum spp.), sage (Salvia spp.), plants ceae, Brassicaceae and Abiaceae. Medici- for herbal teas and plants utilized for per- nal plants are distributed all over the coun- fumery, insecticidal and fungicidal pur- try especially in the Al-Jabel Al-Akhdar, poses. In 2001, Egypt exported 134.67 Ghadames, Gharian, Awbari and Tarhona tonnes of mint leaves (fresh and dried) regions. Many of these plants are associ- worth US$ 0.19 mn, 2,712 tonnes of basil ated with a long history of traditional use (fresh and dried) worth US$ 3.61 mn, 740 (Table 6) (Guenther, 1972; Rateeb et al. kg of sage (Salvia spp.) worth US$ 4,000, 1996). More than 100 species are exten- 217.79 tonnes of plants and plant parts sively used by Bedouins and local people used as herbal teas worth US$ 0.47 mn, in folk medicine drinks, or chewed fresh or and 117.16 tonnes of plants used in per- dry. They are used to cure dermal diseases, fumery, insecticidal, fungicidal or similar viral or bacterial infections, insect or ani- purposes worth US$ 0.25 mn. mal bites, burns and sometimes to treat hair problems. These medicinal plants are 1.4 Libya very well documented in different floras Libya has a total area of 1,759,540 (El-Gadi and Bshana, 1992; Kotb, 1985). square km of which about 90% is Sahara Many species of medicinal plants such as desert, with scattered oases. The largest Cupressus sempervirens L., Pinus oasis, Alkufra, lies beneath the desert rock halepensis Mill., Juniperus phoenicea L.,

13 Quercus coccifera L., Asperula arvensis L., medicine clinics as well as good manufac- Tribulus longipetalus Viv., Veronica turing practices in the production of herbal cymbalaria Bodard and Vahlia dichotoma medicinal products, which are mostly im- (Murray) Kuntze are threatened because ported from Italy and other European coun- of over-harvesting and diversion of forest tries. There is a lack of information on land to agriculture (Faraj et al., 1988; Al- formal trade of medicinal and aromatic Idrissi et al., 1996). There is an urgent plants. need to initiate programmes for collection and conservation of endangered and rare R&D Activities plant species to save them from extinction Scientific studies of the Libyan flora as a result of heavy grazing, human use began about 200 years ago when the Swed- and drought hazards that occur with in- ish scientist Joran Rothman (1773-1776) creasing frequency. collected many plant samples from west- The most famous medicinal plant of ern Libya and stored them at the Riks Libya is Silphium cyrenaicum (now ex- Museum in Sweden. Since then, countless tinct). It existed during Greek and Roman collectors and travellers have visited Libya, times (900 to 100 B.C.). It was used for and there has been considerable interest the treatment of many illnesses and was so in the plants of the region. A number of important to the economy that was sold by world scientists have undertaken botani- weight with silver or gold and it was de- cal expeditions in the country. P. della Cella picted on coins (Rateeb et al., 1996). It (1817) collected plants from the eastern has been reported that Silphium grew part of the country (Bomba gulf), D. Viviani abundantly in Cyrenacia (Al-Jabel Al- (1824) wrote the book Flora Libycee Akhdar region) but heavy exploitation led Speciments and included 1,200 plant sam- to its extinction hundreds years ago. Many ples, and Barratte & Durrand (1910) wrote scientists such as Keith (1965), Abulugma a book on Flora Libycee Prodromus with (1985), Alganay (1994) and Kamal (1999) 1,156 plant samples. During the Italian have suggested different species for occupation, R. Pampanini published Plantae Silphium, but their suggestions are ques- Tripolitanae in 1914 and Predromo della tionable. Flora Cirenaica in 1931. In 1942, R. Corti The herbal medicines most in demand visited the southen parts of the country, are chamomile, thyme and rosemary. Fezan and Ghat, and wrote a book about Libya exports medicinal plants to Egypt. his visit. In 1965, H. G. Keith published Trade is handled by the private sector. two volumes of A Preliminary Checklist of About 30% of the population relies on tra- Libyan Flora and during the period from ditional medicine in Libya. The Ministry 1976 to 1988, a group of Libyan scientist of Health is planning to establish herbal published Flora of Libya comprising 145

14 Table 6: Libyan medicinal and aromatic plants and main traditional use

Byotanical name Fsamil Therapeutical uses/indication Achillea santolina Le. Acsteracea Expectorant, carminative, anthelminti Ajuga iva Sechreb. Llamiacea Antiemetic, antidiarrhoea Alhagi maurorum Meedik. Fcabacea Antirheumatic, laxative, diureti Aloe vera (eL.) Burm. f. Ahloacea Emmenagogue, promotes hair growt Ammi majus Le. Acpiacea Carminative, antispasmodi Anvillea garcinii (eBurm. f.) DC. Acsteracea Hypoglycaemi Artemesia herba-alba Aesso A)steracea Vermifuge (against worms for babies Artemesia judaica Le. Acsteracea Common cold, hypoglycaemic, anthelminti Borago officinalis Le. Bcoraginacea Antirheumati Capparis spinosa Le. Ccapparacea Expectorant, diuretic, antirheumati Cassia obovata Ceollad. Feabacea Purgativ Ceratonia siligua Le. Ftabacea Tonic, demulcen Citrullus colocynthis (eL.) Schrad. Ceucurbitacea Purgative or hydragogu Cynara cardunculus Le. Acsteracea Diuretic, laxative, antianaemi Cynara scolymus Le. Acsteracea Hypoglycaemic, hypocholesterolemi Cynomorium coccineum Le. Bealanophoracea Laxativ Datura stramonium Le. Srolanacea Antispasmodic, mydriatic, leaves smoked fo asthma Ecballium elaterium (eL.) A. Rich. Ceucurbitacea Jaundic Ephedra alata Deecne. Ecphedracea Antiasthmati Eruca sativa Meill. Bcrassicacea Tonic, aphrodisia Globularia vulgaris Le. Sccrophulariacea Diureti Helichrysum stoechas (eL.) Moench Aisteracea To clear small calcul Hyoscyamus albus Le. S,olanacea Sedative, analgesic (small dose) hallucinogenic (large dose) Juniperus communis Le. Ctupressacea Digestive, antiseptic, renal stimulan Lavandula multifida Le. Leamiacea Insect repellent, perfum Lepidium sativum Le. Btrassicacea Expectoran Lupinus albus Le. Feabacea Hypoglycaemic, hypotensiv Marrubium vulgare Le. Lcamiacea Hypoglycaemi Peganum harmala Le. Zlygophyllacea Anthelmintic, antibacterial, protozoacida Plantago major Le. Pylantaginacea Antimalarial, ear ache, dysenter Ruta graveolens Le. Reutacea Expectorant, convulsion, jaundic Salvia officinalis Le. Lgamiacea Nervous disorders, dizziness, tremblin Teucrium polium Le. Ldamiacea Hypoglycaemic, common col Thymus capitatus Le. Leamiacea Tonic, carminativ Trigonella foenum-graecum Le. Feabacea Tonic, anabolic and lactagogu Urtica urens Le. Ucrticacea Haemostatic, antianaemic, hypoglycaemi Viola tricolor Le. Vciolacea Urinary problems, diaphoreti Withania somnifera (eL.) Dunal Scolanacea Hypotonic, aphrodisia

15 volumes, one for each family. the country’s medicinal and aromatic The Libyan Medicinal and Aromatic plants. The faculties of science of both the Plant Research Programme was set up in universities are involved in botanical ex- January 2001 (2001-2005) at the Faculty plorations and identification of plants of of Pharmacy, University of Elfateh, Tripoli economic importance. The Biotechnology (Auzi, 1999). The programme focuses on Research Centre and the Agricultural Re- the chemical and biological evaluation of search Centre, under the Ministry of Envi- Libyan medicinal and aromatic plants. ronment and the Ministry of Agriculture Agronomical studies are aimed at provid- respectively, are engaged in the conserva- ing information on the growth of medici- tion of genetic resources of plant species nal and aromatic plants and the proper- of medicinal value. ties of their oils and active constituents (El- Gadi and Bshana, 1992). These studies Opportunities and Constraints and investigations include the effect of ra- Medicinal and aromatic plants are an diation on the quality of medicinal plants, important source of drugs in Libya. The soil analysis and cultivation techniques. country has a vast area and a variety of The second programme for the estab- geographic conditions suitable for cultiva- lishment of a Libyan National Herbarium tion of aromatic and medicinal plants. has been proposed by the Ministry of En- There is scope for the establishment of vironmental General Authority (EGA), small-scale phytochemical industries. Tripoli. The objectives of the programme There is a lack of R&D activities in are to provide a better understanding and the field of medicinal plants. As a result wider knowledge of the systematics, evo- of over-exploitation, some plants have be- lution, ecology and conservation biology of come rare and endangered. There is also major groups of Libyan native plants and an imminent threat of genetic erosion of their relatives. medicinal plant species because of an in- The third programme, led by the Min- crease in heavy grazing, human use and istry of Environmental General Authority, drought hazards. The economic constraints started in January 2001 and concentrates of the country mean that international as- on the creation of a database on Libyan sistance is needed for collection and con- Flora in order to make available and dis- servation of the genetic resources of en- seminate valuable knowledge to a wide cli- dangered species of medicinal value. ent base. The faculties of pharmacy of the Uni- 1.5 Morocco versity of Elfateh, Tripoli and the Univer- Morocco has about 3,675 vascular sity of Garyounis, Bengazi are involved in plants species, of these about 650 have phytochemical and biological screening of been reported to be endemic (EGA, 2001).

16 In terms of export volume, in the late butus unedo L., Erica arborea L. and 1990s the country was the second largest Crataegus monogyna Jacq. The collection exporter of medicinal plants material from of aromatic plants from the wild and dis- Africa and the ninth at international level tillation of essential oils, in particular of (Lange and Mladenova, 1997). The coun- lavender (Lavandula spp.) and myrtle try predominantly exports aromatic plants (Myrtus communis L.), are the traditional and essential oils. In 1994, about 508,200 activities of the people of the El Feija re- tonnes of aromatic plants and essential oils gion. The local authorities regulate myr- worth about US$ 168.91 (1.7 bn Moroc- tle collection and only small quantities of can Dirhams) were exported (Hmamouchi, lavender are allowed to be harvested from 1997). The aromatic plant and essential the wild to meet local demand. Rosemary oil sector account for a major share of the (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), myrtle (Myrtus economy of the country and have great communis L.) and other medicinal plants potential to earn more foreign revenue. In are products of high socio-economic im- the period between 1992 and 1995, Mo- portance. Rosemary is cultivated on rocco exported 6,850 tonnes of medicinal 340,000 hectares of land and myrtle on plants worth US$ 12.85 mn to the inter- 80,000 hectares. These essential oils are national market. in considerable demand on the international market by the perfume industry. 1.6 Tunisia Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus cinerea f. Muell. Tunisia has about 2,196 reported ex Benth. and Eucalyptus citriodora Hook.) vascular plant species of which 151 are leaves are also collected for distillation of rare, threatened or endemic. It has an arid eucalyptus oil (El Adab, 1993). climate with steppe vegetation. The steppes The most widely used spices in the are rich in aromatic and medicinal plant country are Allium roseum L., Anethum species traditionally used for health care graveolens L., Carthamus tinctorius L., by the local communities and TMPs. The Carum carvi L., Coriandrum sativum L., Matmata mountain range, which runs Cuminum cyminum L., Foeniculum vulgare across South Tunisia from east to west, is Mill., Laurus nobilis L., Lavandula multifida rich in medicinal plant resources. The L., Nigella sativa L., Origanum majorana Zammouris community makes use of these L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Sinapsis alba plants in the preparation of health rem- L. and Thymus capitatus (L.) Hoffmanns. & edies. The forest region of the El Feija Link (Table 7). Traditional herbal medi- mountain areas, located in northeastern Tu- cine is becoming a field of wide interest in nisia, constitutes about 700 vascular plant the country. species, including a number of endemic Tunisia exports oils of orange and species such as Myrtus communis L., Ar- other citrus species, rosemary, mentha,

17 Table 7: Some important medicinal and aromatic plants of Tunisia

Agrimonia eupatoria L. Cuminum cyminum L. Ajuga iva (L.) Schreb. Cupressus sempervirens L. Alchemilla arvensis (L.) Scop. [=Aphanes Cynara cardunculus L. arvensis L.] Cynoglossum cheirifolium L. Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. Cynomorium coccineum L. Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. Datura metel L. Althaea officinalis L. Datura stramonium L. Ammi majus L. Diplotaxis harra (Forssk.) Boiss. Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam. Dryopters filix-mas Schoot. Anemone coronaria L. Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich. Anethum graveolens L. Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex Nevski Apium graveolens L. Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. Artemisia campestris L. Ferula communis L. Artemisia herba-alba Asso Foeniculum vulgare Mill Artemisia vulgaris L. Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl Asparagus officinalis L. Fumaria officinalis L. Asteriscus pygmaeus (DC.) Coss. & Dur. Geranium robertianum L. Astragalus armatus Willd. Globularia alypum L. Astragalus caprinus L. Hedera helix L. Ballota hirsuta Schult. Hertia cheirifolia Kuntze Bellis annua L. Hyosyamus albus L. Borago officinalis L. Hyoscyamus niger L. Brassica nigra (L.) W. D. J. Koch Hypericum perforatum L. Calendula arvensis L. Jasminum fruticans L. Calamintha officinalis Monch Juglans regia L. Carum carvi L. Juniperus oxycedrus L. Capparis spinosa L. Juniperus phoenicea L. Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. Laurus nobilis L. Carthamus tinctorius L. Lavandula dentata L. Centaurea calcitrapa L. Lavandula multifida L. Centaurea cyanus L. Lavandula stoechas L. Centaurea nicaeensis All. Lepidium sativum L. Centaurium umbellatum Gilib. [=C. erythraea Linum usitatissimum L. Rafn] Lippia citrodora Kunth. Ceratonia siliqua L. Lithospermum arvense L. [=Buglossoides arvensis Chenopodium album L. (L.) I. M. Johnst] Cichorium intybus L. Morus spp. Cistus crispus L. Myrtus communis L. Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schard. Nerium oleander L. Clematis flammula L. Nicotiana glauca Graham. Cleome arabica L. Nitraria tridentata Desf. [=Nitraria retusa Crataegus oxyacantha L. [=C. rhipidophylla (Forssk.) Asch.] Gand.] Origanum glandulosum Desf. Continued

18 Table 7 continued Origanum majorana L. Rosmarinus officinalis L. Papaver rhoeas L. Ruscus aculeatus L. Papaver somniferum L. Ruta chalepensis L. Parietaria officinalis L. Ruta montana L. Peganum harmala L. Salix alba L. Pergularia tomentosa L. Salvia officinalis L. Periploca laevigata Aiton Salvia sclarea L. Phlomis spp. Sambuscus nigra L. Pinus halepensis Mill. Scilla maritima L. [=Urginea maritima (L.) Baker] Pistacia lentiscus L. Solanum dulcamara L. Pistacia terebinthus L. Solanum nigrum L. Pituranthos scoparius Benth. Solanum sodomaeum L. Plantago albicans L. Solidago virga-aurea L. Plantago lanceolata L. Sonchus tenerrimus L. Plantago major L. Stachys officinalis (L.) Trevis. Plantago psyllium L. Taraxacum officinale Wigg. Polygala spp. Teucrium capitatum L. [=Teucrium polium subsp. Polygonum aviculare L. capitatum (L.) Arcang.] Populus alba L. Teucrium polium L. Populus nigra L. Thymus capitatus (L.) Hoffmanns. & Link [=Coridothymus capitatus (L.) Rchb. f.] Quercus coccifera L. Thymus hirtus ssp. algeriensis Boiss Quercus ilex L. Thymus vulgaris L. Quercus suber L. Urtica spp. Reseda alba L. Valeriana tuberosa L. Retama raetam (Forssk.) Webb & Berthel. Verbena officinalis L. Rhamnus frangula L. [=Frangula alnus Mill.] Viola odorata L. Rhus oxyacantha Schousb. ex Cav. [=Rhus tripartita (Ucria) DC.] Viola tricolor L. Ricinus communis L. Vitex agnus castus L. Rosa canina L. Vitis vinifera L. Rosa gallica L. Ziziphus lotus L.

white artemisia, lavender, terpenoid prod- tonnes in 1996, earning foreign revenue ucts, water of orange flowers to Germany, of US$ 2.3 mn (3,253,100 Tunisian Di- Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, the UK, nars) and US$ 2.4 mn (3,321,100 Tuni- Switzerland, the USA, Jordan, Saudi Ara- sian Dinars), respectively (Chemli, 1997). bia and to neighbouring countries such as The sale of rosemary and myrtle in the early Algeria, Libya, Benin and Senegal. From 1990s earned foreign revenue of US$ 0.43 168 tonnes in 1993, the total export of es- mn (600,000 Tunisian Dinars) per annum sential oils from Tunisia increased to 227 (El Adab, 1993).

19 REFERENCES Al-idrissi, M., Sbeita, A., Jebriel, A., Zintani, El-Gadi, A. and Bshana, S., 1992, Usage of A., Shreidi, A., Ghawawi, H. and Tazi, M., some plants in Libyan folk medicine, Vol.1 1996, Country report to the FAO Interna- & 2, AUP Publication, Libya (in Arabic) tional Technical Conference on Plant Genetic FAO, 1992, Rapport National: Algérie, Projet Resources, Leipzig, Germany GCP/REM/052/JPN Anonymous, 1978, Algeria–protection of public Faraj, I., Missaoui, M., Bougrine, H., Jebriel, health: Public Health Code, International A. and Michri, M., 1988, Evaluation study Digest of Health Legislation, 29: 261-317 of economic value of forest tree in Libya, Anonymous, 1985, Law No. 85-05 of 16 Feb. Agriculture Research Centre and General 1985 on health protection and promotion, Administration of Forests, Range and International Digest of Health Legislation, Soils, Tripoli, Libya (in Arabic) 36: 909 (as amended by Law No. 90-17 of Guenther, E., 1972, The Essential Oils, Robert 31 Jul. 1990, International Digest of Health E. Krieger Publishing Company, New York, Legislation, 1991, 42: 229) USA Anonymous, 2001, Medicine: medicinal and aro- Gutberelt, M., 2000, Egypt pushes home- matic plants: an inexhaustible wealth of grown herb industry, Middle East Times. Egypt, Egypt Magazine, Issue 23, Spring. Available at: http://www.metimes.com/2K/ Available at: http://www.sis.gov.eg/public/ issue2000-30/bus/egypt_pushes_ magazine/iss023e/html/mag11.htm (26 Nov. home.htm (26 Nov. 2002) 2002) Hegazy, A. K., 2000, Intra-population varia- Auzi, A., 1999, Medicinal plants in Libya, Pa- tion in reproductive ecology and resource per presented in “First Conference on Natu- allocation of the rare biennial species ral Resources”, Sert, Libya (in Arabic) Verbascum sinaiticum Benth in Egypt, Jour- Belal, A. E., Leith, B., Solway, J. and Springuel, nal of Arid Environments, 44: 185-196 I., 1998, Environmental valuation and man- Hegazy, A. K., 2000a, Reproductive diversity agement of plants in Wadi Alaqi, Egypt, Unit and survival of the potential annual of Environmental Studies and Development, Diplotaxis harra (Forssk.) Boiss. South Valley University, Aswan, Egypt, (Cruciferae) in Egypt, Paper presented at Egypt Research Team to International De- International Conference on “Conserva- velopment Research Centre (IDRC) Canada tion of Biodiversity in the Arid Regions”, File: 95-1005-01/02 127-01. Available at: Mar. 2000, Kuwait, pp. 27-29 http://www.idrc.ca/library/document/ Hmamouchi, M., 1997, Proposition de Projet 108310/index_e.html (26 Nov. 2002) de Recherche pour le Développement Ru- Chemli, R., 1997, Medicinal, aromatic and cu- ral Integré, Université Mohammed V, linary plants of Tunisian flora, In: Proceed- Souissi, Rabat, Morocco ings of the International Expert Meeting of Hobbs, J. J., 1985, Bedouin conservation of FAO, Regional Office of the Near East, 19- plants and animals in the Eastern Desert, 21 May 1997, Cairo, Egypt. Available at: Egypt, Paper presented at “Conference on http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5402e/ Arid Lands: Today and Tomorrow”, Univer- x5402e07.htm (28 Oct. 2002) sity of Arizona, Tucson, USA, pp. 997-1005 EGA, 2001, Environment General Authority Kotb, F. T., 1985, Medicinal Plants in Libya, (EGA) of Libya news (in Arabic). Available Arab Encyclopedia House, Beirut, Leba- at: http://www.egalibya.org/arb/elmajla/ non, p. 830 Third/studies.htm (2 Dec. 2002) Lange, D. and Mladenova, M., 1997, Bulgar- El Adab, A., 1993, Les Produits Forestiers et ian model for regulating the trade in plant leur Importance dans l’Economie Tunisienne, material for medicinal and other purposes, Séminaire sur les “Produits de la Forêt In: Medicinal Plants for Forest Conserva- Méditerranéenne”, 20-24 Sep. 1990, Flor- tion and Health Care, Non-wood Forest ence, Italy Products Series No. 11, FAO, Rome, Italy

20 Madcour, M. and Zeid, A. M. A., 1996, Egypt: Environment Facility Country Report to the FAO International UNESCO/UCO, 1998, Multipurpose Species in Technical Conference on Plants Genetic Re- Arab African Countries, United Nations source, Leipzig, Germany, pp. 1-44 Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi- Rateeb, F., Adurahaman, F. and Auzi, A., 1996, zation, Cairo, Egypt IUCN programme for conservation and sus- Walter, S., 2001, Non-wood Forest Products tainable use of medicinal plants in Libya, in Africa: A Regional and National Over- Phase I view, Forestry Department, Working paper Reyagh, M., 1997, The cultivation of Jatropha FOPW/01/1, Non-wood Forest Products curcas in Egypt, In: Proceedings of the In- Programme, FAO, Rome, Italy, pp. 1-303 ternational Expert meeting of Food and Ag- WHO, 1992, Report on the Inter-country Ex- riculture Organization of the United Na- pert Meeting on “Traditional Medicine and tions, Regional Office of the Near East, 19- Primary Health Care”, Cairo, Egypt, 30 21 May, 1997, Cairo, Egypt. Available at: Nov.-3 Dec. 1992, WHO Regional Office http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5402e/ for the Eastern Mediterranean, Alexandria, x5402e07.htm (23 Oct. 2002) Egypt Ucko, P. J., and Dimbleby, G. W., 1969, The WCMC, 1992, Global biodiversity: status of the domestication and exploitation of plants and Earth’s living resources, In: Groombridge animals, Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., B. (Ed.), A Report by the World Conserva- London, UK tion and Monitoring Centre, Chapman & UNDP, 2001, Project document on Egypt Con- Hall, London, UK servation and Sustainable Use of Medici- WWF and IUCN, 1994, Centres of Plant Di- nal Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosys- versity: A Guide and Strategy for Their tems, EGY/00/G31/A/1G/99 under United Conservation, Vol 1., IUCN Publications Nations Development Programme Global Unit, Cambridge, UK

21 Chapter 2

The Status of Medicinal Plants in West African Countries

2.1 Introduction tion in western Africa relies on traditional medical systems for primary health-care West Africa includes the countries of needs. In Burkina Faso, Niger and Ghana Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte more than 80% of the population relies on d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea- traditional medicine and in Nigeria, over Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sen- 90% of the rural and over 40% of the ur- egal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Chad. The ban population depend on traditional medi- habitat diversity of the area ranges from cine. The number of the TMPs is high com- semi-desert vegetation to savannahs, tropi- pared to that of modern medical doctors. cal rainforests and mangroves. It consti- In the Kwahu district, Ghana and Benin tutes many plant species of medicinal value, City, Nigeria the ratio of modern medical especially in the rainforests. The upper doctors to TMPs has been estimated at 1 : Guinea forests are rich in species endemism 92 and 1 : 149, respectively. TMPs are of- with nearly 2,000 endemic plant species ficially recognized in Nigeria and Ghana, (Conservation International, 1999). The where 3,360 practitioners are registered, valuable West African biological resources and in Burkina Faso there are about 300 are the basis of the survival of the region’s traditional health-care providers. Tradi- indigenous societies who have developed a tional medicine is included in the health- rich knowledge of medicinal plants. care system of Nigeria and Mali. Through the practise of their traditions they Most of the medicinal plant material have protected and conserved plants is sourced from wild collection and a small through the ages. amount from cultivation. In the humid Medicinal plants are of socio-eco- parts of Ghana and Nigeria, Garcinia nomic importance to rural population both afzelii Engl., G. epundata and in Guinea as a source of raw material for health-care Lophira lanceolata Tiegh. ex Keay are the remedies and income. The local commu- medicinal plant species of economic im- nities and TMPs make frequent use of most portance. of these plants in their remedies. The over-exploitation of resources Between 75 to 90% of the popula- from the wild has threatened the existence

23 of many plant species including medicinal There are only a few manufacturing units plants. Nigeria has the highest number of devoted to the production of drugs derived threatened species (119), followed by from indigenous plants. However, indi- Ghana (115), Côte d’Ivore (101), Liberia vidual sellers and TMPs prepare herbal (46) and Sierra Leone (43). Among these products. many are of medicinal importance. Voacanga africana Stapf, Zanthoxylum 2.2 Benin zanthoxyloides and Brucea species are Benin (formerly the Republic of Da- medicinal plants that have been listed homey) is located between the Gulf of under the endangered species of the re- Guinea and the Niger River. The original gion. rainforests, which used to cover most of In many countries efforts are being the southern part of the country, have now made to promote the use of herbal and tra- largely been cleared, except near the riv- ditional medicine. Traditional protection, ers. In their place, many oil and rônier conservation beliefs and practices exist in palms have been planted and food crops all the countries of western Africa. The are cultivated (Adjademe, 1991). importance of documenting the knowledge About 80% of the population relies and implementing the traditional practices on traditional medicine for health care. has been realized by many African coun- People from other countries also use tries. The United Nations University In- Beninese traditional medicine (Massou- stitute for Natural Resources, Accra, gbodji and Tevoedjre, 1997). Ghana has initiated a project to catalogue In Benin there is a licensing process the local indigenous plants of medicinal and a register of TMPs. Local officials value and other uses, and to promote home- authorize the practice of traditional medi- stead gardens (Baidu-Forson, 1999). cine in administrative or health subdivi- Very little work on ethnobotanical sions. TMPs are involved in the primary and taxonomical inventories for medicinal health-care programme to some extent. plant species has been done in West Afri- There are national as well as provincial can countries. The sellers of herbal prepa- intersectoral councils and groups of tradi- rations describe some plants only in the lo- tional medicine (WHO, 1992). Section 3 cal dialect. The pharmaceutical industry of Code 3.4, Quality of Health Care and has given too low priority to research and Health Technology, relates to the promo- development of drugs and other products tion of traditional pharmacopoeia through from indigenous medicinal plants. When the updating and distribution of a national an economically viable plant product is list of TMPs, and developing and distrib- identified, it is often shipped overseas to uting a guide for rational use of traditional foreign companies for further development. pharmacopoeia (Anonymous, 1997). The

24 lack of means to evaluate the quality, 1983, the government emphasized the for- safety, and efficacy of traditional medicine mation of TMP associations as well as products and the lack of training in sani- pharmacopoeial units within the decentral- tation techniques for TMPs has led to un- ized structure of the health system. The favourable working conditions. The gov- Natural Substances Research Institute and ernment has prioritized projects on the the Health Ministry Service were created census of non-governmental organizations in 1978 to promote traditional medicine operating in the field of traditional medi- and pharmacopoeia. In 1979, TMPs were cine, on evaluation of the possibilities of officially recognized in Burkina Faso. A integrating traditional medicine into the medical and scientific commission under national health-care system, particularly the Ministry of Health is responsible for health centres, and training of TMPs conducting studies on the practice of tra- (Massougbodji and Tevoedjre, 1997). ditional medicine and undertaking investigations on traditional medicine therapeu- 2.3 Burkina Faso tics and mode of action of the drugs. Tra- Burkina Faso is a land-locked coun- ditional medicine and TMPs are recognized try situated north of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana by the Practice and Organization of Tradi- and Togo. The northern part of the coun- tional Medicine Law of 1994 (Anonymous, try is covered by savannahs, with prickly 1995). shrubs and stunted trees, and in the south In 1997, the National Pharmaceuti- the prickly shrubs give way to scattered cal Directive Plan was adopted to define forests. In the north, climate conditions the global objectives of the National Phar- do not favour tree growth and in the south, maceutical Policy 1996, under the Minis- farmers often allow only useful trees such try of Health. It was aimed at the devel- as the karite (shea tree) or the baobab to opment and promotion of traditional medi- survive. About 300 TMPs are registered cine and traditional pharmacopoeia within at the Ministry of Health. Information on the official health-care system. The Plan exploitation, application and marketing of was taken into consideration in the devel- medicinal plants is scarce (Zida and opment of the National Sanitary Policies Kolongo, 1991). for the period between 2001 and 2010. Burkina Faso has local and national Traditional Systems of Medicine intersectoral councils which take care of More than 80% of the population traditional medicine. Some TMPs are in- depends on traditional medicine. After volved in the primary health-care pro- independence, the government promoted gramme (WHO, 1992). There is no offi- traditional medicine and began to restore cial recognition of the qualifications of esteem to traditional medical practices. In TMPs but there is a formal training pro-

25 gramme in traditional medicine (WHO, 2.5 Gambia 1992). In Gambia, the rural communities 2.4 Côte d’Ivoire and TMPs have a vast knowledge of me- Côte d’Ivoire is situated on the west dicinal plants and their uses. Most of the coast of Africa, between Ghana to the east trees and shrubs found in the Pirang for- and Liberia to the west, with Guinea, Mali est are used in medicinal preparations and Burkina Faso to the north. Equato- (Sumser, 1988). rial climate prevails, except for in the There are official legislative texts northwest where tropical climatic condi- governing the practice of traditional medi- tions prevail. The valuable rainforests en- cine in the country and a licensing proc- dure only in the southwest, while elsewhere ess for TMPs, who are involved to some these have been replaced with plantations extent in the primary health-care pro- of coffee, cocoa, banana, pineapple, rub- grammes. Gambia is also sustaining a ber and oil palm. The tropical rainforests training programme in traditional medi- in the south include many species of me- cine for health workers (WHO, 1992). dicinal value along with timber species of African mahogany and teak. 2.6 Ghana Entada abyssinica Steud. ex A. Rich., The government of Ghana has recog- Terminalia glaucescens Planch.ex Benth., nized traditional medicine in the national Cochlospermum planchonii Hook f., Cas- health-care system. TMPs use herbs, spir- sia sieberiana DC., Combretum micran- itual beliefs, and local wisdom in provid- thum G. Don, Sarcocephalus latifolius ing health-care services. (Sm.) Bruce and Khaya senegalensis There are several TMP associations (Desr.) A. Juss. are common medicinal in the country. In 1999, the government plants found in the savannah woodlands brought all the associations under one main (FAO, 1998). Other significant plant spe- organization, the Ghana Federation of Tra- cies in the southern forests include Garcinia ditional Medicine Practitioners Associa- spp., Allanblackia floribunda Oliv., tions (Mensah, 2000). The Association Voacanga africana Stapf and Griffonia helps to develop herbal medicine in the simplicifolia (Vahl ex DC.) Baill. country and provides safe health care to There is no official recognition of tra- the population alongside orthodox medicine. ditional practices or remedies and no pro- About 70% of the population depends vision of official training for health work- exclusively on traditional medicine for ers in traditional medicine. TMPs are not health care. There is approximately one involved in the national primary health- TMP for every 400 people, compared to care programmes (WHO, 1992). one modern medical doctor for every

26 12,000 patients (Commodore, 1995). basic to tertiary levels. Over 100,000 TMPs, uniformly distributed The Ghana Herbal Pharmacopoeia, throughout the country, form the backbone Volume 1, contains scientific information of the health-care delivery system (Mensah on 50 medicinal plants (Bodeker, 2001). and Sarpong, 1995). A second volume is currently in prepara- The Medical and Dental Decree of tion. Efforts are being made to integrate 1972 and the Nurses and Midwives De- traditional medicine into the official pub- cree of 1972 allow only indigenous inhab- lic health system. It is expected that by itants to practise traditional medicine, pro- the year 2004, certified efficacious herbal vided they do not practise life-endanger- medicines will be prescribed and dispensed ing procedures. in hospitals and pharmacies. Local offi- Until 2000, when the Traditional cials have the power to authorize the prac- Medicine Practice Act was passed, the gov- tice of traditional medicine in their admin- ernment worked with the Ghana Psychic istrative and/or health subdivisions (WHO, and Traditional Medicine Practitioners As- 1992). In 2000, the government declared sociation to license and register TMPs and the third week of March as the Traditional ensure standards of care (Sanders, 1989; Medicine Week (Bodeker, 2001). Le Grand and Wondergem, 1990). The The Ministry of Health is working for Act has a provision for the establishment the inclusion of traditional medicine in the of a council to regulate the practice of tra- curricula of allopathic medical schools and ditional medicine, register practitioners the introduction of a diploma course in tra- and license them to practise and regulate ditional medicine at postgraduate level. As the preparation and auction of herbal medi- a step in this direction, the Ministry as- cines. sessed the training needs for TMPs in 2000 In 1991, the Traditional Medicine (Mensah, 2000). Ghana recognizes a dual Unit was created under the Ministry of system of medical practice that admits both Health (Oppong-Boachie, 1999; Bodeker, traditional and modern medical practices 2001). In 1999, the Unit was upgraded and promotes their co-existence in order to the status of a directorate. The Minis- to reach the largest number of people. try, in collaboration with the Ghana Fed- There is a number of TMPs who are famil- eration of Traditional Medicine Practition- iar with plants and their uses and practise ers Associations and other stakeholders, herbalism with or without spiritual prac- has developed a five-year (2000-2004) tices. Within the Ashante system of tradi- strategic plan for traditional medicine. The tional healers both spiritualism and plan proposes, among other things, the herbalism are practised. The key factor in development of a comprehensive training training in and practising of traditional programme in traditional medicine from medicine is the integration of the practi-

27 tioners with the cultural tradition of the R&D Activities people. There are official training pro- The Center for Scientific Research grammes for traditional birth attendants into Plant Medicine, Mampong-Akwapim (Le Grand and Wondergem, 1990). conducts scientific investigations related to the improvement of phytomedicine to as- Medicinal Plant Resources sure the purity of drugs extracted from Medicinal and aromatic plant species plants. In addition to its research activity, play an important socio-economic role both the Centre also manages a hospital pro- in primary health care and source of live- viding health care through both traditional lihood (FAO, 1995). In Ghana, about and allopathic medicine. The Centre has a 2,000 plants are used in traditional medi- herbarium section, which is preserving cine. Medicinal plants, gums and mush- 3,500 species of plant medicine for future rooms are exported to neighbouring coun- uses. It makes use of 1,000 acres of land tries and to the international market. for growing medicinal seedlings. It also Both local communities and TMPs cooperates and liaises with the Ghana use a large variety of medicinal plants in Physic and Traditional Healers’ Associa- their remedies. Most of the medicinal plant tion and other state research institutions material is collected from the wild. In the and commercial organizations worldwide Ho district, approximately 75% of trees for documentation, dissemination of infor- on cultivated land have medicinal uses mation and for the establishment of botani- (FAO, 1990). Chew sticks are highly val- cal gardens for medicinal plants. ued medicinal plants and constitute an item The ethnobotanical survey, conducted of national and regional trade. About 90% by the World Conservation Monitoring of the population in southern Ghana use Centre of the United Nations Environment chew sticks (Garcinia spp.) for dental care. Programme (UNEP) revealed that about Griffonia simplicifolia (Vahl ex DC.) Baill. 40,000 TMPs practise traditional medi- is also commercially exploited (Cunnin- cine in the eastern part of the country gham, 1997). The exploitation of com- (Evans-Anfom, 1984). In six selected lo- mercially important medicinal plant spe- calities, 86 persons were registered as cies is very extensive. In general, these herbalists, using 339 medicinal plant spe- species are indiscriminately cut down or cies (Table 1). In the preparation of rem- uprooted to meet the demand (Cunnin- edies, the leaf is the dominant plant part gham, 1993). in use, followed by the root and bark. Kumasi is the biggest urban market The destructive harvesting of medici- for medicinal plant trade. Gum Arabic pro- nal plant species has reduced their number duction is concentrated in the northern in the wild. Urbanization and changing woodlands. housing patterns in rural areas have re-

28 Table 1: Results of an ethnobotanical survey in Ghana

Ldocality Registere Medicinal plants Part(s) used herbalists used for treatments M2ampong 175kRoot, bar K1ofisah 115tLeaf, bark, roo A5desio 274kLeaf, root, root-bar K6onkonorou 128tWhole plant, bark, roo N0koranza 164tRoo A2buri 175fLea T6otal 893f3 Lea

duced many plant species in the areas sur- In 1996, the preparation of a docu- rounding villages. For example, Bryophyl- ment on ethnobotany in Ghana was initi- lum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken and Jatropha ated under the aegis of the Organization curcas L., earlier used as a fence for hous- of African Unity and the Science and Tech- ing, cannot be found now. Forest clear- nology Research Committee. Pictures of ance and easy access to wild resources of and recipes using about 600 plants are col- Deinbollia pinnata have threatened exist- lected in this roster. ence in its natural habitat. The over-har- Most of the herbal preparations are vesting of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta root, sold as powders, concoctions or ointments. mainly sourced from the wild for the prepa- Although medicinal plants have been used ration of anticancer drug, has threatened extensively over the years, only a small its existence. The plant is exported to the amount of scientific data are available on USA. the clinical uses of herbal medicine. The Environment and Health Sector Phyto-Riker Pharmaceuticals Inc., a is responsible for the promotion of appli- private company, has acquired Ghana’s cation of science and technology in health state-owned pharmaceutical plant to pio- development. The support for plant medi- neer the commercial production of tradi- cine development mainly comes from the tional herbal medicines. Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Ghana imports almost all its essen- Medicine (CSRPM), which is assisted by tial oil requirement from Europe, Asia and the Plant Genetic Resources Centre in the North America. In 1998, the annual de- scientific identification of plants of medici- mand of lemongrass oil was 400 tonnes nal value and the establishment of arbo- and the fabrication cost of a distillation reta, and by the Animal Research Institute unit from local material was US$ 8,200. in conducting toxicity and efficacy tests of Traditional healers provide the most herbal products. affordable and accessible form of health

29 care to the rural and poor urban popula- awareness and relieving pressure from tions. In Ghana, about 5% of the 20 mn over-harvesting of plants in the wild. There population is HIV/AIDS positive. There is are also plans to establish medicinal plant no functional national traditional healers gardens and to train people to manage association in the country. The government these gardens. does not financially support TMPs and traditional medicine is not part of the cur- 2.7 Guinea riculum in medical faculties. The Minis- Guinea is one of the least developed try of Health coordinates policy for tradi- countries of Africa. It is rich in valuable tional healers. The government has shown plant species used in the traditional sys- a positive attitude towards the conserva- tems of medicine. There are large planta- tion of medicinal plants. The Traditional tions of Rauvolfia, Cinchona and raw ma- Medicine Practice Act was passed in 2000. terials from these were collected and ex- The Aburi Botanic Garden cultivates ported in the past. The pharmaceutical medicinal plants. The botanical reserve industry is a public sector industry and covers an area of 64.8 hectares, of which Pharmaguinea, the national agency respon- 12.2 hectares have been developed into a sible for pharmaceuticals, is engaged in the formal garden. With the help of the Dar- production of pharmaceuticals valued at win Initiative of the UK Department for over US$ 1 mn per year. In addition, there Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are galenicals from medicinal plants and (DEFRA), London and the National Lot- preparations used in traditional medicine. teries Board of the UK, a wide range of There is, however, the need to develop the activities related to the conservation and Central Analytical Laboratory in Matato sustainable utilization of medicinal plants as a national laboratory for analytical work have been undertaken through identifica- and R&D activities connected with two tion, cultivation and development of agro- projects, the development of an essential techniques. The implementation of a com- oil industry and the utilization of Cinchona puterized database is in progress to pro- and other indigenous medicinal plant spe- vide information on the scientific name and cies. There is good potential for oils of family, the common name and synonyms, karo, jasmine, neroli, bigarade, bergamot and the ecology of the plant. and orange. Models for biodiversity have been Lophira lanceolata Tiegh. ex Keay applied to the traditional grove system, sticks are used as toothbrush. There is an using the resources in the most sustainable active trade in these sticks on the urban way (Oteng-Yeboah, 1996). A project at markets. Their consumption is very high local level aims to establish and document in the villages. More than 100 mn sticks baseline data, capacity building, raising are used per annum: about 75% of the

30 800,000 adults in urban areas makes use 2.9 Mali of 31.2 mn sticks per annum and 50% of the 3 mn adults in the rural areas makes The Republic of Mali is located south use of 78 mn sticks per annum. of the Sahara and two-thirds of its terri- In Guinea, the practice of traditional tory is desert. The greater part of Mali’s medicine is not recognized by the Ordinance economy relies on the utilization of its natu- 189 PRG of 18 September 1984, which ral resources. There is a considerable bio- states that the profession of physician can diversity consisting of ecosystems rich in only be practised by persons with a Guinean genetic diversity, but natural resources are diploma of Doctor of Medicine (Anony- under threat due to increasing anthropo- mous, 1984). Guinea has official, applied genic pressure and climatic changes. There and legislative texts governing the prac- are about 1,739 species of vascular plants tice of traditional medicine. There is a li- and eight endemic species, most of which censing procedure, a register of TMPs and are located in the Sudano-Guinean area. local and national intersectoral councils for The most common medicinal plants are traditional medicine (WHO, 1992). Local Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev., officials have the power to authorize the Prosopis africana (Guill. et al.) Taub. and practice of traditional medicine in their ad- Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. Two plant spe- ministrative subdivisions. TMPs are also cies, Parinari excelsa Sabine, Khaya involved, to some extent, in the national nyasica Stapf ex Baker f. [=Khaya primary health-care programme (WHO, anthotheca (Welw.) C. DC.], are reported 1992). to be rare and one is endangered (Securi- daca longipedunculata Fresen.). Under 2.8 Guinea-Bissau article 17 of the Forest Law No. 95-005 Guinea-Bissau has its local and na- of 1995, Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. Gaertn., tional intersectoral councils for traditional Acacia albida Delile [=Faidherbia albida medicine. However, the country does not (Delile) A. Chev.], Acacia senegal (L.) have regulatory laws for the practice of tra- Willd., Elaeis guineensis Jacq., Bombax ditional medicine and there is no licensing costatum Pellegr. & Vuill., Parkia biglobosa procedure for TMPs. Local officials are (Jacq.) R. Br. ex G. Don, Borassus authorized to allow the practice of tradi- aethiopum Mart., Pterocarpus erinaceus tional medicine in their administrative sub- Poir. and Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. divisions. TMPs are not involved in the Juss. are protected to save them from ex- national primary health-care programme tinction. The gum, fruit and leaf of (WHO, 1992). Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev. are used as a remedy against influenza, toothache and as a cardiac tonic. Almost all parts of

31 Prosopis africana (Guill. et al.) Taub. are improved production units for traditional used in local medicine. The leaf is used for medicine through the Decree 94/282/P-RM migraine, the bark for fever, and the root of 15 August 1994. for toothache, dysentery and bronchitis. Conventional pharmacists are al- The jujube tree (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.) lowed to sell herbs. Efforts have been made is also commonly used in medicinal prepa- to improve the technical know-how of the rations (FAO, 1996). semi-industrial and industrial units that transform raw material into herbal prepa- Traditional Systems of Medicine rations and herbal products. The Decree About 75% of the population of Mali 95/1319/MSS-PA/SG of 22 June 1995 relies on traditional medicine for health-care establishes the organizational and func- needs. There is approximately one TMP for tional rules for private consultation clin- every 500 inhabitants. Around 180 li- ics, medicinal herb stores, and improved cences for herbalists, 200 for therapists production units. Under this decree char- and 1,000 Traditional Medicine Depart- tered TMPs, medical staff and retired tra- ment certificates have been issued. There ditional medicine paramedical staff are eli- are 32 associations of TMPs in the country. gible to open private traditional medicine The Department of Traditional Medi- consultation clinics. Chartered medicinal cine and the National Research Institute plant sellers, graduates from the of Medicine and Traditional Medicine were Katibougou Rural Polytechnic Institute or created in 1973. The mandate is to dem- its equivalent, and graduates from the Su- onstrate the value of traditional medicine perior Normal School or its equivalent are resources through scientific research and allowed to open medicinal herb stores. differentiate the role of herbalists from The industrial exploitation of medici- those of other TMPs, and define their renal plants is authorized only when it in- spective statuses, regulations, and code of volves herb, leaf, stem, bark, and/or fruit ethics. In 1980, the Minister of Public and is permitted only when the plants are Health and Social Affairs established a Sci- cultivated. The collection of wild plants entific and Technical Committee to work for industrial use is not permitted. Im- in conjunction with the National Research proved traditional medicine production Institute of Medicine and Traditional Medi- units are supervised by a pharmacist, and cine (Koumare, 1980; Sanders, 1989). a biologist, chemical engineer or pharma- The Committee drew up draft regulations cist monitor the control procedures. Arti- on the practice of traditional medicine. The cle 8 of Decree 95/009/P-RM of January government has regulated the opening of 1995 provides permits for pharmaceuti- private consultation clinics for traditional cal products and outlines special rules for medicine and medicinal herb stores, and requests involving traditional medicines

32 made from plants. Local officials have the supervises exploratory meetings and mis- power to authorize the practice of tradi- sions between associations of TMPs and tional medicine in their administrative sub- their foreign partners. Each year, the De- divisions. Some TMPs are involved in the partment of Traditional Medicine organ- primary health-care programme (WHO, izes open houses on health information, 1992). education and communication in traditional medicine. Radio and television pro- R&D Activities grammes on traditional medicine which The Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, host independent TMPs, representatives of and Odonto-Stomatology of the University associations or persons in charge of tech- of Mali was created in 1996. It is respon- nical services, are regularly transmitted on sible for training allopathic physicians and public and private stations. pharmacists. Students and researchers are National health insurance does not offered courses directly related to tradi- cover traditional medical care. tional medicine and traditional pharmacopoeia such as botany, pharmacognosy, veg- 2.10 Niger etative substances, chemistry, pharmaceu- According to WHO estimates, 80% tical legislation, and public health. Other of the population of Niger makes recourse schools, faculties and institutes that col- to traditional pharmacopoeia. The most laborate with the Department of Traditional commonly used species are Khaya senegal- Medicine in the training for and research ensis (Desr.) A. Juss., Guiera senegalensis in traditional medicine include the Rural Gmel., Cassia sieberiana DC., C. siamea Polytechnic Institute, the Superior School Lam. [=Senna siamea (Lam.) H. S. Irwin of Health, the Central School of Commerce & Barneby)], C. singueana Delile [=Senna and Industry, the Rural Economy School, singueana (Delile) Lock], Eucalyptus the Faculty of Science and Technology, and camaldulensis Dehnh. and Azadirachta the Faculty of Arts, Languages and Hu- indica A. Juss. Rural communities collect man Sciences. medicinal and aromatic plant material for Periodic meetings, seminars and personal use and marketing purposes. workshops are organized with TMPs In Niger, a licence to practise tradi- through their associations. The national tional medicine is issued by the Ministry health programmes on AIDS, mental and of Public Health upon recommendation of family health were presented with the in- the chief physician of the National Hospi- tention to make TMPs act as intermediar- tal in Niamey (Ousseini, 1982). The Com- ies, and in recognition of the fact that TMPs mittee for Studies on Traditional Medicine are involved in patient care. The Depart- and Traditional Pharmacopoeia was estab- ment of Traditional Medicine organizes and lished in 1989 (Anonymous, 1990). Its

33 mandate includes the formulation of the parison to that of western medical doctors basic premises for a national policy on tra- of 1 : 16,400 (Cunningham, 1993). About ditional medicine, the preparation of stat- two-thirds of the health-care practitioners utes for a national institution to be respon- in Nigeria are TMPs (Odebiyi, 1990). The sible for improving and developing the government has shown appreciation for the regulation of traditional medicine, and the importance of traditional medicine in the draft of legislation governing the practice health-care delivery system. of traditional medicine. Traditional medical activities are protected under the provisions of Section 17.6 2.11 Nigeria of the Nigerian Medical and Dental Prac- Nigeria ranks eleventh in Africa for titioners Act of 1988 (Ajai, 1990). The its biological diversity. It has diverse veg- Act authorizes members of the community etation types, ranging from arid to swamp who have been trained in the system of tra- vegetation with different forest types. ditional therapeutics, to practise traditional There are over 4,600 plant species in Ni- medicine. The registration requirements geria of which 205 are reported to be en- are outlined in the Medical Rehabilitation demic. There are 39 endemic species in Therapists Decree of 1988 (Anonymous, the north, 38 in the west and centre, and 1990a). 128 in the east of the country (Sarumi et State Efforts in Development of Traditional al., 1996). Medicine The informal interaction between Traditional Systems of Medicine government and TMPs started in the nine- Over 90% of Nigerians in rural ar- teenth century. Formal legislation, promot- eas and about 40% in urban areas depend ing the use of traditional medicine, dates partly or wholly on traditional medicine for back to 1966, when the Ministry of Health health-care (Osemeobo, 1993). A study in authorized the University of Ibadan to con- Ibadan has shown that traditional medi- duct research on the medicinal properties cine is becoming popular in urban areas of local herbs. Efforts to promote tradi- (Cunningham, 1997). Expensive western tional medicine continued throughout the medicines and the scarcity of modern medi- 1970s in the form of conferences and train- cal doctors and facilities make most of the ing programmes. In the 1980s, policies population dependant upon traditional sys- were established to accredit and register tems. TMPs are the first contact people TMPs and regulate the practice of tradi- want in case of any health problem. The tional medicine. In 1984, the Federal trend is similar in the entire country, as in Ministry of Health established the National the case of Benin City where the ratio of Investigative Committee on Traditional and TMPs to inhabitants is 1 : 110, in com- Alternative Medicine. A committee for re-

34 search and development of traditional ards for Traditional Medicine Practice in medicine was formed by the Federal Min- Nigeria) and the advocacy for traditional istry of Science and Technology in 1988 medicine at all levels including forums such (Sule, 2000). as the National Council on Health (since The National Primary Health-Care 1997), the consultative meetings of the Development Agency was created by order Minister of Health with state commission- of the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists ers for health and local government chair- Decree of 1992, with a broad mandate men (in 1999), and the presidential think covering health matters, including the en- tank forum (in 1999). dorsement of traditional birth attendants In 2000, the Traditional Medicine (Anonymous, 1993). Among other duties, Council of Nigeria Act proposed the estab- the Agency is responsible for supporting lishment of the Traditional Medicine Coun- the rural health-care systems through spe- cil. The Council works to facilitate the cial attention to and maximum support of practice and development of traditional the training, development, logistics, and su- medicine, establish guidelines for the regu- pervision of village health workers and tra- lation of traditional medical practice to ditional birth assistants. protect the population from quackery, In 1994, all state health ministries fraud and incompetence, liaise with state were mandated to set up boards of tradi- boards of traditional medicine to ensure tional medicine in order to enhance the adherence to the policies and guidelines contribution of traditional medicine to the outlined in the Federal Traditional Medi- nation’s official health-care delivery sys- cine Board Act, establish model traditional tem (Sule, 2000). Since the establishment medicine clinics, herbal farms, botanical of the National Traditional Medicine De- gardens and traditional medicine manufac- velopment Programme in 1997, the Fed- turing units in the geopolitical zones of the eral Ministry of Health has been institut- country, and collaborate with organizations ing measures to formally recognize and en- with similar objectives within and outside hance the practice of traditional medicine. of Nigeria. The Nigeria Medical Council These include the constitution and inaugu- is contemplating the integration of home- ration of the National Technical Working opathy into the country’s health-care de- Group on Traditional Medicine, the devel- livery system (Anonymous, 1998). opment of policy documents on traditional medicine (including the National Policy on Medicinal Plant Resources Traditional Medicine, the National Code of Many trees and shrubs in Nigeria Ethics for the Practice of Traditional Medi- have found common and widespread use cine, the Federal Traditional Medicine in traditional systems of medicine (Youngs, Board Decree, and the Minimum Stand- 1989). Many rural people inherit knowl-

35 edge of a significant number of widely used ailments have been widely reported. medicinal plants. Persea americana Mill., Among others, Euphorbia hirta L. Ocimum gratissimum L. (Efinrin), Ficus [=Chamaesyce hirta (L.) Millsp.] is used platyphylla Delile, Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) for diarrhoea, Senna alata (L.) Roxb. R. Br. ex G. Don, Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. [=Cassia alata L.] as a purgative, and the Gaertn., Morinda lucida Benth., and Al- latex of Ficus exasperata Vahl for boils lium sativum L. are of great medicinal (Sarumi et al., 1996). value. Chew sticks (Garcinia spp.) are prob- In ethnomedicine, Vernonia amygda- ably the most widely used medicinal plant lina Delile leaves are consumed as a veg- material. Toothpaste consumption is low etable for hypertension. Vaccinium and the chew sticks provide dental care for myrtillus L. leaves and Adansonia digitata most of the population. The most impor- L. are used as antidiabetic and Gladiolus tant species are Garcinia afzelii Engl. and psittacinus Hook. f. [=Gladiolus dalenii G. mannii Oliver (Cunningham, 1993). Van Geel] as antiasthmatic. A seed of Rici- Nigeria is probably the second larg- nus communis L. swallowed after the men- est supplier of gum Arabic to the interna- strual flow is believed to have antifertility tional market with an annual production effects. A similar use is made of the fruit of 4,000 to 10,000 tonnes (Nour, 1995). of Lagenaria breviflora (Benth.) Roberty. In northern Nigeria, gum Arabic is pro- A climbing or creeping plant, Momordica duced by tapping Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. charantia L., locally known as Igbo, Hausa and natural exudates of A. seyal Delile. or Yoruba has hypoglycemic and antipy- Despite the large A. senegal (L.) Willd. retic properties. A compound isolated from afforestation schemes, most of the gum Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. has proven to Arabic production comes from wild trees. be very effective in inducing deep sleep. There is no organized system for gum col- Some radioactive compounds have been lection (Nour, 1995). It is a family busi- found in plants such as Carica papaya L. ness and according to a report a family Chromolaena odorata (L.) R. M. King & can harvest a quantity equivalent to about H. Rob. [=Eupatorium odoratum L.] and US$ 630 (80,000 NGN) per annum Ageratum conyzoides L. are effective in the (FORMECU, 1997). Other exudates ex- treatment of fresh cuts. Ageratum ploited in Nigeria include gum combretum, conyzoides L. is also used as an effective obtained from Combretum nigricans Lepr. antipoison among the Yorubas and in sickle ex Guill. et Perr. and resins from Boswellia cell anaemia. The use of herbs by the na- spp. used in the perfume industry and vari- tive inhabitants as anti-infective, antima- ous lattices used in the leather industry. larial, anticancer drugs, as flavouring and sweetening agents and in drugs for other

36 2.12 Senegal bilitation of traditional medicine and traditional pharmacopoeia. Official strate- Medicinal plants of widespread use gies and activities encourage collaboration are Cassia sieberiana D.C., Khaya senegal- between traditional and allopathic medi- ensis (Desr.) A. Juss. and Cola nitida cal practitioners. There are training fa- (Vent.) Schott & Endl. About 100 plants cilities for laymen and health workers in are used as a source of drugs in southern traditional medicine (WHO. 1992). Senegal alone. The Association for the Promotion of 2.13 Sierra Leone Traditional Medicine (PROMETRA) in Sierra Leone reaches from the south- Dakar, Senegal is a non-governmental or- western beaches to the broad plateau of ganization working on the development of the Atlantic/Niger watershed on the north- anti-AIDS and antidiabetic herbal drug eastern frontier. Tropical evergreen for- formulations from African medicinal ests, savannah-woodlands and semi-decidu- plants. The Association of the Sine Tradi- ous forests prevail. Savannah-woodlands tional Healers, Malango works in close co- are characterized by fire-resistant savan- operation with other healers’ associations nah trees and tall grasses. In most parts of in Senegal and throughout Africa. They the country medicinal plants are the most usually bring technical assistance to newly common source of health care, despite the created associations and involve other heal- proximity of the people to modern medi- ers in their projects. cines. In a survey of a village, about 70 medicinal plants were reported to be used Traditional Systems of Medicine by TMPs as well as by villagers (FAO, Almost every village in Senegal has 1990). In another village, 214 medicinal a TMP (Balde and Sterck, 1994). In 1987, plants were reported to be in use (Arnold, the Experimental Centre for Traditional 1995). Medicine was established to provide health- Traditional Systems of Medicine care facilities to the local people. It now has an active patient roster of over 30,000 In Sierra Leone, TMPs are involved persons and is made up of a professional in primary health-care programmes (WHO, staff of both allopathic medical doctors and 1992). The Traditional Medicine Act of TMPs (Floyd, 1997). 1996 regulates the profession of traditional The government officially recognizes medicine and controls the supply, manu- the practice of traditional medicine (Floyd, facture, storage, and transportation of 1997). In Senegal there is a register of herbal medicines. The Act established the TMPs (WHO, 1992). The Ministry of Scientific and Technical Board on Tradi- Health advocates the promotion and reha- tional Medicine and the Disciplinary Com-

37 mittee to advise the Board on matters re- found. lating to the professional conduct of TMPs, Medicinal plants with widespread use and the Drugs Committee to advise the in traditional medicine are Acacia spp., Board on the classification and standardi- Tamarindus indica L., Azadirachta indica zation of traditional medicines. The Sci- A. Juss., Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. Juss., entific and Technical Board is charged with Butyrospermum parkii (G. Don) Kotschy securing the highest practicable standards [=Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. Gaertn.], Bal- in the provision of traditional medicine by anites aegyptiaca Del., Parkia biglobosa promoting proper training and examina- (Jacq.) R. Br. ex G. Don, Salvadora persica tion of students of traditional medicine, L., Guiera senegalensis Gmel., Diospyros controlling the registration of TMPs, and mespiliformis Hochst. ex A. DC., Calotropis regulating the premises where traditional procera (Aiton) W. T. Aiton, Bauhinia medicine is practised. rufescens Lam. and Combretum glutinosum L. (FAO, 1999). Neem (Azadirachta indica 2.14 Togo and Chad A. Juss.) is used as insecticide. Vitellaria Chad is the most northern of paradoxa C. F. Gaertn. flowers and Euca- the French equatorial African independ- lyptus camaldu-lensis Dehnh. leaves are ent states and is the largest in terms of size used for flavouring tea and Commiphora and population. Traditionally it is a focal africana (A. Rich.) Engl. gum is used as point for Saharan and equatorial African incense (FAO, 1999). trade routes. In the south of the country Gum Arabic collection is done mainly savannah-woodlands prevail, while the in northern Chad. north is covered by scrub vegetation. Traditional Systems of Medicine There is a wet and dry tropical zone in the south characterized by shrubs, tall TMPs are involved in the national grasses and scattered broad-leaved decidu- health-care programme. Chad does not ous trees, a semiarid tropical (Sahel) zone have any official legislation governing the in which savannah vegetation gradually practice of traditional medicine. There are merges into a region of thorn bushes and no official training facilities or pro- open steppes, and a hot arid zone composed grammes on traditional medicines for by dunes and plateaus where vegetation is health workers (WHO, 1992). scarce and only occasional palm oases are

38 REFERENCES

Adjademe, A. F., 1991, Bénin, Séminaire sur Medicine, Better Science, Policy and Serv- les Statistiques Forestières en Afrique, FAO, ices for Health Development, Proceedings Thiès, Senegal of “WHO International Symposium”, Ajai, O., 1990, The integration of traditional Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, 11- medicine into the Nigerian health-care de- 13 Sep. 2000, Kobe, Japan (unpublished livery system: legal implications and com- document) plications, Medicine and Law, 8: 308 Commodore, S. G. O., 1995, Welcome address Anonymous, 1984, Ordinance No. 189 PRG of presented at “Traditional Medicine and 18 Sep. 1984 on the practice of the medi- Modern Health Care: Partnership for the cal profession, Sections 1 and 2, Interna- Future, A Two-day National Consensus- tional Digest of Health Legislation, 36: 21 building Symposium on the Policies on Tra- Anonymous, 1990, Order No. 32/MSP/AS/CF ditional Medicine in Ghana”, 15-16 Mar. of 31 Mar. 1989 establishing the commit- 1995, Ghana tee for studies on traditional medicine and Conservation International, 1999, Conserva- traditional pharmacopoeia, International tion priority–setting for the upper Guinea Digest of Health Legislation, 41: 308 forest ecosystem, West Africa, Conserva- Anonymous, 1990a, The Medical Rehabilita- tion International, Washington, USA tion Therapists (Registration, etc.) Decree Cunningham, A. B., 1993, African medicinal 1988, International Digest of Health Leg- plants: setting priorities at the interface islation, 41: 598 between conservation and primary health Anonymous, 1993, The National Primary care, People and Plants Working Paper 1, Health-Care Development Agency Decree UNESCO, Paris, France 1992, International Digest of Health Leg- Cunningham, A. B., 1997, An Africa-wide over- islation, 44: 576 view of medicinal plant harvesting, conser- Anonymous, 1995, Burkina Faso. Law No. 23/ vation and health care, In: Global Initia- 94/ADP of 19 May 1994 promulgating the tive for Traditional Systems of Health and Public Health Code, International Digest of FAO (Eds.), Medicinal Plants for Forest Health Legislation, 46: 449-454 Conservation and Health Care, Non-wood Anonymous, 1997, Plan d’action 1998-1999, Forest Products Series No. 11, FAO, Rome, Cotonou, Benin Italy Anonymous, 1998, Liga Medicorum Home- Evans-Anfom, E., 1984, Traditional medicine opathica Internationalis, Ed. World Home- in Ghana: practice, problems and prospects, opathy, Selva, Spain The J. B. Danquah Memorial Lectures, 17th Arnold, J. E. M., 1995, Socio-economic ben- Series, Ghana Academy of Arts and Sci- efits and issues in NWFP use, In: FAO (Ed.), ences, Accra, Ghana Report of the International Expert Consul- FAO, 1990, The major significance of minor tation on NWFP, Non-wood Forest Prod- forest products, In: Falconer, J. (Ed.), The ucts Series No. 3, FAO, Rome, Italy Local Use and Value of Forests in the West- Baidu-Forson, 1999, Africa’s natural resource ern African Humid Forest Zones, FAO, conservation and management surveys: Rome, Italy summary of the UNU/INRA Regional FAO, 1995, NWFP and nutrition, In: FAO Re- Workshop, The United Nations University port of the International Expert Consulta- Institute for Natural Resources, Accra, tion on NWFP, Non-wood Forest Product Ghana Series No. 3, FAO, Rome, Italy Baldé, S. and Sterck, C., 1994, Traditional FAO, 1996, Arbres du Terroir pour healers in Casamance, Senegal, World l’Alimentation, Projet GCP/RAF/303/ITA, Health Forum, 15: 390-392 Forêt et sécurité alimentaire en Afrique Bodeker, G., 2001, Planning for cost-effective sahélienne, Sikasso, Mali traditional health services, In: Traditional FAO, 1998, Rapport National Côte d’Ivoire

39 (zone de savanes) préparé en vue du tional medicine for the African region: the Colloque régional sur les R. G. F. , par N. experience of Ghana, presented at “WHO Ouattara, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Consultative Meeting on Strategy for Tra- FAO, 1999, Statistiques sur les PFNL: Tchad, ditional Medicine for the African Region par A. M. Haggar, Programme de 2001-2010”, 13-15 Dec. 1999, Harare, Partenariat CE-FAO, (GCP/INT/679/EC) Zimbabwe Floyd, V. D., 1997, Communication with WHO, Osemeobo, G. J., 1993, The hazards of rural PROMETRA (Promotion des Médecines poverty: decline in common property re- Traditionnelles), 21 Jul. 1997, Dakar, Sen- sources in Nigerian rainforest ecosystem, egal Journal of Environmental Management, 38: FORMECU, 1997, A study on non-timber for- 201-212 est products in Wada Taye forest research Oteng-Yeboah, A. A., 1996, Biodiversity in three of Borno State traditional groves in the Guinea savannah, Koumare, M., 1980, La médecine traditionnelle Ghana, In: van der Maesen, L. J. G., van au Mali, Bamako, Institut National de der Burgt, X. M. and van Medenbach de Recherches sur la Pharmacopée et la Rooy, J. M. (Eds.), The Biodiversity of Af- Médecine Traditionelle rican Plants, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Le Grand, A. and Wondergem, P., 1990, Herbal Dordrecht, The Netherlands medicine and health promotion: a compara- Ousseini, H., 1982, Communication with WHO, tive study of herbal drugs in primary health Chief Physician of the Niamey Hospital, care, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, Republic of Niger, 25 Aug. 1982 The Netherlands Sanders, A. J. G. M., 1989, Towards the le- Massougbodji, M. A. and Tevoedjre, A., 1997, galization of African folk therapy, Medi- Communication with WHO, Cotonou, cine and the Law, 7: 523-528 Ministère de la Santé, de la Protection Sarumi, M. B., Ladipo, D. O. Denton, L., Sociale et de la Condition Féminine and Olapade, E. O., Badaru, K. and Vghasosr, Ministère du Plan, de la Restructuration C., 1996, Nigeria: country report to the Economique et de la Promotion de l’Emploi, FAO International Technical Conference on République du Bénin, 27 Oct. 1997 Plant Genetic Resources, Ibaden, Leipeg, Mensah, E. N., 2000, Traditional medicine in Nigeria, p. 108 Ghana: situation, policies, development and Sule S., 2000, Communication with WHO, challenges of the 21st century, presented National Traditional Medicine Development at “International Congress on Traditional Programme, Federal Ministry of Health, Medicine”, 22-24 Apr. 2000, Beijing, Nigeria, 11 May 2000 China Sumser, M., 1988, Traditional use of forest Mensah, M. L. K. and Sarpong, K., 1995, Train- products, In: Ellenberg, H. et al. (Eds.), ing of the traditional medicine practition- Pirang: Ecological Investigations in a For- ers and the preservation of our medical her- est Island in the Gambia, Stiftung itage: options and challenges, presented at Walderhaltung in Afrika, Bundesforschung- “Traditional Medicine and Modern Health sanstalt für Forst und Holzwirtschaft, Ham- Care: Partnership for the Future, A Two- burg, Germany day National Consensus-building Sympo- WHO, 1992, Analysis of questionnaire on tra- sium on the Policies on Traditional Medi- ditional medicine, WHO, Geneva, Switzer- cine”, 15-16 Mar. 1995, Ghana land (unpublished document WHO DOC. Nour, H. O. A., 1995, Quality control of gum 5183A/REV. DOC. 6136A) Arabic, Mission Report, Karthoum, Sudan Youngs, R. L., 1989, African workshop, Inter- Odebiyi, A. L., 1990, Western trained nurses national Union of Forestry Research Organi- assessment of the different categories of zations, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire traditional healers in southwestern Nigeria, Zida, O. B. and Kolongo, S. L., 1991, Séminaire Nit Journal of Nurse Studies, 27: 333-342 sur les Statistiques Forestières en Afrique, Oppong-Boachie, K., 1999, Strategy for tradi- FAO, Thiès, Senegal

40 Chapter 3

The Status of Medicinal Plants in East African Countries

3.1 Introduction health-care needs of about 80% of the population. Medicinal plants are widely The East African region constitutes used in remedies for human and veterinary the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethio- use by the Maasai, Kipsigis, Turkana and pia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and other tribes inhabiting the region. The Uganda (Walter, 2001). It has a variety Maasai tribes make use of more than 60 of vegetation ranging from dense tropical plant species for ethnoveterinary purposes. forests and woodlands to dry savannahs. They have a well-established pharmaco- The Eastern Arc montane forests running poeia for treating livestock diseases (Ole through Kenya and Tanzania, and the Lengisugi and Mziray, 1996). Several spe- Albertine Rift montane forests along the cies used for treating livestock diseases western border of Uganda are internation- have also been researched for their com- ally known biodiversity hot spots (Iddi, mercial application. Over-harvesting and 1998; Mittermeier et al., 2000). In Tan- habitat destruction of medicinal plant re- zania, 30 to 40% of the floristic diversity sources threaten their existence in the wild. is found in the tropical forests. The forested None of the East African countries areas are the abode of a large number of maintains countrywide quantitative data endemic plant species. The Abyssinian on supply, consumer demand and economic highlands of Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan benefits derived from medicinal plants and are known as the world’s centre of genetic their contribution to health care. Simi- diversity of cultivated plants. The biologi- larly, most of the collectors, producers and cal resources of the region have high na- end-users are unaware of the extent to tional and global economic importance. In which the rising demand is threatening the Uganda, the annual combined value of survival of the increasing number of these medicines derived from these resources and plant species. Free access to the resources other non-wood forest products has been and the low price paid to the collectors estimated to be worth about US$ 40 mn make commercial plant gatherers mine the (Emerton and Muramira, 1999). resources rather than manage them. The Traditional medicine caters for the country status of medicinal and aromatic

41 plant resources is given below. medicinal plant sector has the potential to make major contributions to economic 3.2 Djibouti growth and rural poverty alleviation. In Djibouti, the frequently used me- Ethiopia has a rich practice and dicinal plants are Aloe spp., Dodonaea widespread use of medicinal and aromatic viscosa (L.) Jacq., Solanum incanum L., plants in traditional remedies and religious Terminalia spp. and Ziziphus spp. With ceremonies. Written records of herbal the exception of traditional birth attend- medicine are almost absent even though ants, the government tolerates but does not the country has had a written language for officially recognize traditional medicine. over two thousand years. As with the Eu- There is no clear regulation to control the ropean herbalists of the sixteenth century, practice of traditional medicine. bizarre stories, legends and beliefs developed in Ethiopia. Astrological implications 3.3 Eritrea were common and used to be incorporated In Eritrea, 142 tree and shrub spe- as part of a cure. The gathering of me- cies are used for their medicinal and nu- dicinal herbs, their preparation and admin- tritional values (Benin et al., 1996). Gum istration is still, in many cases, astrologi- Arabic from Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. and cally determined. The art of preparing and olibanum resin from Boswellia papyrifera administering poisons is equally as rich in (Delile ex Caill.) Hochst. are traditional lore as in conventional medicine. products of commercial importance. In Ethiopia does not have countrywide 1997, forty-nine tonnes of gum Arabic and quantitative data on supply, consumer de- 543 tonnes of olibanum resin were ex- mand, and economic benefits derived from ported from the country (Ministry of Agri- medicinal plants and their contribution to culture, 1998). health care. The talent and expertise of professionals in the fields of plant chemis- 3.4 Ethiopia try, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, natu- Ethiopia, a sub-Saharan country of ral resource management, and industrial the East African region, is one of the most utilization of plant-based medicinal prod- ancient settlements and civilizations in the ucts is underutilized. Professionals and world. Its cultural and architectural her- TMPs need to work together to establish itage is considerably rich. A complex to- processes for managing and validating tra- pography with diversified climate makes ditional medicine. it a floristically diverse country. About 85% of the population, particularly in ru- Traditional Systems of Medicine ral areas, depends on medicinal plants as In Ethiopia, plants have been used a source for health-care remedies. The as a source of medicine from time imme-

42 morial to treat different ailments. Tradi- remedies have their roots in oral tradition tional medicine has become an integral and in medico-religious manuscripts and part of the culture. About 80% of Ethio- traditional pharmacopoeias dating back to pians depends on traditional medicine for the fifteenth century. The Ethiopian Tra- health care and more than 95% of tradi- ditional Healers Association reviews tional medicinal preparations is of plant TMPs’ qualifications. origin. Over 85% of rural population and Traditional medicine has received an increasing number of poor people in very little attention in modern research and urban centres derives their livelihood from development, and less effort has been made collection and trade of medicinal plant to upgrade the traditional medicine sys- material. tem. Recently, the Ethiopian health au- The use of traditional medicine is in- thorities have taken steps to promote and creasing as the high cost of the modern develop the traditional medicine sector. medicines has made them unaffordable to Proclamation No. 100 of 1948, the most of the inhabitants. The value and role Penal Code No. 512 of 1957 and the Civil of traditional health-care systems will not Code No. 8 of 1987 regulate traditional diminish in future as they are culturally medicine in the country. Official attention viable and affordable. The Ethiopian Min- to the promotion and development of tra- istry of Health has recognized the impor- ditional medicine was given in the Primary tance of medicinal plants and has formu- Health-Care Strategy of 1978. In 1979, lated health and drug policies to enhance the Office for the Coordination of Tradi- and develop the beneficial aspects of tra- tional Medicine, now a full-fledged Drug ditional medicine. Research Department under the Ministry Ethiopia has a long history of tradi- of Health, was established to organize, tional health care mostly based on rich and train, and register TMPs (Bishaw, 1991; non-standardized pharmacopoeias used by Ministry of Health, 1985). The Depart- the local population and traditional health ment is also responsible for identifying, practitioners. The efficacy of plants such describing, and registering traditional as Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J. F. Gmel. medicines with actual or potential efficacy. and Glinus lotoides L. for the treatment of In addition, it is undertaking chemical tapeworm infestation, and Phytolacca screening of medicinal plants, co- dodecandra L’Hér. as molluscicide in the ordinating activities on traditional medi- control of schistosomiasis, has been scien- cine, and carrying out census on traditional tifically determined while the safety and medical practices and on the evaluation of efficacy of many other plants remain un- traditional medicine. derdeveloped. Both the health and drug policies of Traditional medical practices and 1993 emphasize the need to develop the

43 beneficial aspects of traditional medicine the wild. Over-exploitation has threatened in the official health delivery services the existence of many plant species of me- through research and use. The Drug Ad- dicinal value. Some important medicinal ministration and Control Authority pre- and aromatic plants are given in Table 1. pares standards for safety, efficacy and A considerable number of Ethiopian quality of traditional medicines and evalu- shrubs and trees also yield exudates of com- ates laboratory and clinical studies as per mercial importance. Olibanum resins the standards laid down in the Proclama- (80% of total output of resin of this type), tion of 1999, issued on the basis of the Na- gum Arabic (14%) and myrrh (6%) play a tional Drug Policy. The Authority also is- significant role in the country’s economy. sues licences for the use of traditional medi- Olibanum resins are obtained from cines in the official health services. Boswellia papyrifera (Delile ex Caill.) Officially, no recognized education is Hochst. The plant is found in abundance provided in traditional medicine in Ethio- in the Tigray, Gondar, Wollega and Gojjam pia. There is no national or private health- provinces and sparsely spread in the Wello care insurance covering traditional medicine. and Shewa areas. Other species yielding similar resins are B. ogadensis, B. rivae, Medicinal Plant Resources B. sacra and B. frereana Birdw. Oliba- Ethiopia enjoys a great diversifica- num is used as a fragrance and flavouring tion of topographic, edaphic and climatic agent. conditions. There are more than 45 veg- Gum Arabic is obtained from Acacia etation types. The forests, savannahs, senegal (L.) Willd. The tree is distributed woodlands, steppes and grasslands com- in the Gojjam and Gondar provinces along prise 75% of the vegetation cover. About the Sudan border. A lower quality gum 7,000 species of pteridophytes and sperma- Arabic is obtained from A. seyal Delile tophytes can be found in the country. trees widely distributed in the Rift valley According to the Ethiopian Biodi- depressions. A gum of relatively low qual- versity Institute, over 10% of Ethiopian ity is also obtained from A. drepanolobium vascular flora is valued for its medicinal Harms ex Y. Sjöstedt, and A. polyacantha properties. There are 600 medicinal plant Willd. The gums are harvested through species of which about 250 have common tapping in northern Ethiopia, whereas in and widespread uses in the traditional sys- the southwestern part of the country only tems of medicine. Medicinal plants are natural gums are collected by the nomads. distributed all over the country, with The Natural Gums Processing and Mar- greater concentration in the south and keting Enterprise of Ethiopia controls the southwest. The root, bark, and whole plant gum Arabic trade and regulates the prices are the dominant plant parts collected from (Nour, 1995).

44 Table 1: Some common medicinal and aromatic plants of Ethiopia

Beotanical name Vyernacular nam Ftamil Plan Therapeutical part(s) uses/indications Acokanthera schimperi (A. Meerz (A); Keraro (G) Akpocynacea Bnar Arrow poiso DC.) Oliv. Adenium honghel A. DC. -eA-pocynacea Fish poiso n [=A. obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & Schult.] Adenium multiflorum -eA-pocynacea Fish poiso n Klotzsch Adenium somalense B-aif. f. A-pocynacea e Arrow poiso n Adenium speciosum F-enzl. A-pocynacea e Fish poiso n Ageratum conyzoides L). Geunyato, Arema (G Aesteracea Whol Wound and sore plant dressing Adhatoda schimperiana Sensel, Simiza A-canthaceae Excessive pelegra , Hochst. ex. Nees. Timisa (A); Dumoga laxative (GK) Ajuga remota B;enth. Ungo-quasot (T) Lfamiaceae Lfea Dysentery, swelling o Tale (Wol); legs, hypertension Akorarchigne (A) Albizia anthelmintica (A. Rhaybit (Som); Fabaceae -eTapeworm medicin Rich.) Brongn. Shina (A); Kebita (K) (Mimosoideae) Allophylus zeylanicus Le. Stapindacea Fmrui Tapewor expectorant Aloe srpp. Erret (A); Argebe Lfiliaceae Lnea Antipyretic, splee (Som) and liver problems Amaranthus caudatus Lf. Lishalisho, Ferenjite A-maranthaceae Tapewor m (A); Iyaso, Jololi (G); expectorant Gagabsa (W) Amaranthus sylvestris Aluma (A); Birnaheo A-maranthaceae Tapewor m (T) expectorant Aristolochia bracteata Retz. Ghaga (Ar); Boro, A-ristolochiaceae Leg itches in Kalaff o [=A. bracteolata Lam.] Grerbaad, Ged- hurguma (Som) Artemisia afra J,acq. Ariti (A); Chukun A-steraceae Stomach pai n Jukun (GH); Kodo (G) Asparagus s-pp. Ltiliacea eT,uber, roo Cooling medicine venereal diseases Bersama abyssinica F;resen. Azamrr (A) Mpelianthaceae Sdhoot ti Dysentery an Lolchissa (G) roundworm Boerhavia plumbaginea C-av. Nfyctaginacea eLdea Jaundice, woun healing Boswellia papyrifera (Delile Etan (A); Libanat B-urseraceae Antipyretic , ex Caill.) Hochst. (GH, Ar) tranquilizer

Brucea antidysenterica Raoxb. Woinos, Kola-wanz Stimaroubaceae Leaf, roo Skin diseases, (A); Mmeleta (T) bark, fruit leprosy, dysentery, fever Cadia purpurea (G. Piccioli) Kadi (Ar); Hasaus Fabaceae Whole Used by drug Aiton (T); Salema (Som) (Papilionaceae) plant companies in Europe Continued

45 Table 1 continued Beotanical name Vyernacular nam Ftamil Plan Therapeutical part(s) uses/indications Calotropis procera (Aiton) W. Tobbeya, Yahara-zaf, Aesclepiadaceae Root, whol Leprosy, tonic, T. Aiton Ghinda (A); Ghinda, plant venereal diseases Akalo, Tomfi (T); Gala, Boha (Som); Usher (Ar) Cannabis sativa L). Heashish (G Cfannabidacea Lcea Narcoti

Capparis tomentosa L;am. Gomor (Som) Cmapparaceae Rnoot, ste Poiso Gemaro (A); Andal (T) Capsicum annuum L). Meitmitta (A S-eolanacea Spic Carissa edulis V;ahl Akamba (B) A-pocynaceae Toothache, cough , Adishawel (Som) stomach ulcer Carum copticum (L.) C. B. Netch-azud (A); Atpiaceae Rsoo Stomach problem Clarke [=Trachyspermum Kamon (G) ammi (L.) Sprague ex Turrill] Cassia floribunda Cav. Seornema (K) Fabacea Seeed Laxative, snake bit [=Senna floribunda (Cav.) (Caesalpiniaceae) H. S. Irwin & Barneby] Catha edulis (Vahl) Forssk. Chat (A); Gofa, Jima Cfelastraceae Rhoot, lea Influenza, stomac ex Endl. (G); Gat (Ar); Dat problems, chest (Som) diseases, narcotic, stimulant, relieve fatigue and hunger Catharanthus roseus (L.) Madagascar Afpocynaceae Rnoot, lea Poiso G. Don Periwinkle (Eng) Celosia argentea L-. A,maranthacea eSeed Diarrhoea, flower dysentery, menstrual problems Chenopodium album L). Neechillo (A Clhenopodiacea Sceed oi Anthelminti Cissampelos pareira L-. Mfenispermacea eRsoot, lea Snake bite, wound Coccinia abyssinica (Lam.) Aenchote (G) Crucurbitacea Teube Edibl Cogn. Combretum paniculatum Baye, Buggie (G); Crombretaceae Fslowe Conjunctiviti Vent. Gabai, Shaga (K) Commiphora s,pp. Habak-hidd, Didin B-urseraceae Aromatic, antisepti c Hagar (Som) Conium maculatum L). Cehof-chof (GH A-piacea Poiso n Cordia africana Liam. Wanza (A); Auch Bdoraginaceae Wsoo Skin problem (T); Wodessa (G); (spider disease) Uddichio (Sid); Mokota (Wol.) Croton macrostachyus Bissana (A); E,uphorbiaceae Fruit, root Venereal diseases, Hochst. ex Delile Makanissa; Badessa; seed abortifacient Alaleh, Dogoma (G); Wush, Masincho (Sid) Cucumis prophetarum L). Yeemder-inbuyi (A Ceucurbitacea Fruit, whol Poison, expulsion of plant placenta in cows Continued

46 Table 1 continued

Beotanical name Vyernacular nam Ftamil Plan Therapeutical part(s) uses/indications Cucurbita maxima D)uchesne Deuba (A Cducurbitacea Smee Tapewor expectorant, anthelmintic Cynara scolymus L. Keenchofe (G) Afsteracea Lsea Liver disease [=C. cardunculus L.] Cyperus rigidifolius S)teud. Geicha (A Cbyperacea B,ul Antipyretic diarrhoea, stomach problems Datura stramonium Lt. Attefaris, Astenagr Sfolanaceae Sneed, lea Poiso (A) Embelia schimperi Voatke Ankoko (A); Enkok Mtyrginaceae F,rui Purgative (T); Unkoko (G) vermifuge Euphorbia hirta L. E-uphorbiaceae Asthm a [=Chamaesyce hirta (L.) Millsp.] Evolvulus alsinoides ()L.) L. Eerieaio (T Ctonvolvulacea Wehole plan Tonic, vermifug Ficus glomerata Roxb. -eMxoracea Lyate Dysenter [=F. racemosa L.] Ficus s)pp. Sehla (A Mtoracea Rsoo Urinary problem Foeniculum vulgare M,ill. Ensilal (A); Kamuni Atpiaceae S,eed, roo Flavouring agent Insilal (G) gonorrhoea Galinsoga parviflora C)av. Yeeshewa-arem (A A,steracea Leaf Wound, cut, saddle inflorescen- sore ce Glinus lotoides Lt. Meterre (A); Terabi A-izoaceae Tapewor m (T) infestation Gynandropsis speciosa (Raf.) -eC-apparidacea Kidney stone s DC. [=Cleome speciosa Raf.] Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) Habbi (T); Duchia, Rrhamnaceae Fmlowe Tapewor J. F. Gmel. Edo, Fieto (G); Heto infestation, (GK) abortifacient Heliotropium ovalifolium Deubj-goreyalle (Som) Btoraginacea Wnhole plan Scorpion poiso Forssk. Heliotropium s)pp. Heabak-hid (Som Btoraginacea Wfhole plan Quick expulsion o placenta Indigofera coerulea Roxb. Darko (Som); Houer Fabaceae Lgeaf, root Wound dressin var. occidentalis JB. Gillett (Ar) (Papilionaceae) & Ali Jasminum abyssinicum D-C. Ofleacea e Rsoot, lea Tonsilliti Juniperus procera Hochst. Teidh (T); Gttira (G) Cdupressacea Tswig, bu Stomach worm ex Endl. Kalanchoe sapp. Bosoke (G); Indahul Ctrassulaceae L,eaf, roo Sore boils (A and G) malignant wounds, gonorrhoea, intestinal parasites and worms Kigelia africana (Lam.) African sausage tree Btignoniaceae F,rui Purgative Benth. (Eng) dysentery Continued

47 Table 1 continued

Beotanical name Vyernacular nam Ftamil Plan Therapeutical part(s) uses/indications Kleinia s)pp. Keinchive (A A-nsteracea Poiso Lantana camara Le. Vferbeanacea Ltea Tonic, stimulan Lepidium sativum L;. Fetto (A); Shimfi (G) Cdruciferae Ssee Stomach problem Kotto, Shimfa (T); Shufu (GH) Leonotis raineriana Vis. Ras-kimmir, Feres- L-amiaceae Menstrual problem s [=L. ocymifolia var. zeng (A) raineriana (Vis.) Iwarsson] Linum usitatissimum Ld. Telba (A); Flax see Ldinaceae S,ee Demulcent, laxative (Eng) wounds Maerua angolensis ()DC.) Keadhi (Kon Cnapparidacea Fish poiso Maytenus ovata (tWall.) Loes. Kambolcha (G); Ata Cfelastraceae Lrea Anticance (A) Myrsine africana Lu. Kechemo (A); Katch Mtyrginaceae Fmrui Tapewor (GH) infestation Nicotiana glauca G)raham Teree tobacco (Eng Sfolanacea Leea Insecticid Nigella sativa L). Teikur-azmud (A R-anunculacea Flavouring agen t Opuntia vulgaris auct. mult. Kulkual (A); Beles Ctactaceae Farui Asthm [=O. monacantha Haw.] (T); Tini (GH); Prickly pear (Eng) Oxalis semiloba S)ond. Meicha-micho (A Obxalidacea Bmul Tapewor infestation Paullinia pinnata Le. S,apindacea Leaf, root Nerve poison seed Phytolacca dodecandra L;'Hér. Endod (A) P-hytolaccaceae Pelegra , Endoda(G); Endott, gonorrhoea, Shebeti, Shipiti, abortifacient Sobet (T) Polygala s-pp. Ptolygalacea eR,oo Snake bite expectorant, cough Polygonum senegalense Gunnamilla (A); Pfolygonaceae Lsea Skin problem Meisn. Chomo (G) Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Tikur-inchet (A); Rfosaceae Lsea Wound Kalkman Homi (G) Pterolobium stellatum Keneteffa (A); Fabaceae L,eaf Tuberculosis (Forssk.) Brenan Arangama (G) (Caesalpiniaceae) respiratory problems Punica granatum L-. Pfrimulacea eF,ruit, lea Diarrhoea vermifuge Quisqualis indica Lr. Rangoon-creepe Ctombretaceae Ferui Vermifug (Eng) Rhoicissus erythroides Heida-rafa (G) V-sitacea Rabie Planch. Ricinus communis L;. Gullo (A); Kobo (G) Eluphorbiaceae Seeed oi Purgativ Castor bean (Eng) Continued

48 Table 1 continued Beotanical name Vyernacular nam Ftamil Plan Therapeutical part(s) uses/indications Rosa abyssinica R. Br. ex Keqa (A); Wild Rtosaceae Fdrui Tapeworm an Lindl. Ethiopian rose (Eng) roundworm infestation Rubia s)pp. Eenchibrr (A Rfubiacea Lhea Coug Rumex nepalensis S-preng. Pfolygonacea eLeea Antidote, laxativ Rumex s-pp. P-olygonacea eRheumatism , stomachache Salvadora persica L,. Adai (T); Dadaho S,alvadoraceae Berries Cold, stomach Adz (Som); Imu- whole plant problems gareh (G, Ar) Scabiosa columbaria L). Teheiabi (T Dtipsacacea Lneaf, roo Constipatio Solanum incanum Le. Ingulla (T); Inboy Stolanaceae Farui Gonorrhoe (A); Hidi (G) Solanum marginatum La. f. Heda, iddi-orabiss Sdolanaceae S,ee Weak heart (G); Angulle (T) stomach problems Sphaeranthus suaveolens D-C. Gubbisna (G); Ala Atsteraceae Wehole plan Cough, perfum schina (GH) Tagetes minuta L-. Alsteracea eOei Insecticid Tamarindus indica L;. Homar (A); Roka (G) Fabaceae Fruit, leaf, Refrigerant, Ragai (Sod) (Caesalpiniaceae) seed digestive, carminative, laxative, antiscorbutic, poultice in boils, diarrhoea Taverniera abyssinica A-. Rich. Fdabacea e Seee Stomachach Tephrosia vogelii H-ook. f. Fabacea eLteaf Abortifacien (Papilionaceae) Thymus schimperi R)onn. Teossigne (A L-amiacea Gonorrhoea, cough , liver diseases Trichilia emetica V;ahl Kota, Gmmeh (T) Meeliaceae Root, whol Labour in Yahy (Som); Roka plant pregnancy, (Ar) antimalarial Trigonella foenum-graecum Lo. Abish (A); Sunk Fabaceae -rLeprosy muscula (G); Abacham, (Papilionaceae) dystrophy, Abacheh (T) rheumatism Vernonia amygdalina Daelile Grawa (A); Ebich A,steraceae Wood sap Purgative, stomach (G); Dumoga (GH) flower, problems, whole plant antimalarial Withania somnifera (,L.) Dunal Gisewa (A); Agolla Stolanaceae W,hole plan Cough, asthma Athmai (T); Gutita antiepileptic (GH) Ximenia americana L;. Inkoy (A); Huda (G) Otleaceae Ferui Vermifug Mellau, Maleta (T) Zehneria scabra (;L. f.) Sond. Areg-resa (A) Cfucurbitaceae Lsea Skin rashe Hafafelo (T) Continued

49 Table 1 continued

Beotanical name Vyernacular nam Ftamil Plan Therapeutical part(s) uses/indications Zingiber officinale Rloscoe Zingibil (A); Dendabi Z-ingiberaceae Stomach cramp s (T) Ziziphus mauritiana L,am. Gava (T); Ghob Rthamnaceae Raoo Astringent, scroful Gheb, Jumuba (Som); Kurkura (GH) (A) Amarinya; (Ar) Arabic; (B) Bena; (Eng) English; (G) Galinya; (GB) Galinya, Bale; (GH) Galinya, Harar; (GK) Galinya, Kaffa; (GS) Galinya; (K) Kaffa; (Kon) Konso; (Sid) Sidama; (Sod) Soddu; (Som) Somali; (T) Tiigrinya; (Wol) Wollamo.

Myrrh, the third valuable exudate, Tephrosia vogelii Hook. f. Poisonous prepa- is obtained from a small shrub rations are mostly used for homicidal pur- Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl. that is poses and are quite prevalent in the north- principally found in the provinces of ern provinces of Ethiopia. Ogaden, Bale and Sidamo. Habitat destruction, over-exploita- Commonly used medicinal plants are tion and destructive harvesting are the Ajuga spp., Artemisia rehan, Carissa edulis major threats to medicinal plant resources. Vahl, Clerodendrum myricoides (Hochst.) Dracaena steudneri Schweinf. ex Engl., Vatke, Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J. F. Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J. F. Gmel., Gmel., and Myrsine africana L. In addi- Securidaca longipedunculata Fresen., tion, Taverniera abyssinica A. Rich., and Clerodendrum myricoides (Hochst.) Vatke, Thymus schimperi Ron. [=Thymus Cucumis aculeatus Cogn. and Warburgia serpyllum L.] can be mentioned. The en- ugandensis Sprauge are some of the threat- demic plants to the highland area are used ened species in Ethiopia. Two plants, extensively by the local communities and Salsola spp. and Taverniera abyssinica A. TMPs in their remedies. Rich, have become rare owing to their un- Ethiopians possess an extensive sustainable use. knowledge of poisonous plants and the art of preparing poisons. A number of plants R&D Activities are used in the preparation of poison ar- The Institute of Biodiversity and Con- rows. The important poisonous plants are servation Research, the Ethiopian Agricul- Acokanthera schimperi Schweinf., tural Research Organization and the Es- Adenium obesum (Forssk.) Roem. & sential Oils Research Centre undertake Schult., A. somalense Baif. f., Cassia spp., R&D activities in conservation, cultivation Crotalaria retusa L., Euphorbia spp., and processing of medicinal and aromatic Securidaca longipedunculata Fresen. and plants. The Traditional Medicine Depart-

50 ment, the Department of Drug Research and pilot-scale production of essential oils of the Ministry of Health and the Institute is carried out at Wondo Genete. So far of Pathobiology of Addis Ababa Univer- the Centre has studied essential oils from sity undertake scientific validation of over 150 plant species, including the ex- herbal medicines. The Ethiopian Science otic ones. and Technology Commission supervises the The Ethiopian Science and Technol- patent protection and intellectual property ogy Commission was first established in rights on herbal medicinal products. The 1975 to initiate, organize, direct and pro- departments of Botany, Chemistry, Phar- mote the scientific and technological R&D macy and Veterinary Sciences of Addis activities in the country. The Commission Ababa University are involved in the de- was re-established in 1994 to enhance the velopment of cultivation practices of im- scientific and technological awareness of portant medicinal and aromatic plants, the people of Ethiopia and to improve their development of databases, phytochemical knowledge with a view to promoting the screening, formulations of finished herbal development of traditional, new and emerg- products and biological screening. ing technologies. In 1992, the Essential Oils Research The Institute of Pathobiology has and Development Unit of the former Na- undertaken extensive R&D activities on the tional Chemical Cooperation was upgraded molluscicidal plant Phytolacca dodecandra to the Essential Oils Research Centre. The (Endod). Until 1996, its drug research Centre works directly under the Ministry department had collected and documented of Trade and Industry and receives research information on over 600 medicinal plants. grants from the Ethiopian Science and The Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Technology Commission and the Swedish Institute has conducted research on 700 Agency for Research Cooperation with De- species of medicinal plants used by Ethio- veloping Countries/Swedish International pians for curing lung, venereal and other Development Authority (SAREC/SIDA). diseases. It has prepared an ointment from The Centre conducts research on five traditional medicines called topical agronomic, biological and chemical aspects ointment to treat skin, blood and respira- and develops technological packages for tory diseases. pilot-scale production of essential oils. It An extensive collection of native has a pilot distillation unit for essential oils Ethiopian medicinal plants has been un- and about 80 hectares of farmland at dertaken by the United States Department Wondo Genete. Its laboratory at Addis of Agriculture (USDA) research service. Ababa caters for the quantitative and It has also made preliminary anticancer qualitative analysis of plant products. The screening of the plant samples and encour- agricultural trials, preliminary analysis aging results have been found. A similar

51 screening programme has been developed world’s largest producer of olibanum resin. to test Ethiopian plants by the Institute of According to 1981 estimates, the poten- Tropical Medicine in the UK. tial production was 23,000 tonnes of which nearly half was exported (FAO, 1995). Trade and Marketing The collection of olibanum resin is A list of the most common medicinal one of the top employment generating ac- plants used in traditional medicine on the tivities in the remote areas of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian market are given in Table 2 number of seasonal workers engaged in (Dessisa, 1997). tapping and grading ranges from 20,000 to 30,000. Table 2: Most common medicinal plants on Ethiopian market 3.5 Kenya

Botanical name Kenya is situated on the equator on the eastern coast of the African continent. Adhatoda schimperiana Asparagus africana Medicinal plants play an important role in Bersama abyssinica Fresen. the national health-care system and are the Coriandrum sativum L. source of foreign revenue. At a national Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex. A. Rich. level, medicinal plant markets vary across Embelia schimperi Vatke the country and market development has Euphorbia ampliphylla Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J. F. Gmel. reached various stages. About 37 medici- Kalenchoe spp. nal plant species are in common and wide- Lupinus albus L. spread use in traditional systems of medi- Olea africana Mill. cine. Ricinus communis L. In common with many countries in Rumex abyssinicus Jacq. Rumex nervosus Vahl Africa, Kenya is endowed with a rich var- Tamarindus indica L. ied indigenous flora, which is extensively Ximenia americana L. used in traditional systems of medicine. There is great potential of setting up industries for the extraction and processing The average national annual output of medicinal plants and distillation of es- of exudates in the period between 1978 sential oils from aromatic plants. Favour- and 1991 was over 1,500 tonnes. Since able agro-climatic conditions make it ide- 1992, production grew to over 2,000 ally suited to the introduction and cultiva- tonnes. Reliable data on the production tion of a large number of medicinal and and utilization of exudates are not avail- aromatic plants, which have established able. uses in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic Besides Sudan, Ethiopia is the industries. Among the medicinal plants,

52 the species deserving technology upgrad- habitants (BBC World Service, 2000). ing are Cinchona succirubra Pav. ex State Efforts in Development of Traditional Klotzsch [=Cinchona pubescens Vahl], Medicine Agave sisalana Perrine, Datura stramonium L., Rauvolfia spp., Juniper spp., Ge- The efforts for incorporation of tra- ranium spp. and Eucalyptus spp. An al- ditional medicine into the national health kaloid industry could be set up with a pro- policy were initiated in the late 1970s. duction of around 25 tonnes of cinchona Kenya’s Development Plan 1989-93 rec- alkaloids per year as the production of raw ognized the practice and promotion of tra- cinchona bark is estimated at around 500 ditional medicine through TMPs (Anony- tonnes per year. There are many more spe- mous, 1994). Only registered TMPs at the cies worth further investigation. Ministry of Health and provincial authori- Pyrethrum, Tanacetum cinerariifolium ties are allowed to practice traditional (Trevir.) Sch. Bip., is an important cash crop medicine. The patent law was revised in grown in the Kenyan Highlands at the 1999 with the purpose of including legal Nakuru, Laikipia, Kisii, Kiambu and Bo- protection of traditional medicines. Re- met divisions. About 70% of global de- search has also been strengthened to find mand for pyrethrum is sourced from Kenya better treatments for diseases such as HIV/ (Uwechue, 1996). Essential oil from AIDS and cancer. Juniperus procera Hochst. ex Endl. is in high demand in the industry. Its intensive Medicinal Plant Resources exploitation has led to a short supply of Kenya has over 10,000 species of in- raw material to the industry (FAO, 1995). digenous flora of which about 1,200 are of medicinal value. There are about 42 Traditional Systems of Medicine ethnic groups that rely exclusively on me- Traditional medicine has not been dicinal plants for their health-care needs integrated into mainstream medicine but and livelihood. The Traditional Kikuyu it is widely practised by local communities Society makes use of medicinal plants to and TMPs in urban centres (Cunningham, treat various human and livestock ailments. 1997). The local communities of southern In western Kenya, the Luhya tribe use Nyanza districts have a rich knowledge of Mondia whitei (Hook. f.) Skeels to increase practices of traditional medicine. The in- male libido. The Maytenus spp. are used sufficient number of modern medical doc- throughout Africa as a tonic to relieve joint tors means that most of the population re- pains and abdominal discomforts. The lies on TMPs for health care. For exam- Warburgia ugandensis Sprague is widely ple, in the Rachuonyo area there is only used by Kikuyus to flush out tapeworms one modern medical doctor for 40,000 in- and to improve appetite. The Olea africana

53 Mill. [=O. europaea subsp. cuspidata Alternative Medicine and Technology (Wall. ex G. Don) Cif.)] is used to cure dif- (Samtech), Ruring’u Nyeri is involved in ferent ailments. Its root, bark and leaf R&D in herbal medicines for the treatment are used in the preparation of human and of diabetes and HIV/AIDS. It has devel- veterinary medicines. Urtica massaica oped 36 herbal medicine formulae and is Mildbr., stinging nettle, is used by the also in the process of manufacturing herbal Kikuyus in making irio (a mixture of cosmetics, teas and tonics. The Institute mashed maize, beans, potatoes, etc.), used of Herbs Treatment has undertaken stud- to lower blood sugar level and to purify ies on garlic (Allium sativum L.) and soya the blood. The leaf extract of Vernonia bean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) against the brachycalyx O. Hoffm., used against ma- replication of the HIV virus. The Miti laria, has shown strong antimalarial ac- Shamba Reserach Centre and the Winafya tivity in bioassays. A community group, Research and Medicines Institute under- known as Community Development Cen- take research in the field of traditional tre for Kinoo (CODECK), gives education medicine. and training to young generations. The The Department of Chemistry of the main topics are the value of herbal medi- University of Nairobi deals with the isola- cine in health care, and the ways and means tion of compounds from medicinal plants of growing and using readily available and supplies them to pharmaceutical com- herbs. panies such as Merck (USA) and Jansel Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman (Belgium) to test these compounds for bio- grows wild in the hills of Cherangani, logical activity and process drugs from Timboroa, Taita, Chyulu, Tugen and Nyiro, them. In collaboration with the Interna- in the Nandi forests, the eastern reaches tional Centre for Insects Physiology and of the Mau ranges, the Kakamega forest the Entomology and Medical Research In- and in the montane forests of western stitute, university scientists are engaged to Kenya. raise the level of biochemical research in order to obtain economic gains for the R&D Activities country. International donor agencies such Kenya has a medium-sized research as the United States Agency for Interna- programme in herbal medicine. The Tra- tional Development (USAID) and the In- ditional Medicine and Drug Research Cen- ternational Foundation of Science (IFS) tre of the Kenya Medical Research Insti- provide funds for undertaking research in tute, Nairobi has been engaged to conduct the field of medicinal plants. research on the potential commercial ap- The Coffee Board and the Tea Board plication of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. for of Kenya are responsible for research on its antimalarial properties. The School of coffee and tea, respectively. In addition,

54 some agricultural research has been done Problems and Constraints by the universities, non-governmental or- There is a lack of information on ganizations (NGOs) and the private sector. standardization techniques for quality, safety and efficacy of finished products and Trade and Marketing regulation of trade in medicinal plant ma- Kenya exports significant quantities terial and herbal products. The short self- of Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman, life of herbal drugs poses a major problem Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. F.) Chiov. and in the supply chain. There is also a need to Aloe spp. to the international market. regulate legislation to accommodate tra- Since 1990, about 1,100 tonnes of Prunus ditional doctors within the Ministry of africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman bark have Health. They are currently under the Min- been sold to the French firm Prosynthese, istry of Culture and Social Services. a subsidiary of the Fournier Group, which produces Tedenan tablets for prostate can- 3.6 Somalia cer. Kenya has exported annually about In Somalia, the use of 151 medici- 300 tonnes of bark worth about US$ 0.57 nal plants has been documented. In the mn. About 79 tonnes of Warburgia Lower Jubba region, 81 plant species are salutaris (Bertol. f.) Chiov. bark or extract used for their medicinal value (Bowen, worth US$ 0.14 mn and about 5 tonnes of 1990). Somalia is the world’s largest ex- Aloe extract worth US$ 5,986 were exporter of myrrh, (Commiphora myrrha ported to Germany in 1992 and 1993, re- (Nees) Engl.), opopanax (C. kataf (Forssk.) spectively (Lange, 1997). Engl., [=C. erythraea (Ehrenb.) Engl.] , Kenya is the major supplier of pyre- olibanum resin (Boswellia sacra Flueck. thrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium (Trevir.) [=B. carteri Birdw.]) and maidi (B. Sch. Bip.) to the world market and has frereana Birdw.) brands. The export of dominated world production since 1933, these resins is declining due to the politi- when it first started commercial produc- cal instability in the country (EC, UNDP tion of pyrethrum. Owing to the lack of and FAO, 1998). The export value of these processing facilities and adverse condi- resins was estimated at US$ 156 mn on tions, production has declined from 16,000 the international market, although official tonnes in 1992 to 6,000 tonnes in 2000. receipts for 1984 and 1985 showed only Coil Products (K) Limited is the major pro- US$ 28 mn (Bowen, 1990). In all, more ducer of pyrethrum in Kenya. Besides sup- than 10,000 men are employed in the col- plying the local market, the company also lection of resins in Somalia. exports mosquito coils to Tanzania, Myrrh and opopanax are used as fla- Uganda, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Malawi and vouring agents and for mouthwashes and Japan. beverages. Commiphora spp. are found in

55 the dry inland locations from the north to The well-known medicinal and aromatic the extreme south. However, much of the plants found in Sudan are Cassia acutifolia material exported from Somalia is believed Delile, Ricinus communis L., Capsicum to be collected in Ethiopia. At the end of frutescens L., Datura stramonium L., the 1980s, the annual estimated volume Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel., Catharanthus of exports of Commiphora resins was roseus (L.) G. Don, Foeniculum vulgare 1,000 tonnes worth US$ 4 mn (Bowen, Mill. and Anethum graveolens L. 1990). The export volume of myrrh Sudan has witnessed the fusion of dropped from 1,352 tonnes in 1976 to 421 Pharonic, Christian and Islamic cultures tonnes in 1979 (Coppen, 1995). with the local indigenous cultures. This Olibanum resin is exploited from the ethnic and cultural diversity led to the natural stands of Boswellia spp. It is used country becoming a melting pot of Afri- as incense in religious ceremonies and as can cultures with respect to herbal medi- a flavouring agent. There are two types of cine. The diversity is largely attributed to olibanum: olibanum maidi, produced from immigration from the rest of the continent, Boswellia freeriani and olibanum beyo ob- in particular from the west. tained from B. sacra [=B. carteri]. Most The country is well-positioned to play of the exploitation of olibanum takes place a leading role in the area of medicinal in northeastern Somalia and for many col- plants by virtue of its climate that varies lectors it is the principal source of income from arid desert in the north to tropical in (Bowen, 1990). the south. The vegetation belts are repre- sentative of African vegetation and in par- 3.7 Sudan ticular west African with respect to me- Among the number of indigenous spe- dicinal plant resources. cies of medicinal and aromatic plants With this unique history and varied present in Sudan, about 18 species are climate, terrain, flora and fauna, the peo- available in abundant quantity. Many of ple of Sudan have developed their own tra- these are well-known and included in rec- ditional medical culture. Medicinal and ognized pharmacopoeias. Sudan’s climatic aromatic plants are not only used to meet features can be exploited for the cultiva- health-care needs but also for cosmetics tion of a variety of medicinal and aromatic and perfumery purposes. plants. As the country possesses large ar- Traditional medicine is both popular eas of arable land and a good supply of and important as a medical system and has labour, there are good prospects for indus- been integrated into the national health- trial production of plant-derived pharma- care schemes. Most of the medicinal herbs ceuticals. Furthermore, it is felt that cul- are gathered from the wild in unsustain- tivation could create export opportunities. able ways resulting in short supply and

56 quality deterioration of raw material that medicinal and aromatic plants, which ei- is exported from the country. The Suda- ther occur naturally or are cultivated, are nese government is giving more attention widely used for their medicinal, aromatic to the cultivation of medicinal plants in and other health-giving properties. They demand on the international market. As are used in the preparation of traditional part of this effort, improved hybrids and remedies as well as in industry for the varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants preparation of derivatives. The main me- have been imported for commercial pro- dicinal plant species are Acacia nilotica duction. (L.) Delile, Adansonia digitata L., Cassia senna L., Grewia spp. and Tamarindus Traditional Systems of Medicine indica L. A total number of 46 species Traditional medicine has its roots in from the White Nile provinces and about Islamic and west African medicine. Peo- 68 species from central Sudan are reported ple depend on herbal medicines, which are to be of medicinal value. Some medicinal an integral part of the health-care system. and aromatic plant resources of Sudan are There is vast experience in the use of herbs given in Table 3 and the species under cul- in medical treatments. Many families spe- tivation are listed in Table 4. There is great cialize in herbal medicines and this knowl- potential to increase the production of edge is conveyed from generation to gen- medicinal and aromatic plants. The spe- eration. Patients travel from urban to ru- cies suitable for commercial production in ral areas to consult TMPs/herbalists, es- different regions are given in Table 5 pecially for chronic diseases. The Me- (Abdalla and Nour, 2001; Ethohami, 1999). dicinal and Aromatic Herbs Research Institute has trained a considerable number Gum Arabic Industry of specialists in the various fields required Gum Arabic is one of the world’s most for research in medicinal plants. Legisla- useful natural substances, which has been tion is in force for the registration of herbal in use since 4000 B.C. or before. The preparations and herbal products. name, gum Arabic, is believed to describe the gum shipped from Arabian ports to Medicinal Plant Resources worldwide distribution centres, mainly in There are more than 3,132 vascular Europe. It is sourced from acacia trees. plant species, of which 50 are endemic. There are over 1,100 species of Acacia The Sudan Atlas of Medicinal Plants has worldwide, among them Acacia senegal records of more than 2,000 medicinal (L.) Willd. and A. seyal Delile are com- plants collected from different parts of the mercially exploited for Hashab and Talh country. Several native plant species are types of gum Arabic, respectively. These in use in traditional medicine. At least 60 species are found in the gum Arabic belt

57 in Africa, which covers parts of Burkina lap bags through to Port of Sudan, on the Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Red Sea. Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. Gum from The highest quality gum Arabic is other species such as Boswellia papyrifera found in Sudan, Chad and Nigeria. The (Delile ex Caill.) Hochst. (Tarag Tarag) and Sudanese gum harvest accounts for more Sterculia setigera Delile (Tartar or Karaya) than 70% of the world’s supply on an an- also has good potential on the world mar- nual basis. It is the third largest export ket (Omer et al., 1993). merchandize after cotton and sorghum. Gum Arabic is a tasteless, odourless About 90% of gum exported from Sudan substance used in a variety of medicinal is Hashab (Anonymous, 2002). and industrial applications. It is reported The world’s largest trader of gum to reduce cholesterol levels, lower blood Arabic, Gum Arabic Co. Ltd. was estab- pressure, and encourage the body’s absorp- lished in 1969 to provide order in the free- tion of iron, and is used as an ingredient in for-all gum trade of Sudan, to ensure con- drugs for kidney diseases. sistent quality of exports and to protect the Gum Arabic is so important that farmers’ interests. The company purchases when the USA imposed the economic sanc- most of the gum produced in the country tions on Sudan in 1997, it banned all trade and exercises a monopoly on the export of and investment links between the two coun- the substance. Some of the production is tries except gum Arabic. smuggled out of the country, especially The Hashab type of gum Arabic is through Chad and Ethiopia, to the inter- the gummy exudate obtained through tap- national market for higher prices. Apart ping the branches of the Acacia senegal from exporting different grades of Hashab (L.) Willd. while the Talh type is the exu- and Talh gum Arabic, the company also date from A. seyal Delile which flows natu- exports kibbled gum Arabic (Hashab). rally out of cracks in the bark and branches. A tree between 7 and 12 years R&D Activities old yields a maximum of 10 kg gum in a In Sudan, research on medicinal and season. When the production of Hashab aromatic plants begun a long time ago, but gum is low, the cheaper Talh gum is used it was scattered and unstructured until the as a substitute. Hashab gum is exported establishment of the Medicinal and Aro- mainly in crude forms under different matic Plants Research Institute (MAPRI). grades: hand picked selected, cleaned gum, In 1973, the National Council for Research siftings and dust. Talh gum is also exported established the Medicinal and Aromatic in crude form. The graded gum is sold to Plants Research Unit, which was upgraded the Gum Arabic Company Ltd., which ex- to the status of an institute in 1983. In ports the packed gum in 50 or 100 kg bur- 1992, the Traditional Medicine Research

58 Table 3: Some medicinal and aromatic plant species of Sudan

B)otanical name Local name(s Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile subsp. nilotica Sunt, garad Acacia nilotica subsp. tomentosa Sunt, garad Acacia senegal var. senegal Hashab Acacia seyal var. seyal Talh Acacia seyal var. fistula Talh Aloe srpp. Sabba Ambrosia maritima La. Damsis Ammi majus L-. Argemone mexicana Le. Agreson Balanites aegyptiaca Dbel. Heglig, lalou Boswellia papyrifera (nDelile ex Caill.) Hochst. Targ-targ, gafal, luba Citrullus colocynthis (lL.) Schrad. Handa Cymbopogon proximus (bHochst. ex A. Rich) Stapf Mahare Datura innoxia Mniller Alsakra Datura metel L-. Dioscorea sapp. Dioscoer Haplophyllum tuberculata (aForssk.) A. Juss. Haz Rauvolfia vomitoria Aafzel. Rauwolfi Solanum nigrum Ld. Enab el deib, elmugad el aswa Tamarindus indica Lb. Aradi

Table 4: Medicinal and aromatic plant species under cultivation in Sudan

B)otanical name Local name(s Azadirachta indica Am. Juss. Nee Brassica nigra (dL.) W. D. J. Koch Khardal aswa Carica papaya Li. Baba Datura stramonium Ln. Sakra Foeniculum vulgare Mrill. Shamu Grewia tenax (mForssk.) Fiori Godei Hibiscus sabdariffa Lh. Karkade Hyoscyamus muticus Li. Sakran musr Moringa oleifera Leam. Horesradish tre Nicotiana rustica La. Tuback, Gamsh Nigella sativa Ld. Kamoon Aswa Ocimum basilicum Ln. Reeha Ricinus communis Li. Khirw Senna alexandrina Maill. Senna mak Solenostemma arghel (lDel.) Hayne Harge

59 Table 5: Medicinal and aromatic plant species suitable for commercial production in Sudan

Pelant species Lnocal nam Regions suitable for productio Aloe srpp. Snabba Northern Suda Carum carvi La. Karaway Citrullus colocynthis (lL.) Schrad. Handa Cymbopogon citratus (sDC.) Stapf Lemon gras Cymbopogon proximus (Hochst. ex A. Mahareab Rich) Stapf Datura stramonium Ln. Sekra Matricaria recutita Lg. Babon Mentha stpp. Nanaa min Moringa oleifera Leam. Horseradish tre Nigella sativa Ld. Black see Plantago ovata Fmorssk. Psylliu Senna alexandrina Maill. Senna mak Alpinia slpp. G)alanga Western Sudan (Jabal Mara area Artemisia herb-alba Ahsso. Shee Hibiscus sabdariffa Lh. Karkade Mentha piperita Lh. Pepper nanaa Senna alexandrina Maill. Senna mak Zingiber officinale Rloscoe Zangabee Allium sativum Lc. Gnarli Eastern and central Suda Aloe sinkatana Sabbar Aloe srpp. Sabba Catharanthus roseus (aL.) G. Don Vinc Cymbopogon citratus (sDC.) Stapf Lemon gras Plantago ovata Fmorssk. Psylliu Salvadora persica Lk. Ara Alpinia slpp. G)alanga Southern Sudan (upper lands Piper nigrum Lr. Black peppe Rauvolfia vomitoria Aafzel. Rauwolfi Zingiber officinale Rloscoe Zangabee

Institute also joined the MAPRI. The Insti- Trade and Marketing tute undertakes activities on the development of medicinal and aromatic plants, tradi- Sudan exports significant volumes of tional herbal medicine and other industrial medicinal and aromatic plant material to aspects of medicinal plants. The industrial the world market. Its export of other me- uses of some medicinal and aromatic plants dicinal plants (HS 1211.90.80 and in Sudan are given in Table 6. 1211.90.90) to Germany increased to

60 3,755 tonnes in 1994 from 1,655 tonnes synthetic, substitute for gum Arabic. Many in 1991 (Bank of Sudan, 2001). US companies prefer Sudanese gum Arabic The annual export value of medici- for its high quality and consistency. Spray- nal and aromatic plants from Sudan was dried gum is the principal merchandize in US$ 10 mn in the period between 1995 the USA (Anonymous, 1997). and 1999. The export of plants for herbal Despite world economic expansion in teas, except mint leaves, to the USA was the last decades, total consumption of gum worth US$ 0.26 mn in 1997 and Sudan’s Arabic has declined internationally from export of plant material for medicaments, 70,000 tonnes in the early 1960s to 30,000 perfumery, insecticidal and fungicidal pur- to 40,000 tonnes in 2000. In the mid poses to the European Union was worth 1960s, gum Arabic was exported in huge US$ 4.5 mn in the same year. Most of the volumes, around 50,000 tonnes per annum, crude drugs exported are destined to Ger- but due to under-invoicing of gum, total many, the UK and Italy. The leading me- exports revenue did not exceed US$ 12 mn dicinal plants exported from Sudan are (Paul, 2000). given in Table 7 (US Department of Com- In 2001, the Sudanese export volume merce, 2001). Hibiscus from Sudan is of gum Arabic was 18,984 tonnes worth preferred on the world market for its per- US$ 19.8 mn (11,192 tonnes of the fect colour blends and taste. The German Hashab type worth US$ 13.5 mn; 1,272 import market is dominated by Sudanese tonnes of the Talh type worth US$ hibiscus as a herbal tea base. 901,000; 6,520 tonnes of gum dust worth Sudan is one of the main gum pro- US$ 5.4 mn). Exports to the USA were ducing countries, and exports gum Arabic worth US$ 2.8 m (2,840 tonnes) in the as a primary product to western European same year (Bank of Sudan, 2001). countries and the USA. The large markets for this commodity are the European 3.8 Tanzania Union, Switzerland and Scandinavia (40% The economy of Tanzania depends on of the world market), the USA (25%) and agricultural exports including pyrethrum, Japan (10%). coffee, tea, cloves and medicinal plants. Sudan annually produces about Medicinal plants and their products are not 26,000 tonnes of gum Arabic and the USA recognized as a source of revenue to the imports about 5,000 tonnes. On the US nation but individuals and companies find market, the well-seasoned (gum which per- the sector promising in terms of economic forms superbly in emulsions), low viscos- gains. ity and low moisture gum is preferred for Traditional health practices in Tan- a wide variety of food and beverage appli- zania have existed for a long time. The cations. There is no complete, natural or exploration of plants medicinal properties

61 Table 6: Some industrialized medicinal and aromatic plant species of Sudan

P)lant Usse(s User industrie Acacia senegal (tL.) Willd. Eymulsifying agen Textile, confectionar Aloe sepp. Hcealing substanc Cosmeti Arachis hypogaea Ly. Rleduce bleeding tendenc Pharmaceutica Balanites aegyptiaca Dnel. S)ource of diosgeni Pharmaceutical (precursor Boswellia papyrifera (Delile ex Caill.) Agromatic, binder Incense, plasters and fumin Hochst. pastilles Capsicum frutescens La. Adntirheumatic and sciatic As tinctures, ointments an plasters, food, pharmaceutical Carum carvi Lt. Fdlavouring agen Foo Citrullus colocynthis (-L.) Schrad. Hydragogue catharic, anti Indigenous medicine rheumatic Coriandrum sativum Lt. Fdlavouring agen Foo Cuminum cyminum Lt. Clarminative, stimulan Food, pharmaceutica Cymbopogon citratus (cDC.) Stapf Acromati Cosmeti Cymbopogon proximus (Hochst. ex A. Diuretic, colic painkiller and Indigenous medicine Rich) Stapf antipyretic Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (dL.) Taub. Sdtabilizer, thickener in foo Food, pharmaceutical an cosmetic Eucalyptus globulus Lcabill. A)nti-asthmati Cigarettes (astringents Foeniculum vulgare Mgill. Adromatic, flavourin Perfumery, foo Hibiscus sabdariffa Ll. Heypotensive, antimicrobia Beverag Lawsonia inermis Le. Dcy Cosmeti Nigella sativa Lc. Fylavouring, diurti Food, confectionar Ocimum basilicum Lg. Adromatic, flavourin Perfumery, foo Pimpinella anisum Lc. Fylavouring agent, aromati Confectionary and perfumer Ricinus communis Lt. Deisinfectant, lubrican Cosmetic and automobil (lubricant) Solenostemma arghel Hyayne Ceough remed Indigenous medicin Trigonella foenum-graceum Lt. Deemulscen Food, veterinary medicin

Table 7: Medicinal plant export from Sudan

V)olume (tonnes) Value (million US$ Goods 21000 2000 2100 200 H5ibiscus flowers 210,37 102,75 105.6 9.3 S3enna pods 18,75 676 01.7 0.3 H8enna 426 577 03.4 0.5

62 had created, through careful observation, already being prepared on a small-scale in trial and error, a vast heritage of knowl- an ad-hoc manner to meet the local tradi- edge and expertise among different ethnic tional pharmacopoeial requirements, could cultures. Through the ages, most of such undoubtedly be produced on a pilot plant indigenous knowledge was handled down scale. by oral tradition. The lack of written documents and rapid loss of biodiversity of Traditional Systems of Medicine medicinal plant resources have made the In Tanzania, over 60% of the popu- promotion of traditional medical practices lation has a traditional healer as first con- difficult. There has also been a decline in tact in case of health problems. It is esti- the number of TMPs (Mhame, 1990). In mated that there are about 75,000 TMPs the 1990s, other alternative systems of in the country. The ratio of TMPs to popu- health care such as homeopathic medicine, lation is 1 : 4,000 compared to 1 : 20,000 and traditional Chinese, Korean, and Indian for modern medical doctors. Although tra- medicines have emerged in the country. ditional medicines play a significant role Tanzania is famous for the produc- in primary health care, there is still no ef- tion of spices such as cardamom and clove, fective utilization of the practice through and medicinal plants such as Cinchona modern science and technology. succirubra Pav. ex Klotzsch and Agave The Medical Practitioners and Den- sisalana Perrine. The export of these and tists Ordinance holds exemplary status for other species has already begun. Some TMPs (Anonymous, 1974). In an effort to plants of domestic pharmaceutical use that promote and standardize traditional medi- are also exported are Acacia senegal (L.) cine in the country, the Traditional Medi- Willd., Agave sisalana Perrine, Capsicum cine Research Unit was established by the frutescens L., Cinchona succirubra Pav. ex government in 1974 as part of the Univer- Klotzsch, Chenopodium ambrosioides L., sity of Dar es Salaam and the Muhimbili Citrus aurantium L., Datura stramonium Medical Centre (Ministry of Health, 1999). L., Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb. The Unit is responsible for the unification [=Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L. of TMPs, formation of a traditional medi- M. Perry], Foeniculum vulgare Mill. and cine policy, and to improve the state of Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. There is a need health of people through the use of effec- to further develop agro-technology for tive and safe traditional medicine. In about 23 medicinal and aromatic plants 1985, the government initiated the proc- found in the indigenous flora of Tanzania. ess of developing a law to register and li- They merit additional investigation for cense TMPs. their use in the production of pharmaceu- In 1989, the governance of tradi- ticals. Many pharmaceutical products, tional health services was shifted from the

63 Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Cunningham, 1997). Health (Mhame, 1990). Traditional health The cultivated non-indigenous me- services are officially recognized in the dicinal plant, pyrethrum (Tanacetum National Health Policy of 1990 (Ministry cinerariifolium (Trevir.) Sch. Bip.), is the of Health, 1999). They have not, however, main crop with export potential. Pyre- been incorporated into the training cur- thrum was introduced on the slopes of ricula of allopathic medicine. Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru in the late 1930s. Cultivation was started in Medicinal Plant Resources 1941 in the Southern Highlands and by Most of the remedies in traditional 1949, the country was exporting 274 medicine are prepared from plants. The tonnes of dried flowers to the world mar- secretiveness of traditional healers and the ket. The production of pyrethrum in- tendency to hide information makes it dif- creased from 2,220 tonnes in 1992 to ficult to assess which species are of major 4,000 tonnes in 2000. The Southern High- medical importance. The local markets are lands area produces a higher yield of pyre- the starting point for identifying species thrum than the Northern Highlands. Py- of local importance. rethrum processing and marketing is un- At least 150 medicinal plants are dertaken by the Tanzania Pyrethrum reported to be traded in the country. The Processing and Marketing Company Lim- common and widespread use of 86 medici- ited, now a subsidiary of M/S International nal and 8 aromatic plants have been docu- Chemical Producers of the Republic of mented in literature (Rulangaranga, South Africa. 1989). Some important medicinal plant Many tribes in Tanzania have a rich species are given in Table 8. knowledge of traditional remedies which Most of the medicinal plant material are unknown to the western world. There is collected from the wild and few from are around 33 plant species alone used to cultivation. The most known medicinal treat malaria. Over 50% of plants in the plant species used as a source of antima- country have potential for some type of larial drug, Cinchona spp. (C. calisaya medicine. Wedd., C. officinalis L., C. pubescens Vahl) According to the Tanzanian Associa- are cultivated in association with commer- tion of Traditional Healers, Tanzania has cial tea estates in the Southern Highlands. a large number of TMPs. Most medicinal The over-exploitation of Acacia plants and their products are not certified farnesiana (L.) Willd., Xylopia aethiopica by the Ministry of Health, but herbal medi- (Dunal) A. Rich. and Warburgia salutaris cine and TMPs are receiving attention from (Bertol. f.) Chiov. has threatened their ex- the mainstream health officials and medi- istence in the wild (Rulangaranga, 1989; cal research centres.

64 Table 8: Some important medicinal and aromatic plants of Tanzania

Abrus precatorius L. Euphorbia gossypina Pax Acacia mellifera (Vahl) Benth. Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev. Acacia polyacantha Willd. Ficus bussei Warb. ex Mildbr. & Burret Achyranthes aspera L. Grewia sulcata Mast. Adansonia digitata L. Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit. Adenia gummifera Harms Jateorhiza palmata (Lam.) Miers. Albizia versicolor Welw. ex Oliv. Lantana camara L. Albizia glaberrima (Schum. & Thonn.) Benth. Margaritaria discoidea (Baill.) Web. Annona senegalensis Pers. Opilia celtidifolia (Guill. & Perr.) Endl. Artemisa afra Jacq. Ozoroa insignis Delile Azadirachta indica A. Juss. Parquetina nigrescens (Afzel.) Bullock Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill. Pluchea dioscoridis DC. Cassia didymobotrya Fresen. [=Senna Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman didymobotrya (Fresen.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby] Rhus natalensis Bernh. Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. Rumex usambarensis (Dammer) Dammer Cinchona spp. Sarcostemma viminale (L.) R. Br. Cinchona hybrid [=C. ledgerianna x C. succirubra] Scutia myrtina (Burm.f.) Kurz Cinchona ledgeriana (Howard) Bern. Moens ex Securidaca longepedunculata Fresn. Trimen [=C. calisaya Wedd.] Schrebera alata (Hochst.) Welw. Cinchona succirubra Pav. ex Klotzsch [=C. pubescens Vahl] Solanum incanum L. Cissampelos pareira L. Spirostachys africana Sond. Coleus barbatus (Andrews) Benth. [=Plectranthus Teclea simplicifolia Verdoorn barbatus Andrews] Uvaria acuminata Oliv. Combretum molle R. Br. ex G. Don Vernonia brachycalyx O. Hoffm. Combretum zeyheri Sond. Vernonia colorata (Willd.) Drake Crossopteryx febrifuga Benth. Vernonia galamensis (Cass.) Less. Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight & Arn. Vernonia hildebrandtii Vatke Diplorhynchus condylocarpon (Muell. Arg.) Pichon. Voacanga africana Stapf Dodonaea viscosa (L.) Jacq. Waltheria indica L. Ehretia cymosa Thonn. Zanthoxylum chalybeum Gessler

R&D Activities the National Plant Genetic Resources Cen- The Institute of Traditional Medicine tre in Arusha have identified about 200 of the Muhimbili Medical Centre, and the medicinal plants in the Uluguru mountains departments of the University of Dar es in the Mogoro region. Salaam are involved in R&D. The Insti- The National Herbarium of Tanzania tute of Traditional Medicine has worked in collaborates in training and conservation the field of systematics and standardiza- programmes with the Missouri Botanical tion of herbal drugs. The researches from Garden.

65 The Natural Uwemba System for Congo (Cunningham, 1997). Another item Health (NUSAG), a privately owned com- of export potential from the country is gum pany, manufactures herbal products rang- Arabic. The commodity is tapped from wild ing from the uwemba pastilles and tablets Acacia woodlands in the Singida, Arusha, to food supplements. A food supplement Shinyanga and Tabora regions. In 1994, made from Artemisia annua L. and nine about 1,000 tonnes of gum Arabic were other medicinal plants grown in the village harvested. In order to increase the pro- of Uwemba, in the Iringa region, South- duction of gum Arabic, new plantations ern Highlands has been proved to be effec- have been established. The important me- tive against malaria. The plants used in dicinal plants on the market are given in this formulation are exported to Switzer- Table 10. land for the production of food supplements. Switzerland has allowed the sale Problems and Constraints of the uwamba pastilles in the country as The sector is not fully developed ow- a food supplement. ing to the absence of suitable mechanism of herbal medicine control and lack of a Trade and Marketing systematic way of organizing the market, With the free market economy, the trade and integration of medicinal plants country is experiencing economic gains from development from production to consump- medicinal plant sector. Medicinal plants tion, in order to boost the export of herbal export is growing as demand in the interna- formulations. The medicinal plant sector tional market is growing exponentially. In has a number of stakeholders having di- 1999, Tanzania exported medicinal products vergent interests. Several constraints ex- worth about US$ 6.9 mn. In the same year, ist due to inadequate awareness and R&D Tanzanian share in the international mar- investments, manufacturer-exporter disso- ket for herbal remedies in terms of retail nance, lack of quality and standardization sale value was about US$ 0.36 mn. Tanza- norms, and lack of adequate marketing and nian export incomes in the period between trade information. The lack of technical 1997 and 1999 are given in Table 9. know-how on the processing of medicinal Other medicinal plants traded on the plants is a considerable obstacle for the world market are Prunus africana (Hook. development of traditional medicine. f.) Kalkman and Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) Chiov. About 120 tonnes of 3.9 Uganda Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman bark In Uganda, about 300 plant species are collected annually from the natural are used in the traditional systems of medi- montane forests. Among the exported cine and nine medicinal plants are collected bark, some comes from the Republic of for sale (Naluswa, 1993; Cunningham,

66 Table 9: Export incomes of Tanzania between 1997 and 1999

18997 1999 199 Export goods Volume Value Volume Value Volume Value (tonnes) (million US$) (tonnes) (million US$) (tonnes) (million US$) Plants and plant parts 3763.9 06.4 2887. 09.4 3070. 0.9 used in perfumery, pharmacy, etc. Natural gums, resins, 12506.5 02.4 9243. 00.2 867 0.3 gum-resins, balsams G4arlic 17007. 02.0 12071. 07.1 573 0.0

Table 10: Important medicinal plants in Tanzanian local markets

B)otanical name Pslant part(s Therapeutical uses/indication Grewia bicolor Jtuss. Beark, roo Cold, stomach problems, snake bit Lannea schweinfurthii var. stuhlmannii (kEngl.) Engl. Rsoot, bar Hernia, ulcer, stomach problem Lonchocarpus capassa Rolfe [=Philenoptera violacea Stem, root Impotency, hookworm (Klotzsch) Schrire] bark Olea europaea Lk. Bear Vermifug Parinari curatellifolia Ptlanch. ex Benth. Ryoo Epileps Salvadora persica Lg. Thwi Toothbrus Warburgia salutaris (kBertol. f.) Chiov. Bsar Malaria, cold, diarrhoea, body ache

1996). Traditional medicine is extensively dysentery and other diseases with the help practiced in urban areas (Cunningham, of herbalists from the Iganga district. Un- 1997). Commercial trade in traditional der this project, 10 diseases to be handled medicines in the country is low. Informa- by TMPs, have been identified. tion on international trade in medicinal In Uganda, the National Chemo- plants is lacking. The only information therapeutics Research Laboratory (NCRL), available is on the exploitation and export Kampala is taking on researches of many of Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman indigenous plant species (Cunningham, (Cunningham et al., 1997). 1997). The Laboratory is under the Min- Traditional medicine is integrated istry of Health and has been involved in into government health-care schemes. The the ethnobotanical survey of the area, en- International Development Research Cen- couraging TMPs and herbalists to provide tre, Ottawa has funded a project of the Min- information and materials on medicinal istry of Health to identify valuable medici- plants for registration, classification and nal plants with potential to cure malaria, chemical and pharmacological tests. The

67 herbarium of the Laboratory has a collec- rates with TMPs and provides improved tion of about 2,000 specimens of medici- clinical care to people with sexually trans- nal and other plant species. mitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The The state-controlled National Envi- Association also organizes training pro- ronment Management Authority (NEMA) grammes for TMPs. It has established a has set up a germplasm centre in Kam- resource and training centre to facilitate pala, which serves as a germplasm reposi- the collection and dissemination of infor- tory for all biodiversity specimens in the mation on traditional medicine (Clarke, country. The NEMA, together with the 1998). The National Traditional Healers Uganda National Council of Science and and Herbalists Association has started a Technology, is in the process of enacting a 20-bed traditional health-care hospital at law prohibiting the illegal export of bio- Mengo (Amooti-Kyomya, 1994). logical specimens. In Uganda, the Ministry of Women’s Development, Culture and Youth preside Traditional Systems of Medicine over TMPs. The government has set up TMPs outnumber allopathic doctors. the Natural Chemotherapeutics Research The Traditional and Modern Health Prac- Laboratory under the Ministry of Health titioners Association is an indigenous non- to study the therapeutic potential of natu- governmental organization dedicated to ral products with the intention of recog- the improvement of a mutual and respect- nizing traditional medicine in the national ful collaboration between traditional and health-care system (Amooti-Kyomya, allopathic health practitioners in Uganda 1994). All the research activities are con- (Clarke, 1998). The Association collabo- ducted jointly with TMPs.

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70 Chapter 4

The Status of Medicinal Plants in Insular East African Countries

4.1 Introduction winkle) is cultivated in the southern part of Madagascar. The cultivation of Prunus Insular eastern Africa covers the In- africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman has been indian Ocean island nations of Comoros, corporated into the agro-forestry systems Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion in the northern part of Madagascar. and Seychelles. Information on medicinal Most of the medicinal plant material and aromatic plants and their uses is scarce is sourced from wild collection. The col- in Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion and Sey- lection and trade of medicinal plants are chelles compared to Madagascar. Mada- an important source of income generation gascar, located off the southeastern coast to the rural population. The use of me- of Africa, is the world’s most fascinating dicinal plants for subsistence is of greater centre of plant diversity and species ende- importance than the trade in selected spe- mism. It is home to highly threatened flora cies. and fauna. Almost 90% of Madagascar’s forests Many species of medicinal and aro- have been cleared for logging and agricul- matic plants are found in the area, espe- tural purposes (World Resources Institute, cially in Madagascar. These plants are of 1998). Habitat destruction and over-ex- great socio-economic importance for both ploitation of plant resources has endan- health care and livelihood. The local popu- gered species such as Prunus africana lation and TMPs make use of many plant (Hook. f.) Kalkman in Madagascar, and species in their remedies. A number of spe- Cycas thouarsii R. Br. ex Gaudich and cies are under cultivation, including Cyathea spp. in Comoros. Cinnamomum aroma-ticum Nees 4.2 Madagascar (cinnamom) is cultivated in Seychelles, and Vanilla planifolia Jacks. (vanilla) and Madagascar is the fourth largest is- Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L. M. land in the world. It has diverse vegeta- Perry (Malagasy clove) in Madagascar, tion types: pre-humid tropical forests, semi- Comoros and Reunion. The Catharanthus arid vegetation and rainforests in the east- roseus (L.) G. Don (Madagascar rosy peri- ern coast, dry forests in the south and de-

71 ciduous forests in the west (Koechlin et al., car has more than 10,000 registered TMPs 1974). Since its separation from the Afri- authorized to practise traditional medicine. can mainland, Madagascar has undergone There is no official training programme in a separate evolutionary route to produce traditional medicine (WHO, 1992). one of the richest floristic diversities. The State Efforts in Development of Traditional eastern coast has more than 170 species Medicine of palms, many kinds of ferns, bamboos, orchids and medicinal plants, while the Until 1992, there was no legal frame- southwestern zone is home to six of the work for the licensing of TMPs to practise eight species of baobabs (Adansonia spp.), traditional medicine, and no official ap- spiny plants reminiscent of columnar cacti proval for traditional remedies (WHO, and Pachipodium spp. In the extreme 1992). In 1996, a commission was cre- southwest and across the south, where con- ated to study the legal aspects of traditional ditions are even drier, the vegetation is medicine in the country. The legal recog- dominated by the members of the endemic nition of traditional medical practice be- family Didiereaceae, and by the shrubby gan in the eastern and northern parts of and arborescent species of Euphorbia. Madagascar in 1998. In 2000, the regu- Madagascar with 2% of Africa’s lations for herbal medicines were approved landmass has about 10,000 to 12,000 spe- by the government. cies of vascular flora not found elsewhere in the world (Phillipson, 1994). It is home Medicinal Plant Resources to 25% of African plant species, and many Madagascar is a vast reserve of plant still have to be discovered. Despite the rich resources of medicinal value. In the con- and unique biodiversity, it is one of the tinued botanical inventories in Madagas- poorest African nations. car, information on 10,000 to 12,000 species of Malagasy plants with their taxo- Traditional Systems of Medicine nomical details have been recorded by the Traditional medicine is an affordable Missouri Botanical Garden. alternative to costly and scarce modern There is a wide range of medicinal medicine to the more than 15 mn people plants used by TMPs. The people of of Madagascar. The majority of the rural Betsimisaraka and Tanala in eastern Mada- population depends on medicine derived gascar make use of 68 medicinal plant spe- from the Malagasy plant (also known as cies in traditional medical practices. tambavy) for health-care needs. The Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don TMPs are involved in the national is traditionally used in many regions of health-care system. The National Tradi- Madagascar to treat diabetes, blood cancer, tional Therapist Association of Madagas- tumors, diarrhoea and malaria, through

72 the use of different plant parts, dosages, in collaboration with the Botanical and and traditional preparations. It is now ef- Zoological Park of Tsimbazaza and the Na- fectively used in modern medicine to treat tional Center for Applied Pharmaceutical childhood leukemia. In southeastern Research (NCAPR). In 2001, the MBG Madagascar, Tephrosia purpurea Pers. is was awarded a fourth contract for the col- widely used by the Malagasy (Antanosy) lection of plant samples from Madagascar people to cure stomach disorders, diar- and tropical Africa for the drug discovery rhoea, backache, and as a blood purifier. programme of the National Cancer Insti- Cananga odorata (Lam.) Hook. f. & tute (NCI) of the USA. The Faculty of Sci- Thomson (ylang-ylang), Syzygium ences of the University of Antananarivo is aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L. M. Perry the major hub of research activities on (clove) and Vanilla planifolia Jacks. (va- natural products chemistry, molecular and nilla) have been cultivated in the northern cellular pharmacology and general phar- parts of the country since the colonial pe- macology and pharmacokinetics of medici- riod. The Biolandes Madagascar, a pri- nal and aromatic plants. vately owned company, cultivates ylang- In 1998, the biodiversity conserva- ylang, vetiver, cocoa beans, tuberose and tion project of the International Coopera- jasmine, and collects spices such as pep- tive Biodiversity Groups (ICBG), initiated per, cinnamon and cloves from the wild. in the Republic of Suriname, was expanded In addition, the company is engaged in the to Madagascar. Botanical inventories and extraction of ylang-ylang oil, vanillin ex- sample-collection activities were under- tracts and processing of spices for local taken in collaboration with the National use and export. Center for Applied Pharmaceutical Re- Expam Limited processes essential search (NCAPR) and the National Center oils from Croton anisatus Baill., Ocimum of the Industrial Research for Rural De- basilicum L., Pelargonium incrassatum velopment. Dow AgroSciences Inc. then (Andrews) Sims, Melaleuca viridiflora Sol. joined the group to evaluate plants for po- ex Gaertn., and Helichrysum gymno- tential agricultural applications. In 1999, cephallum. It also manufactures extracts, the Malagasy government approved an- and personal care and hygiene products. other proposal for ICBG activities jointly Some of the important medicinal and submitted by the NCAPR, the Conserva- aromatic plant species of Madagascar are tion International, and the Missouri Bo- given in Table 1. tanical Garden. The NCAPR works directly under the R&D Activities Ministry of Scientific Research and is en- The Missouri Botanical Garden gaged in the isolation of bioactive com- (MBG) is compiling botanical inventories pounds and in development of phytophar-

73 Table 1: Some medicinal and aromatic plant species of Madagascar

Abrus precatorius L. Mitragyna stipulosa (DC.) Ktze Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. Momordica charantia L. Acokanthera ongiflora Stapf Morinda lucida Benth. Adansonia digitata L. Moringa oleifera Lam. Agave sisalana Perrine. Nauclea latifolia Sm. Ageratum conyzoides L. Nicotiana tabacum L. Albizia anthelmintica (A. Rich.) Brongn. Nymphaea lotus L. Allium sativum L. Ocimum gratissimum L. Aloe ferox Mill. Olea europaea L. Alstonia boonei de Wild. Parquetina nigrescens (Afz) Bulloch Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam. Peganum harmala L. Anchomanes difformis Engl. Pergularia daemia (Forssk.) Chiov. Arachis hypogaea L. Physostigma venenosum Balf. Aristolochia bracteata Retz. Phytolacca dodecandra L. Herit. Astralagus gummifer Labill. Piper guineense Schumach. & Thonn. Azadirachta indica A. Juss. Plumbago zeylanica L. Balanites aegyptiaca Del. Rapanea melanophloeos Mez. Boerhavia diffusa Engelm. & A. Gray Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. Borreria verticillata L. G. F. W. Mey Ricinus communis L. Calotropis procera (Aiton) W. T. Aiton Securidaca longipedunculata Fresen. Capsicum frutescens L. Securinega virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Baill. Carapa procera DC. Senna alexandrina Mill. Carica papaya L. Solanum nigrum L. Carum carvi L. Spondias mombin L. Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don Strophanthus kombe Oliv. Chenopodium ambrosioides L. Strychnos nux-vomica L. Cinchona succirubra Pav. ex Klotzsch Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L. M. Perry Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume Tanacetum cinerariifolium (Trevir.) Sch. Bip. Centella spp. Terminalia glaucescens Planch. ex Benth. Crinum jagus (J. Thomps.) Dandy Thalictrum rhynchocarpum Q. Dillon A. Rich Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (Lindl) Schtlr. Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Thea sinensis L. Datura stramonium L. Theobroma cacao L. Euphorbia kamerunica pax Trema orientalis Bl. Funtumia elastica (P. Preuss) Stapf Triclisia gilletii (De Willd.) Staner Glinus lotoides L. Voacanga africana Stapf Harrisonia abyssinica Oliv. Warburgia ugandensis Sprague Heliotropium indicum L. Withania somnifera (L.) Dun. Hyoscyamus muticus L. Ximenia americana L. Jatropha curcas L. Zanha golungensis Hiern Kalanchoe crenata (Andr.) Haw. Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides Waterman Lawsonia inermis L. Zingiber officinale Roscoe

74 maceutical products from indigenous plant ternational market. The important me- resources in the areas surrounding the dicinal plant species exported include Zahamena Nature Reserve. In collabora- Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, Centella tion with Conservation International, it asiatica (L.) Urb., Drosera madagascar- coordinates the collection of ethnomedical iensensis DC., Eugenia spp., Harungana data on medicinal and aromatic plants. madagascariensis Lam. ex Poir., Hazunta The Malagasy Institute of Industrial spp., Medemia nobilis (Hildebrandt & H. Researches (IMRA) is working to develop Wendl.) Drude, Moringa spp., Prunus new drugs from Malagasy medicinal plants, africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman, Rauvolfia and to popularize and safeguard the medici- vomitoria Afzel., R. confertiflora Pichon nal plant species. In 1993, it was given the and Voacanga thouarsii R. & S. In 1995, status of Regional Research Centre by the the medicinal plant export volume was 860 Organization of African Unity (OAU). tonnes worth US$ 4.64 mn, while it was In 1989, a joint venture between the 402 tonnes in 1990 (Walter, 1996; FAO, Agricultural Products Department of the 1997). Dow Chemical Company and the Plant In Madagascar, Prunus africana Sciences Business of Eli Lilly resulted in (Hook. f.) Kalkman trees are found in the the creation of DowElanco. In 1997, The northern tropical forests. Officially there Dow Chemical Company acquired are no figures on the value and quantity of DowElanco and the new subsidiary was the bark exploited or the extract exported renamed Dow AgroSciences in 1998. The from the country. In addition to crude company undertakes the screening of bark, bark extract is also exported. Since phytocompounds within the International 1976, Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) bark is mainly exported to France. Ac- project. cording to an estimate, about 180 tonnes Conservation International under- per annum of bark were exploited in the takes ethnobotanical surveys, conservation, period between 1988 and 1994. About and development programmes in Madagas- 300 tonnes of bark were exploited in 1993 car. Azafady, a charity NGO based at Fort with an export value of approximately US$ Dauphin (Tolagnaro), southeastern Mada- 1.44 mn (Walter, 1996). The over-exploi- gascar, aims to raise conservation aware- tation of bark threatens the existence of ness and preservation of traditional knowl- Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman edge in the country. (Walter, 1998; Walter and Rakotonirina, 1995). In order to safeguard this tree from Trade and Marketing extinction, its exploitation has been put un- Madagascar exports significant quan- der the provisions of Appendix II of the tities of medicinal plant material to the in- Convention on Trade in Endangered Spe-

75 cies of Flora and Fauna (CITES) (Cunnin- sourced mainly from wild collections, to gham et al., 1997). the world market. Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, and Voacanga seeds (Voacanga Africana Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. were the main Stapf and V. thouarsii R & S) have an an- export items to Europe in 1996. Catha- nual demand of 150 tonnes (Rasianaivo, ranthus roseus (L.) G. Don, traditionally 1990). Drosera madagascariensis DC. is used as antidiabetic, is the source of anti- found in the Antananarivo area and is in cancer drugs, vinblastine and vincristine, considerable demand for the treatment of widely used in the treatment of childhood the respiratory system infections. In addi- leukemia. In the late 1980s, an annual tion, there is considerable demand for Ilex average of 1,000 tonnes of plant material mitis (L.) Radlk., Eugenia jambolana Lam. was exported to the international market and Aloe vahombe Decorse & Poiss. (Rasianaivo, 1990). Formerly, this plant (Rasianaivo, 1990). Since 1985, Areca used to be collected from the wild; how- madagascariensis Mart., nom. dub., ever, owing to increasing demand, the plant Medemia nobilis (Hildebrandt & H. is now cultivated on a commercial scale in Wendl.) Drude, and Ravenea rivularis Jum. southern Madagascar. & H. Perrier have also been exported. Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. is a pan- The export of essential oils increased tropical plant found in the rainforests from 960 tonnes in 1991 to 1,141 tonnes around Antananarivo. Traditionally it was worth US$ 3.88 mn in 1994 (FAO, 1997). used in the treatment of leprosy. In mod- Clove and ylang-ylang account for more ern medicine it has found use as a treat- than 90% of the production of essential ment for wounds. Madagascar is the main oils and the rest consists largely of vetiver, producer and supplier of plant material, geranium, lemon and lemon grass oil.

REFERENCES

Cunningham, M., Cunningham, A. B. and 1974, Flore et végétation de Madagascar, Schippmann, U., 1997, Trade in Prunus J. Cramer Verlag, Vaduz, Liechtenstein africana and the implementation of CITES, Phillipson, P. B., 1994, Madagascar, In: Davis, German Federal Agency for Nature Con- S. D., Heywood, V. H. and Hamilton, A. C. servation, Bonn, Germany (Eds.), Centres of Plant Diversity. A Guide FAO, 1997, Assistance à l’Exportation des and Strategy for Their Conservation, Vol. Produits Forestiers (Vol. 1). Projet TCP/ 1., Europe, Africa, South West Asia and MAG/6611, Contrôle de la Production et the Middle East, IUCN Publications Unit, Assistance à l’Exportation des Produits Cambridge, UK, pp. 271-281 Forestiers Rasianaivo, P., 1990, Rainforests of Madagas- Koechlin, J., Guillaumet, J. L. and Morat, Ph., car: sources of industrial and medicinal

76 plants, Ambio, 19 (8) gascar. In: Plant Research and Develop- Walter, S. and Rakotonirina, J. C. R., 1995, ment, Vol. 47/48, Focus: Forest manage- L’exploitation de Pygeum africanum ment and sustainability, Tuebingen, Ger- (Prunus africana) à Madagascar, Rapport many élaboré pour le projet Zahamena de con- WHO, 1992, Analysis of Questionnaire on Tra- servation international et la direction des ditional Medicine, WHO, Geneva, Switzer- eaux et forêts, Antananarivo/Fénérive-Est, land (unpublished document WHO DOC. (unpublished document) 5183A/REV. DOC. 6136A) Walter, S., 1996, Moeglichkeiten und Grenzen World Resources Institute, 1998, 1998-99 der Nutzung von Nicht-Holz Waldprodukten World Resources: A Guide to the Global in Madagaskar, dargestellt am Beispiel des Environment, A Joint Publication of the Naturreservates Zahamena, Thesis, Univer- World Resources Institute, U.N. Environ- sity of Giessen, Germany ment Programme, U.N. Development Pro- Walter, S., 1998, The utilization of non-timber gramme and the World Bank, Oxford Uni- forest products in the rainforests of Mada- versity Press, UK

77 Chapter 5

The Status of Medicinal Plants in Central African Countries

5.1 Introduction highest number of endemic species. Among the 11,000 plant species in the D. R. Congo, The central African region is made over 3,000 are endemic. Cameroon and up of Burundi, Cameroon, the Central Af- the Central African Republic have 8,000 rican Republic, the Democratic Republic and 1,000 endemic species, respectively of Congo (D. R. Congo), Equatorial Guinea, (IUCN, WWF and GTZ, 2000). The Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, number of threatened plant species is high- and the island nation of Sao Tome and est in Cameroon (155), followed by Gabon Principe. The region has a wide diversity (71) and the D. R. Congo (33) (World of habitats, spanning from tropical rain- Bank, 2000). The central African forest forests and savannahs to mangrove woods. ecosystems are home to about 250 ethnic The tropical forests are rich in floristic di- groups. Medicinal plants generate the versity and species endemism. major source of remedies for health care Most of the central African countries and income (WRI, 2001). converge in the Congo basin, which repre- The flora of central Africa is rich in sents the second largest contiguous rain- medicinal and aromatic plant species. forest in the world after the Amazon. The Most of the medicinal plant trade takes Congo basin forests cover 20% of the place between neighbouring countries. world’s tropical moist forests and 80% of Some medicinal plant material is also ex- the tropical moist forests in Africa. It is ported to the international market. also one of the most biologically diverse Cameroon, the D. R. Congo and Equato- and poorly understood ecosystems of the rial Guinea export Prunus africana (Hook. African continent (IUCN, WWF and GTZ, f.) Kalkman to European countries. Addi- 2000). tionally, Cameroon exports Pausinystalia There are about 40,850 plant spe- johimbe (Schuma.) Beille, Physostigma cies of which about 6,500 are reported to venenosum Balfour, Strophanthus gratus be endemic and 175 of these are reported Baill. & Franch. and Voacanga africana to be rare (WRI, UNED and UNDP, 1992). Stapf. The over-exploitation of Prunus Cameroon and the D. R. Congo have the africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman, Pausinystalia

79 johimbe (Schuma.) Beille, Gnetum spp. and 5.2 Burundi Baillonella toxisperma Pierre has led to their extinction. There is rich and varied flora in The bark of Prunus africana (Hook. Burundi. Medicinal plants are of high f.) Kalkman is traditionally used to treat socio-economic importance in the country. malaria, stomachache and fever (Nsom and There are about 12 well-established species Dick, 1992). The bark and the leaves are with definite use in the pharmacopoeias: used locally in traditional pharmacopoeia Chenopodium ambrosiodes L., Ricinus com- for the production of beer (Cunningham and munis L., Ocimum basilicum L. Sesamum Mbenkum, 1993). During the 1960s, the indicum L., Phytolacca dodecandra L’Her, Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman bark Capsicum frutescens L., Datura stramo- extract was proved effective in the treat- nium L., Cinchona succirubra Pav. ex ment of benign prostatic hypertrophy Klotzsch, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., (Debat, 1966). Since then, the bark of the Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf., and plant is in high demand in European coun- Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. A vari- tries and its trade earns annual revenue of ety of medicinal plant species grow on the US$ 150 mn. In Europe, the Laboratories Imbo plains. More than 90% of medicinal Debat, France, and Indena Spa, Italy, plant material is sourced from wild collec- manufacture and market the drug from tion. The leaf is the most used plant part bark extract under the trade names of in the preparation of traditional remedies, Tadenan and Pygenil, respectively. The followed by the stem, bark and root bark. bark is mainly sourced from the Afro- The majority of the population relies on montane forests of Cameroon, the D. R. traditional medicine for their primary Congo, Kenya and Madagascar. health-care needs. Over-exploitation and Medicinal and aromatic plants are an degradation of habitats as a result of de- important component of traditional medi- forestation has threatened 19 plant spe- cine. About 63% of the rural population cies in the country (FAO, 1999). The Min- is dependent on traditional medicine for istry for the Interior and Public Safety rec- their health-care needs. The local popula- ognizes the TMPs and approves the Asso- tion and TMPs make use of many medici- ciations of Traditional Medicine Practition- nal plant species to prepare remedies. In ers of Burundi (ATRAPRABU), but the Cameroon, TMPs and communities utilize country has no official or legislative texts more than 500 medicinal plant species in regulating the practice of traditional medi- their remedies. cine. However, under the Burundi’s Pub- lic Health Code of 1982 and the regulations of the Ministry of Public Health, only licensed practitioners with formal training

80 in tropical medicine are allowed to prac- lections of wild plants have been organ- tise traditional medicine (Anonymous, ized for export purposes. There is, there- 1984). There are neither official training fore, ample scope for transferring technol- facilities nor programmes for traditional ogy in order to augment the export of me- medicine (WHO, 1992). dicinal plants. Cameroon imports about There are two premier institutes, 3,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical products Burundi’s Pharmacological Laboratories per year valued at over US$ 20 mn. Part (Laboratoires Pharmacologiques du of these imports could be substituted with Burundi) and the Institute for Agronomic locally manufactured plant-derived phar- Science of Burundi (ISABU), which are maceuticals. The United Nations Indus- undertaking R&D activities in medicinal trial Development Organization (UNIDO) and aromatic plants. There is, however, experts have recommended the cultivation no specific agency or institution commit- of Cephaelis ipecacuanha (Brot.) Tussac, ted to promote the utilization of medicinal Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Digitalis and aromatic plants. lanata Ehrh., Atropa acuminata Royle, Hyoscyamus muticus L., and Cassia 5.3 Cameroon acutifolia Delile. Cameroon is situated on the west coast of Africa and bordered by Gabon, Traditional Systems of Medicine Equatorial Guinea and Congo to the south, The Traditional Medicine Service of the Central African Republic to the east, the country operates within the Commu- Chad to the north and Nigeria to the west. nity Medicine Unit of Yaounde Central Hos- It shares a significant amount of the bio- pital. A separate Office of Traditional logical diversity of threatened flora and Medicine at the Ministry of Public Health fauna of the Congo basin. About 45% of looks after the traditional medicine sec- the total population in southern Cameroon tor. This office was founded under the Fifth utilizes tropical moist forest resources for Five Year Social, Economic and Political their health-care needs and as a source of Development Plan (1981-1986). Local income (Ndoye et al., 1999). officials have the authority to allow or re- Cameroon has a large variety of eco- strict the practice of traditional medicine logical zones, from Sahel in the north to in their administrative or health sub-divi- the equatorial forests in the south. The sions. TMPs are involved in primary variety of climatic zones and the diversity health-care programmes. of natural conditions give rise to rich and varied flora. As regards medicinal plants, Medicinal Plant Resources even if a very wide range is available, none Cameroon has a great diversity of of them is cultivated on a large scale. Col- vegetation ranging from mangroves to rain-

81 forests in the south, tropical montane for- to science, and the medicinal vine, ests and grassland in the west, and Ancistrocladus korupensis D. Thomas & savannahs and semi-deserts in the north. Gereau, has shown positive in-vitro results The Cameroonian rainforests are amongst against HIV/AIDS virus. Important me- the most species-rich and diverse ecosys- dicinal plant species found in the park area tems in the world and represent outstand- include Irvingia spp., Ricinodendron ing scientific, social and economic value. heudelotii (Baill.) Heckel and Afrostyrax The tropical montane forest systems are lepidophyllus Mildb. Other items of com- important centres of plant endemism. mercial significance are essential oils from Mount Cameroon has more than 45 en- Piper guineense Schumach. & Thonn., demic plant species. Cameroon has about chewing sticks from Garcinia spp. and 8,000 vascular plant species and 155 of Massularia acuminata (G. Don) Bullock ex them have been reported threatened Hoyle. In the Bipindi-Akom II region in (IUCN, 2000). the southern province, the main medicinal More than 250 ethnic groups inhabit plant species of commercial value are the tropical forests in Cameroon and have Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry-Lecomte ex a rich knowledge of medicinal plants and O’Rorke) Baill., Strophanthus gratus their uses. More than 500 medicinal plants (Wall. & Hook.) Baill., and Dacryodes spp. are used in ceremonies and traditional Most of the medicinal plant material is col- practices (FAO, 1999a). Of the 35 most lected from the wild. In the Nyangong re- important tree species of timber value, 23 gion, medicinal plants are gathered inde- are also used in the traditional pharmaco- pendently of ownership rights. Some me- poeia (Laird, 1999). The indigenous plants dicinal plants of commercial importance with therapeutically useful constituents are are given in Table 1 (FAO, 1999a). Voacanga africana Stapf for tubersonine, Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel. for ajmaline, R&D Activities Pausinystalia johimbe (Schum.) Pierre ex The Institute of Agricultural Re- Beille for yohimbine, Cola nitida (Vent.) search for Development (IRAD) under the Schott & Endl. for caffeine, Theobroma Ministry of Scientific and Technical Re- cacao L. for theophylline and Physostigma search undertakes inventories of plant ge- venenosum Balf. for physostigmine. netic resources, documentation and The Korup National Park in the biodiversity conservation. The National southwest province is home to many spe- Herbarium of Cameroon, a principle re- cies of medicinal value. The Park covers a search unit of the Institute, has a collec- large tract of rapidly dwindling rainforest tion of 66,500 plant specimens belonging with about 400 tree species and more than to 1,800 genera of 232 families. The Na- 90 medicinal plants. Of these, 36 are new tional Herbarium is also compiling a pub-

82 Table 1: Some important medicinal and aromatic plant species of Cameroon

Bdotanical name Part(s) use Aframomum melegueta Kt. Schum. Leaf, frui Allanblackia floribunda Olliv. Oi Antrocaryon klaineanum Ptierre Frui Autranella congolensis (nde Wild.) A. Chiv. Grai Baillonella toxisperma Pnierre Grai Butyrospermum parkii (nDon) Kotschy Grai Cola acuminata Stchott & Endl. Frui Cola nitida Stchott & Endl. Frui Coula edulis Bdaill. See Elaeis guineensis (tL.) Jacq. Frui Garcinia kola Hneckel Bark, grai Gnetum africanum Wfelw. Lea Irvingia gabonensis Btaill. Frui Ocimum basilicum Lf. Lea Pausinystalia johimbe (kSchuma.) Beille Bar Piper guineense Stchum. & Thonn. Frui Prunus africana (kHook. f.) Kalkman Bar Ricinodendron heudelotii (dBaill.) Pierre ex Heckel See Scorodophleus skpp. Bar Tetrapleura tetraptera (dSchum. & Thonn.) Taub. Po Voacanga africana Sdtapf See

lication, Flora of Cameroon. Thirty-four West Africa was established in 2000. It volumes have been completed covering promotes the exchange of traditional plant specimens belonging to 109 families. knowledge and experience between TMPs The National Herbarium is also deat national and regional levels. Cameroon veloping a plant species database in col- has also constituted a coordinating com- laboration with the Limbe Botanic Garden mittee that supports TMPs in the country. Herbarium and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew. The database provides informa- Trade and Marketing tion on life form, ecology, plant distribu- Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman, tion, abundance, phenology and literature Pausinystalia johimbe (Schum.) Pierre ex references for each species of the 66,500 Beille, Voacanga africana Stapf, Strophan- specimens, as well as new collections from thus gratus (Wall. & Hook.) Baill. and recent inventories. Physostigma venenosum Balf. are the main The Association of Commonwealth medicinal plant species exported from Traditional Medicine Practitioners for Cameroon (Nkuinkeu, 1999). Other me-

83 dicinal plant species traded are Allan- France. About 11,537 tonnes from 1986 blackia floribunda Oliv., Carapa procera to 1991 and 600 to 920 tonnes in the pe- DC., Myrianthus arboreus P. Beauv., riod 1994-1995 were processed by Tabernanthe iboga Baill. and Garcinia spp. Plantecam Medicam, a subsidiary of Labo- Chewing sticks of Garcinia spp. are ex- ratories Debat in southwestern Cameroon ported to Nigeria. Some important me- (United Republic of Cameroon, 1981; dicinal and aromatic plants exported to Eu- Cunningham and Mbenkum, 1993). ropean countries are given in Table 2. The bark is exported both as bark and Cameroon has been the major source bark extracts. In the period between 1985 of Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman bark and 1994, the annual export of bark ex- ever since its commercial exploitation tract was 8,990 kg corresponding to 1,116 started in 1972. The bark was mainly to 3,900 tonnes of bark. World trade was sourced from the southwest and northwest worth US$ 220 mn in the late 1990s (Cun- provinces of Cameroon, Mount Cameroon, ningham et al., 1997). The Fournier Group Mount Kupe, and the Bamenda highlands was the principal bark trader. Its subsidi- including Mount Oku and Nso. In 1976, ary companies, Laboratories Fournier and about 10 tonnes of bark were exported to Plantecam, undertook all activities includ-

Table 2: Medicinal and aromatic plants exported from Cameroon to Europe

Beotanical name Cdommon nam Pyart(s) use Ecolog Afrostyrax lepidophyllus Miildbr. Okm Bdar Wil Aframomum sepp. Mtaniguett Fdrui Wil Ananas comosus (aL.) Merr. Atnan Fdrui Wild, cultivate Cola nitida Sachott & Endl. Knol Gdrai Wild, cultivate Dacryodes edulis (uG. Don) Lam. Stafo Fdrui Wild, cultivate Elaeis guineensis (mL.) Jacq. Nlut of pal Fdruit, oi Wild, cultivate Garcinia kola Haeckel Snmall col Gdrai Wil Gnetum sapp. Ffumbu Ldea Wil Hua gabonii Piierre Otm Fdrui Wil Irvingia gabonensis Boaill. Snioko, mang Gdrai Wil Landolphia sopp. Mtalomb Fdrui Wil Lippia adoensis Huochst. Bfulukut Ldea Wil Monodora myristica Deun. Pnep Gdrai Wil Monodora tenuifolia Beenth. Pnep Gdrai Wil Ricinodendron heudelotii (nBaill.) Pierre ex Heckel Dnjansa Gdrai Wil Tetrapleura tetraptera (eSchum. & Thonn.) Taub. Cfaroub Ldea Wil Vernonia amygdal Deel. Nrdol Tdube Cultivate Xanthosoma sagittifolium (oL.) Schott Mnacab Gdrai Cultivate Xylopia aethiopica (aDunal) A. Rich Etkolabab Fdrui Wil

84 ing exploitation, marketing and transfor- for the treatment of erectile dysfunctions. mation of the bark into extract. Most of Traditionally, the bark is used as an aphro- the bark exploitation was undertaken in the disiac, local anaesthesic, mild stimulant, Cameroon montane areas and the Bamenda hallucinogen, general tonic and perform- highlands (Cunningham et al., 1997). Pro- ance-enhancer for athletes. The bark is fessional collectors employed by Plantecam harvested during the rainy season when the and local people collected the bark from yohimbine content is at its highest. the trees. In addition to widespread local use, Plantecam was the only licence- the plant has long been exported to Eu- holder for bark collection in Cameroon until rope for the preparation of yohimbine- 1987. During the last few years, over 50 based prescription drugs for the treatment new contractors have received a licence for of diabetes-related male organic impo- exploitation of Prunus africana (Hook. f.) tency. Kalkman bark. Consequently, exploitation The bark is obtained from wild has intensified because of competition populations and most of the bark exploita- among a number of companies. Some col- tion currently takes place in Cameroon. lectors have started to cut down and de- There is the possibility of exploitation in bark the entire tree causing its death Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Plantecam, (Cunningham et al., 1997). The over-ex- the sole supplier of bark to Europe, sup- ploitation of Prunus africana (Hook. f.) plied around 100 tonnes of bark annually Kalkman resources in Cameroon and else- until 1996. where (e.g. in Madagascar and Kenya) led The seeds of Voacanga spp. are also to the registration of this species in the exported to Europe. In the mid 1970s, Appendix II of the Convention on the In- Voacanga africana Stapf seed export ex- ternational Trade of the Species of Fauna ceeded Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman and Flora (CITES) in 1994. The destruc- bark. In 1976, five hundred tonnes of tive harvesting of the bark in combination Voacanga africana Stapf seeds were sold with the considerable value of the resources for the production of alkaloid tabersonine, has led to the cultivation of this tree. which is a starting material for the manu- Pausinystalia johimbe (Schuma.) facture of vincamine and vinpocetin, used Beille is also a medicinal tree of economic in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and importance on the international market. epilepsy. The tree is native to the coastal forests of Cosmetic products used in Cameroon Central Africa and is found from south- include essential oils of Monodora eastern Nigeria to the Congolese Mayombe myristica (Gaertn.) Dunal and Xylopia (Vivan and Faure, 1985). The tree bark is aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich. The oil of the source of an alkaloid yohimbine used moabi (Baillonella toxisperma Pierre) and

85 the shea tree butter (Butyrospermum parkii stituted to look after the practice of tradi- (G. Don) Kotschy [=Vitellaria paradoxa tional medicine. Only registered TMPs are C. F. Gaertn.]) are used for the manufac- allowed to practise traditional medicine. ture of soap and beauty lotions. The oil of There is no official legislative or regula- cabbage tree (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is tory body governing the practice. There also used in cosmetics (FAO, 1999a). are no licensing procedures for TMPs or traditional remedies in the country. TMPs 5.4 Central African Republic are not involved in the primary health-care Medicinal plants have gained a high programme at local or national level. socio-economic value in the country. They There is no official training facility or pro- are generally collected from the wild and gramme for traditional medicine (WHO, used by the local communities. Traditional 1992). medicines are not sold on the market (FAO, 1993). The supply of Rauvolfia vomitoria 5.5 D. R. Congo Afzel. and Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. The Democratic Republic of Congo Rich. is sourced from the eastern part of (D. R. Congo) lies across the Equator. The the country (FAO, 1999b). Piper guineense equatorial wet tropical climate makes it Schumach. & Thonn., Xylopia aethiopica the most biologically diverse country of the (Dunal) A. Rich., and Afromomum spp. are Congo basin. It is one of the world’s rare exported to neighbouring countries (Came- rainforests, constituting about 10,000 spe- roon, Chad, Nigeria and Sudan). The roots cies of flowering plants of which 3,000 of Rauvolfia vomitoria Afzel and Parinari have been reported to be endemic to the excelsa Sabine are internationally traded. central basin, the mountainous area of the These two species are exploited in all of east and the high plateaus of Shaba re- the agro-climatic zones of the country gion. The equatorial rainforests contain (FAO, 1999b). The Rauvolfia vomitoria plant species of high commercial impor- Afzel roots are exported to Italy. Gum tance like Cinchona and Rauvolfia. The Arabic is sourced from the northern parts important medicinal plant species on the of Bangani. From 1996 to 1999, an an- Kisangani and Beni markets are given in nual volume of 300 to 400 tonnes of gum Table 3 (Bauma, 1999). Arabic was exported to European Union. In A research programme has been ini- addition, a private company exported 98 tiated with the support of the International tonnes of gum Arabic in 1999 (FAO, 1999b). Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ot- tawa to study the potential of traditional Traditional Systems of Medicine medicine. A new department has been es- In the Central African Republic, lo- tablished within the Congo National Re- cal inter-sectoral councils have been con- search and Development Board, which

86 Table 3: Medicinal and aromatic plants species of DR Congo (Kisangani and Beni markets)

B)otanical name C)ommon name (dialect Plant part(s Aframomum sopp. Ndehe (Nonde), tondolo (Swahili), sos Fruit, grain (Topoke) Cola acuminata (,P. Beauv.) Schott & Endl. Ngongoka (Nonde), libelu (Topoke) Grain gbongbolia (Swahili) Elaeis guineensis J)acq. Ntganzi (Swahili Frui Garcinia cola H)eckel Bnobale (Topoke), olale (Lokele Grai Gnetum africanum W)elw. Ffumbwa (Kikongo Lea Pentadiplandra brazzeana B)aill. Gteene (Topoke), etekele (Lokele Roo Piper guineense S)chumach. & Thonn. Btokango (Nonde), toketu (Lokele Frui Raphia s)pp. Mabondo (Swahili Scorodophloeus zenkeri H)arms Bkumba (Topoke Bar Thaumatococcus daniellii (Benn.) Benth. ex Lfongodo (Ngelema), mangongo (Swahili) Lea B. D. Jacks.

deals with botany, pharmacology, ethno- care and employment to the rural popula- medicine, psychopathology and anthropo- tion. The important medicinal plant spe- logical aspects of medicinal plants. The cies are Prunus africana (Hook. f.) botany and pharmacology sections record Kalkman, Garcinia kola Heckel, G. lucida, and analyze medicinal plants used by heal- Aframomum spp., Enantia chlorantha Oliv. ers and the ethnomedicine section conducts [=Annickia chlorantha (Oliv.) Setten & exhaustive studies on the causes of diseases Maas], Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry- and on the effectiveness of traditional Lecomte ex O’Rorke) Baill., Piper gui- treatments. The establishment of a her- neense Schumach. & Thonn., Ricinoden- barium is under plan. dron heudelotii (Baill.) Heckel, Monodora The D. R. Congo exports Cinchona myristica (Gaertn.) Dunal, Afrostyga spp., spp. and Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich. and Kalkman, mainly to the European coun- Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schumach.) Taub. tries. At national level, there is no regu- Most of the medicinal plants on the do- lation for the protection of threatened plant mestic market are imported, although they species such as Millettia laurentii De are available in the country (Sunderland Wild., Afrormosia elata Harms, Diospyros and Obama, 2000). The exported medici- spp. and Eremospatha spp. nal plant species are Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman, Piper guineense 5.6 Equatorial Guinea Schumach. & Thonn. and Irvingia Medicinal plants are of high socio- gabonensis (Aubry-Lecomte ex O’Rorke) economic significance in providing health Baill.

87 Most of the rural population depends tween 1992 and 1994. In 1997, the APRA on traditional medicine for health care. started exporting Prunus africana (Hook. Medicinal plants are generally collected f.) Kalkman bark in powder form directly and sold by specialists. On the Bata and to Spain. Mbini markets, at least 17 medicinal plants Traditional Systems of Medicine have been identified (Sunderland and Obama, 2000). The bark of Prunus Equatorial Guinea officially regulates africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman is much in the practice of traditional medicine through demand on national and international mar- a licensing and registration process of kets. The bark is used in the preparation TMPs. It does not have a procedure for of traditional medicine and is also exported the official approval of traditional medi- to Europe for benign prostate hyperplasia. cal practices or remedies. TMPs are not From 1992 to 1998, 210 tonnes per an- part of the national primary health-care num of Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman programme. The country offers training bark were exported to Spain (Sunderland facilities and programmes in traditional and Tako, 1999). medicine for health workers and local peo- Equatorial Guinea consists of three ple. The consultation fee of TMPs has been diverse territories: the mainland territory standardized although it is still not of Rio Muni, the island of Annobon and reimbursable (WHO, 1992). the island of Bioko. The Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman trees are found in the 5.7 Gabon montane forests of Bioko, where the bark In Gabon, the local communities is harvested. The company, Aprove- make use of a number of medicinal plants chamiento Agricola (APRA), is a subsidi- in the preparation of traditional remedies. ary of the Spanish company Natra and is Demand for medicinal plant material is met registered in Equatorial Guinea to export either through collection from the wild or Prunus africana (Hook. f.) Kalkman bark importation from neighbouring countries. from Equatorial Guinea to Europe. The The Garcinia kola Heckel. bark and the importance of this relatively unexploited Irvingia spp. seeds are imported from resource of the island of Bioko has grown Cameroon (Ndoye et al., 1999). Some as the supplies from other countries have important medicinal plants are given in Ta- become scarce or subject to strict regula- ble 4 (Manembet, 2000). tions (Sunderland and Tako, 1999). Bouet Mount and Akebe at Libreville Commercial harvesting of the bark are the principal markets for trade of me- in Bioko began in 1992-93. Official ex- dicinal plants. The medicinal plant spe- port data estimates that 200 tonnes of cies Aframomum giganteum (Oliv. & D. dried bark per annum were exported be- Hanb.) K. Schum. and A. melegueta K.

88 Schum. are widely used in the traditional of Congo. Over-exploitation of resources systems of medicine to cure influenza, and habitat destruction are the major fac- cough and diarrhoea (Manembet, 2000). tors for rarefaction of medicinal plant species in high demand. On the Point Black Table 4: Some important medicinal plant market, more than 100 medicinal and aro- species of Gabon matic plants and condiments such as Piper Aframomum spp. guineense Schumach. & Thonn. and Xylopia Afrostyrax lepidophyllus Mildbr. aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich. are sold Antrocaryon klaineanum Pierre (Kimpouni, 1999). Cola spp. Dacryodes spp. Traditional Systems of Medicine Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H. J. Lam Garcinia spp. In Congo, about 90% of the popula- Gnetum africanum Welw. tion relies on traditional medicine for Guibourtia tessmannii (Harms) J. Léonard health care. In rural areas, herbalists and Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry-Lecomte ex O'Rorke) Baill. spiritualists are the common practitioners Monodora myristica (Gaertn.) Dunal of traditional medicine while in urban ar- Panda oleosa Pierre eas, natural medicine providers are more Pseudospondias longifolia Engl. Pteridium aquilinium (L.) Kuhn frequent. Scientific studies have confirmed Raphia spp. the efficacy of a number of Congolese tra- Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schumach.) Taub. ditional medical products distributed throughout Africa. In 1982, the Traditional Medicine TMPs are part of the national pri- Branch of the Ministry of Health and So- mary health-care programme. Gabon does cial Affairs expanded to become the Tradi- not have official legislative or regulatory tional Medicine Service. It was given the texts governing the practice of traditional responsibility for conducting research in medicine. There are no licensing proce- traditional medicine, enriching the national dures or official approvals for traditional herbarium with medicinal plant specimens, medical practices and remedies. The Ga- gathering medicinal formulae, populariz- bon government does not provide any offi- ing traditional medicine, and integrating cial training facilities or programmes for traditional and allopathic medicine. traditional medicine (WHO, 1992). The National Centre of Traditional Medicine was established in 1987 to pro- 5.8 Republic of Congo mote research, manufacture traditional Medicinal and aromatic plants are a medical products, exchange information natural resource of high socio-economic with other traditional medicine institutions, importance to the people of the Republic train allopathic doctors and students in tra-

89 ditional medicine, and educate TMPs in the and bark are the dominantly utilized plant aseptic preparation of medicines. parts. Medicinal plants have great poten- Congo has official legislative and tial of development and will maintain their regulatory documents governing the prac- presence in Congo due to low levels of in- tice of traditional medicine and it has lo- come and the high cost of modern drugs cal and national inter-sectoral councils for (FAO, 1999c). traditional medicine. Local officials authorize the practice of traditional medicine 5.9 Rwanda in their administrative sub-divisions. TMPs Rwanda has made an organized ef- are involved in the primary health-care fort to study the traditional pharmacopoeia programme. However, in certain centres and the medicinal and aromatic plants used this integration is extremely weak. as medicaments. A licensing process, a national asso- Traditional Systems of Medicine ciation and a register of TMPs are effective in the country. The Health Services There are local and national inter- Management of the Ministry of Health, the sectoral councils for traditional medicine National Union of Traditional Therapists, in Rwanda. Only registered TMPs are al- and other professional traditional medicine lowed to practise traditional medicine. associations are reviewing the qualifica- There are no official legislative or regulations of TMPs although there are no set tory procedures for governing the practice criteria for these evaluations. of traditional medicine, licensing TMPs or The country has an established struc- granting official approval of traditional ture for the TMPs’ consultation fees, al- medical practices and remedies. However, though there is no procedure for the reim- the country offers traditional medicine bursement of such expenditures (WHO, training facilities for local people (WHO, 2001). 1992).

Medicinal Plant Resources Medicinal Plant Resources TMPs make use of about 800 medici- The ethnobotanical studies have iden- nal plants in the preparation of more than tified hundreds of medicinal plants ex- 1,500 drug formulations (FAO, 1999c). ploited in Rwanda (Lewis, 1992). FAO has About 51 medicinal plants were reported enumerated 59 medicinal plants used in to be traded at the Brazzaville market traditional medicine for both human and (Diafouka and Bitsindou, 1993). About veterinary use (FAO, 1999d). There are 67% of medicinal plant species are found sufficient quantities of medicinal plant spe- in the wild, of which 42% in forests and cies to initiate a pilot scale production of the rest in savannah woodlands. The root medicaments that are much in demand.

90 About 20 such medicinal and aromatic Perr. & Guill. and others. Rwanda has a plant species (Table 5) can be used for in- millenary pastoral tradition of practising digenous systems of medicine to manufac- traditional veterinary medicine. There are ture herbal medicines. 39 species that are widely used in veterinary medicine (FAO, 1999d). Some me- Table 5: Leading medicinal and aromatic dicinal and aromatic plants used in hu- plants of Rwanda man and veterinary medicine are given in Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. Table 6 (FAO, 1999d). Agave sisilana Perrine Capsicum annuum L. R&D Activities Capsicum frutescens L. Carica papaya L. R&D activities are concentrated in Cathranthus roseus (L.) G. Don the Traditional Pharmacopoeial Aromatic Chenopodium ambrosioides L. and Medicinal Plant Centres at the facul- Cinchona ledgeriana (Howard) Bern. Moens ex. ties of Science and Medicine of the Na- Trimen Cucurbita pepo L. tional University of Rwanda, the National Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Institute of Scientific Research (INRS), the Datura stramonium L. Rwanda’s Institute of Agronomic Sciences Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (ISAR), and the National Pharmaceutical Lycopodium clavatum L. Melaleuca leucadendron (L.) L. Laboratory (LABOPHAR). The National Nerium oleander L. Institute of Scientific Research (INRS) and Ocimum basilicum L. the Institute of the Scientific and Techno- Rheum officinale Baill. logical Research (IRST) are engaged in Ricinus communis L. R&D activities on development of technolo- Sesamum indicum L. gies for essential oil extraction and processing of plant material for the production of drugs (FAO, 1999d). In Rwanda, there are more species available in sufficient quantities that war- 5.10 Sao Tome and Principe rant further assessment. Medicinal species include Erythrina abyssinica Lam. ex The use of over 93 medicinal plants DC., Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J. F. has been documented in Sao Tome and Gmel., Thalictrum rhynchocarpum Quart.- Principe by the Royal Botanic Gardens of Dill. & A. Rich. and Ranunculus multifidus Kew. The most common medicinal plant Forssk. Most of the medicinal and aro- species include Allophylus africanus P. matic plant species are collected from the Beauv, Chenopodium ambrosioides L., grasslands and some are cultivated such Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken, as Allium sativum L., Clematis hirsuta Ocimum gratissimum L., Rauvolfia spp.

91 Table 6: Medicinal plants used in human and veterinary traditional medicine in Rwanda

Beotanical name Vsernacular nam Tyherapeutical uses/indication Ecolog

Acacia abyssinica Haochst. ex Benth. Usmunyiny Maastiti S Acacia brevispica Hoarms U,mugey Febrifuge, snake bite, antimalarial Sa broncho-pneumonia Acacia hockii Dae Wild. Uemunyiny Vaeterinary us S Acanthus pubescens Engl. [=Acanthus Iagitovu Paoliomyelitis, eczem S polystachyus var. pseudopubescens Cufod.] Aloe volkensii Eangl. Iagikakarubamb Gaastritis, haemature S Apodytes dimidiata Ea. Mey. ex Bernh. Uemusiby Uaterine prolaps S Bersama abyssinica Faresen. Uemukak VFeterinary us Blepharispermum pubescens Sa. Moore Uemunyuragisak Vaeterinary us S Bridelia micrantha (uHochst.) Baill. Uemugimb V-eterinary us Cassia didymobotrya Fresen. [=Senna U,mubagabaga Purgative, anthelmintic Sa didymobotrya (Fresen.) H. S. Irwin & haemorrhoids, pneumonia, cough, Barneby] rheumatism, eye problems, stiff neck Cassia occidentalis L. [=Senna Uemuyoka Eanteritis, ascariasis, snake bit S occidentalis (L.) Link] Chrysophyllum gorungosanum Eengl. Usmubombw PFoliomyeliti Cinchona ledgeriana (Howard) Bern. Iekinini APntimalarial, veterinary us Moens ex Trimen Clausena anisata (Willd.) Hook. f. ex Usmuno PFoliomyeliti Benth. Clerodendrum bucholzii Gauerke Udmukuzanyan Nervous disorders, threatene Sa abortion Clerodendrum johnstoni Oeliv. Iekinyakurw VFeterinary us Clerodendrum myricoides (Hochst.) U,mukuzanyana Articular pain, neuralgia, dysentery Sa Vatke veterinary use Clutia abyssinica Sapach U,mutalishong Hepatitis, urethral flow, rheumatism Sa gastritis, veterinary use Coleus spp. Caough, haemorrhoids, ascariasis S Crotalaria incana La. Usmuyoger Maastitis, otiti S Crotalaria intermedia Kotschy Usmuyogera Baurn S [=Crotalaria brevidens var. intermedia (Kotschy) Polhill] Dodonaea viscosa (aL.) Jacq. Uemusas Vaeterinary us S Dombeya goetzenii K. Schum. Uemukore VFeterinary us [=Dombeya torrida subsp. torrida] Dracaena afromontana Miildbr. U,muhat Colics (kidney and bladder), wounds O veterinary use Dracaena steudneri Sichweinf. ex Engl. U,muhat Postpartum haemorrhage O veterinary use Entada abyssinica Seteud. ex A. Rich. Uemusang Uarethral flow, cough, veterinary us S Erythrina abyssinica Loam. ex DC. U,muk Meningitis, gastritis, dysentery Sa asthma, hepatitis, hepato- splenomegalia, veterinary use Continued

92 Table 6 continued

Beotanical name Vsernacular nam Tyherapeutical uses/indication Ecolog Erythrococca bogensis Piax U,mutinsk Anthelmintic, placental retention O veterinary use Eucalyptus supp. I,nturus Whooping-cough, haemorrhoids P prolapsus, pneumonia Euphorbia candelabrum Kaotschy Usmuduh Haydrocele, anthelmintic, wound S Euphorbia tirucalli Li. Uemuyenz VOeterinary us Fadogia sapp. U-mutanog Purgative, ascariasis, broncho Sa pneumonia, hepatitis Ficus supp. Uamuvum MOastitis, choler Harungana madagascariensis Lam. ex Uemushayishayi AFscariasis, taeniasis, veterinary us Poir. Hibiscus sopp. U,mutoz Threatened abortion, poliomyelitis Sa cough, rheumatism, snake bite Indigofera erecta Tohunb. U,musoror Gastritis, anthelmintic, ulcers F epilepsy, stiff neck, veterinary use Lantana trifolia Li. U,muhenger Cough, snake bite, mastitis Sa veterinary use Lobelia gibberoa Huemsl. Ientomv VFeterinary us Macaranga sapp. Uemuseker NFervous disorders, veterinary us Maesa lanceolata Faorssk. U,muhang Epilepsy, whooping-cough F dysentery, acne, oozing dermatosis, delivery, abdominal colic, stiff neck, veterinary use Maesopsis eminii Eangl. Uemuhumur LFaxativ Markhamia lutea (eBenth.) K. Schum. Uhmusav Caoug S Microglossa sepp. Uemuh VFeterinary us Millettia dura Dounn Uemuyogor VFeterinary us Myrica sopp. Issuby Naervous disorders, gastriti S Mitragyna rubrostipulata Oa. Ktze. Ucmuzibazib Oaxytoci S Ocimum americanum La. I,song Cough, heart, broncho-pneumonia Sa veterinary use Ocimum suave Willd. [=Ocimum U,mwenya Febrifuge, antimalarial Sa gratissimum L.] pleuropneumonia, ascariasis Olea europaea Le. U,munzenz Broncho-pneumonia, cough, burns Sa eyes problems, febrifuge, veterinary use Pavetta sepp. U-mumenamabuy F Pennisetum purpureum Sochumach. Usrubing MOastitis, burn Phytolacca dodecandra Lo'Hér. U,muk Nervous disorders, anal prolapsus Sa otitis, burns, scale, wrench, abortions; veterinary use Plectranthus sapp. Itcyeger Aaromatic, abortifacien S Polyscias fulva (oHiern) Harms Uamwung AFrthralgi Protea madiensis Oiliv. I-gihunger Headaches, anthelmintic, broncho Sa pneumonia Psidium guajava La. Isper COholera, gastriti Continued

93 Table 6 continued

Beotanical name Vsernacular nam Tyherapeutical uses/indication Ecolog Psorospermum febrifugum I,shangi Anal haemorrhoids, prolapsus - broncho-pneumonia, leprosy, ulcers, hepatitis Rhus sapp. Usmumar Oaxytocic, leprosy, haemorrhoid S Rhamnus prinoides La'Hér. Usmunanir NFervous disorder Ricinus communis Lo. I,kibonobon Threatened abortion, amoebiasis O anal prolapsus, veterinary use Rubia cordifolia La. U,mukarar Colics (kidney and bladder) F rheumatism, otitis Rumex usambarensis (Dammer) Usmufumbegeshi H-epatiti Dammer Senecio sapp. U,mutagar Nervous disorders, hydrocele O veterinary use Sesbania sesban (eL.) Merr. Uemunyegenyeg VOeterinary us Solanum abyssinicum Joacq. ex Vitm. Usmutobotob Eayes problem S Solanum incanum Lu. U,mucuc Whooping-cough, urethral flow Sa veterinary use Solanum terminale Faorssk. Utmuhanurankub Aabortifacien S Synadenium grantii Hiook. f. Unmukon Caough, burns, leprosy, warts, pai S Tetradenia riparia (aHochst.) Codd U,muravumb Cough, headache, scab, laryngitis O haematurea, veterinary use

Vernonia amygdalina Dielile U,mubiliz Amoebiasis, hepatitis, renal colics Sa febrifuge, antimalarial, anti- ulcerous, veterinary use Vernonia lasiopus Oi. Hoffm. I,giheriher Rheumatism, ascariasis, taeniasis F wounds F=forests; Sa=shrubby savannahs; P=plantations; O=others

and Voacanga africana Stapf, among oth- national inter-sectoral councils are active ers. Approximately two-thirds of these in the field of traditional medicine. How- plants are cultivated on degraded land and ever, there are no official legislative or regu- the rest are collected from secondary for- latory texts governing the practice of tradi- ests, including Rauvolfia spp., Voacanga tional medicine, no licensing process for africana Stapf, and Allophylus africanus TMPs, no official training facilities or pro- P. Beauv. The medicinal plant species found grammes and no procedures for the official in primary forests are only known to a few approval of traditional medical practices or elderly natives and TMPs (FAO, 1996). remedies. TMPs are not involved in the pri- In Sao Tome and Principe, local and mary health-care programme (WHO, 1992).

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96 Chapter 6

The Status of Medicinal Plants in South African Countries

6.1 Introduction cies and 68% of them are reported to be endemic. Southern Africa includes Angola, Bot- Over 70% of the population in the swana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Na- region relies on traditional medicine de- mibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and rived from local plant species for health- Zimbabwe. They possess a rich diversity of care needs. Traditional medicine is both a medicinal and aromatic plants as well as popular and dominant health-care system knowledge of their use. Despite this rich- in Malawi, Mozambique and Swaziland ness of biological resources, most of the coun- and its popularity is increasing in South tries in the region are poor. Governments Africa. Countries with an established are not able to afford the high cost of mod- structure, budgetary support and training ern drugs for their growing populations. As facilities in traditional medicine are given a result, most of the rural population has to in Table 2. rely on traditional medicine for their health- Most R&D activities revolve around care needs. Medicinal plants are the essen- ethnobotanical studies. Efforts are tial component of traditional remedies and underway to market medicinal and aro- also an important source of income for ru- matic plants in high demand. The root and ral people. There are about 24,000 vascu- bark of Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) lar plants in the region and 4,000 of them Chiov. has yielded antimicrobial are medicinal and aromatic. About 350 sesquiterpenes warburganal and plants are widely used in traditional rem- polygodial. Tubers of Swaziland species edies. Some common medicinal and aro- Hypoxis rooperi Moore have been investi- matic plant species are given in Table 1. gated for antitumour and anti-inflamma- Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South tory properties, and hypoxicide has been Africa and Swaziland are floristically rich characterized from the plant (van Wyk et countries. Cape Floristic Province in South al., 1997; Drewes et al., 1984). These two Africa has the greatest extratropical con- plant species have been marketed in Eu- centration of higher plant species in the rope. world. This province alone has 8,600 spe- Demand for medicinal plant material

97 Table 1: Some common medcinal and aromatic plants of South African countries

Botanical name C)ommon name Pslant part(s T)herapeutical uses/indication Country(ies Acacia amythethophylla -tRsoo Ceonvulsion Zimbabw Steud. ex A. Rich. Acacia karoo Hnayne Karoo, thor R,oot, bark Convulsions, diarrhoea Zimbabwe, tree antimalarial Mozambique Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. Gum Arabic R,oot, gum Diarrhoea, antimalarial Mozambique ex Del. tree respiratory problems Acalypha sinensis K-lotzsch. -Diiarrhoe a Malaw Acridocarpus natalitius Jeuss. Mtoboph Paod, roo Deiarrhoe Mozambiqu Adansonia digitata Le. Bfaobab tre Blark, lea Deiarrhoea, antimalaria Mozambiqu Agathosma betulina (Berg) Bfuchu Ltea Kidney and urinary trac South Africa Pill. diseases, rheumatic pain Albizia antunesiana H-arms Rcoo t Aephrodisia Zimbabw Alepidea amatymbica Eckl. Ktalmoes R,oo Tuberculosis, diarrhoea Lesotho, & Zeyh. headache, antimalarial Zimbabwe, Mozambique Aloe ferox (eL.) Burm. f. Bfitter alo Lsea Caonjunctivitis, venereal sore South Afric Aloe marlothii Ae. Berger Aflo Lsea Seexual complaint Mozambiqu Annona senegalensis Peers. Ckustard appl Bdar Diarrhoea, respiratory an Mozambique sexual complaints Annona stenophylla Engl. -tRsoo Aentiemetic, syphilli Zimbabw & Diels. Ansellia gigantean Rdeichb. f. Omrchi Syte Antiemetic, respirator Zimbabwe, complaints Mozambique Aristolochia petersiana -tRloo A,ntimalaria Malawi Klotzsch. Zimbabwe Artemisia afra Jdacq. Wformwoo Llea A,ntimalaria South Africa Lesotho, Zimbabwe Aspilia pluriseta S-chweinf. Rnoo tGeeneral pai Zimbabw Balanites maughamii Sdprag. Ttorchwoo Rcoo Eameti South Afric Bersama tysoniana Ohliv. Wkhite as Baar Faever, hysteri South Afric Blumea alata (-D. Don) DC. Lrea fFeeve Zimbabw Boophane disticha Hderb. Tsumblewee Bnulb scale Raheumatic pai South Afric Bowiea volubilis Harv. ex Cmlimbing lily Cyor Oaedema, female sterilit South Afric Hook. f. Bridelia cathartica B-ertol. f. Llea f Antimalarial, sexua Mozambique complaints Capparis tomentosa L-am. Rsoo t Reespiratory problem Mozambiqu Carpobrotus edulis (L.) N. E. Hfottentot's fig Lhea Oaral and genital thrus South Afric Br. Casearia aspera --Touberculosi s Lesoth Cassia abbreviata Oaliv. S,enn Bark, root Diarrhoea, abdominal pain, Zambia, fruit constipation Zimbabwe Cassia petersiana Baolle D-warf cassi Siyphilis, pneumoni aMalaw Continued

98 Table 1 continued

Botanical name C)ommon name Pslant part(s T)herapeutical uses/indication Country(ies Cassine papillosa (Hochst.) Ckommon saffronB-ar South Afric a Kuntze Ceratotheca sesamoides Eendl. F-alse seasam Mieasle s Malaw Chenopodium ambrosioides Ld. Wform see Lsea Ceonvulsions, nervous disorder Zimbabw Cissampelos pareira Lf. Vtelvet lea R,oo Abdominal pains, backache Zimbabwe, infertility, diarrhoea, sexual Mozambique complaints Clausena anisata Hsook. f. B-ois d'ani Caold, feve r South Afric Clematopsis scabiosifolia -tReoo Heeadach Zimbabw Hutch. Clerodendrum myricoides Bfutterfly bush Lsea Ceonvulsion Zimbabw (Hochst.) Vatke Clivia miniata (yLindl.) Bosse Btush lil Rroo Sanakebite, feve South Afric Combretum molle Rh. Br. Velvet leaf bus Raoot D,iarrhoe Zimbabwe willow Mozambique Cryptocarya latifolia Sdond. Broad leave Bsark Raespiratory problem South Afric quince Curtisia dentata (Burm f.) C. Akssegaai B-ar South Afric a A. Smith Cyathea capensis (L. f.) J. E. T--ree fern Swazilan d Sm. Datura stramonium La. Dfatur Laea Aesthm Zimbabw Dialiopsis africana R-adlk. Rloo tAantimalaria Zambi Dianthus mooiensis Williams ---Swazilan d subsp. kirkii (Burtt Davy) Hooper Dicerocaryum zanguebari- Bfoot protector Lsea Meeasle Zimbabw cum Merr. Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) W. -tFsrui S,yphillis, sexual complaint Zimbabwe & A. Mozambique Dicoma anomala Saond. Urzar Tlube Skin infections, abdomina Lesotho, pain, anti-emetic, backache Zimbabwe Dioscorea sylvatica (Kunth) Erlephant's foot Tsube C,hest complaint South Africa Eckl. Malawi Elephantorrhiza elephantina -tRsoo Deiarrhoea, sexual complaint Mozambiqu Skeels Elephantorrhiza goetzei -tRaoo Ceonstipation, diarrhoe Zimbabw (Harms) Harms Eriosema cordatum E-. Mey. -Seexual complaint s Mozambiqu Erythrina abyssinica D-C. -G,onorrhoe a Malawi Zambia Erthrophleum suaveolens Rked water tree Bsar Siexual problem Malaw (Guill & Perrot) Brenan Euclea natalensis D-C. Ryoo tAntimalarial, respirator Mozambique, problems, ulcers Malawi Continued

99 Table 1 continued

Botanical name C)ommon name Pslant part(s T)herapeutical uses/indication Country(ies Eucomis autumnalis (Mill.) Wbild pineapple Byul Aanti-inflammator South Afric Chitt. Eulophia sdpp. O-rchi Ainaemi a Malaw Euphorbia ingens Ee. Mey. Cxandelabra tre Laate Aesthm Zimbabw Garcinia livingstonei T. --Deiarrhoe a Mozambiqu Anders. Geranium caffrum C-ranesbill Wounds, diarrhoea, childhoo dLesotho vomiting Gladiolus dalenii Vsan Geel Gmladiolu Caor Deiarrhoe Mozambiqu Gnidia kraussiana M-eissn. Rnoot, tube rAebortifacient, constipatio Zimbabw Grewia flavescens Jyuss. Ddonkey berr Ssee Meeasle Zimbabw Harpagophytum procumbens Drevil's claw Tmube R,heumatis South Africa DC. ex Meiss. Namibia Harpagophytum zeyheri Drevil's claw Tmube Raheumatis Namibi Decne. Helichrysum caespititum --Touberculosi s Lesoth Sond. Heteromorpha trifoliata -tRyoo Ienfertilit Zimbabw Eckl. & Zeyh. Hypoxis rooperi Mooore Atfrican potat Rtoo I,mmunostimulan South Africa Mozambique Indigofera arrecta Hochest. Jtava indigo Rtoo Aebortifacien Zimbabw ex A. Rich. Kigelia africana (Lam.) Stausage tree Farui Deiarrhoe Mozambiqu Benth. Lannea discolor (-Sond.) Engl. -Seexual complaint sMozambiqu Lannea edulis (eSond.) Engl. Wtild grap Raoo Beilharzi Zimbabw Lippia javanica (Burm. f.) -fL,ea Convulsions, fever Zimbabwe, Spreng. antimalarial, respiratory Mozambique problems Malva parviflora Lw. L-ittle mallo Bodyache, arthritis ,Lesotho rheumatism Mangifera indica Lo. M-ang Baronchiti s Zambi Maytenus senegalensis Ctonfetti tree R,oo Threatened abortion Zimbabwe, (Lam.) Excell backache, diarrhoea Mozambique Melia azedarach L-. -Deiarrhoe a Mozambiqu Melolobiun alpinium --Hoypertension, diabete sLesoth Momordica balsamina L-. -Aentimalaria l Mozambiqu Mondia whitei (Hook. f.) -tRnoo Aephrodisiac, constipatio Zimbabw Skeels Myrothamnus flabellifolia -fLaea A,sthm Zimbabwe Welw. Mozambique Ocotea bullata (dBurch.) Baill. S-tinkwoo Aanti-inflammator ySouth Afric Ozoroa insignis Del. -kR,oot, bar Threatened abortion Zimbabwe backache Continued

100 Table 1 continued

Botanical name C)ommon name Pslant part(s T)herapeutical uses/indication Country(ies Ozoroa obovata (Oliv.) R. --Deiarrhoe a Mozambiqu & A. Fern. Pelarginium sidoides DoC. U--mkcaloab South Afric a Peltophorum africanum -tRnoo Tehreatened abortio Zimbabw Sond. Pittosporum viridiflorum C--heesewood South Afric a Sims Prunus africana (Hook. f.) --Seexual complaint sMozambiqu Kalkm. Pterocarpus angolensis D-C. -Aantimalarial, mouth ulcer sZambi Rapanea melanophloeos C--ape beech South Afric a (L.) Mez. Rauvolfia caffra S-ond. -Antimalarial, respirator yMozambique problems Rhoicissus tridentata (L. f.) --Seexual complaint sMozambiqu Wild & Drum. Ricinus communis L-. L,eaf, roo tAbortifacient, syphillis Zimbabwe measles Salacia kraussii H-arv. -Deiarrhoea, antimalaria lMozambiqu Salic mucronata T-hunb. -Raheumatism, feve r South Afric Sarcostemma viminale R-. Br. -Seexual complaint s Mozambiqu Scabiosa columbaria --Touberculosi s Lesoth Schotia brachypetala S-ond. -Deiarrhoe a Mozambiqu Scilla natalensis Phlanch. B--lue hyacint South Afric a Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) --Deiarrhoea, sexual complaint sMozambiqu Hochst. subsp. caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro Securidaca longipedunculata -tRsoo Backache, headache, nervou Zimbabwe, Fres. disorders, respiratory Mozambique, problems Malawi Senna occidentalis (-L.) Link -Aentimalaria l Mozambiqu Siphonochilus aethiopicus A--frican ginger South Africa , (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt. Swaziland Spirostachys africanus S-ond. -Deiarrhoea, antimalaria l Mozambiqu Stangeria eriopus Nsash Natal gras -yAanti-inflammator South Afric cycad Steganotaenia araliacea -tRaoo Aemenorrhoe Zimbabw Hochst. Strychnos cocculoides B-ak. Raoo t Aemenorrhoe Zimbabw Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) --Hoypertension, diabete sLesoth R. Br. Swarizia madagascariensis -dPso Seyphilli Zimbabw Desv. Tabernaemontana elegans --Antimalarial, respirator yMozambique Stapf. problems Continued

101 Table 1 continued

Botanical name C)ommon name Pslant part(s T)herapeutical uses/indication Country(ies Tamarindus indica L-. -Siexually transmitted disease sMalaw Tephrosia semiglabra S-onder -Hoypertension, diabete s Lesoth Terminalia sericea B-urch. R,oot, bar kThreatened abortion Zimbabwe, antiemetic, bilharzias Mozambique diarrhoea Trichilia emetica V-ahl. Baar kA,bortifacient, diarrhoe Zimbabwe Mozambique Trichodesma ambacense -rTsube Seyphilli Zimbabw Wall. Excell Trichodesma physaloides -rTcube Aephrodisia Zimbabw (Fenzl.) A. DC. Trifolium burchelianum --Hoypertension, diabete sLesoth Triumfetta welwitschii M-ast. Tnube r Tehreatened abortio Zimbabw Tulbaghia leucantha B-ak. Wshole plan tNeervous disorder Zimbabw Urginea altissima B-ak. Bmul bReheumatis Zimbabw Vernonia amygdalina Deel. Vternonia tre Ryoo Aemenorrhoea, infertilit Zimbabw Vernonia colorata (Willd.) B-itter leaf Reespiratory problem sMozambiqu Drake Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. Pkepperbark tree Byar Headache, respirator South Africa, f.) Chiov. problems Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland Xysmalobium undulatum R. Udzara Raoot, see Caardiac problems, diarrhoe South Afric Br. Zanha africana (Radlkof.) -tReoo Heeadach Zimbabw Engl. Zanthoxylum capense F-ever tree Aentimalaria l Mozambiqu (Thunb.) Harv. Ziziphus mucronata Wnilld. Ctape thor Rsoo Deiarrhoea, sexual complaint Mozambiqu

often exceeds supply. Local consumption South Africa. Some countries also export dominates the export volume except for medicinal plant material to the interna- some plant species. Medicinal plant trade tional market. Botswana, Namibia and is informal, generally it takes place within South Africa are the major exporters of and between neighbouring countries. medicinal plant material. The major me- South Africa exports Swartzia madaga- dicinal plant species internationally traded scariensis Desv. to Lesotho; Swaziland ex- are Aloe ferox (L.) Burm. f., Harpago- ports Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) phytum procumbens DC. ex Meiss., and H. Chiov. to South Africa and Mozambique; zeyheri Decne. In addition, South Africa and Malawi exports Jateorhiza spp. to also exports Panax ginseng C. A. Mey., Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Glycyrrhiza, Origanum and Salvia species.

102 Table 2: Traditional medicine structure in South African Countries

Ckountry Ltegal framewor National managemen Association(s) of Directory National body TMPs of TMPs budget allocation Aongola NsY-e Yoe sN Bootswana NoN,Dingaka Society Noo N Botswana Dingaka Association, Kwame Traditional Association, United Herbalists Association Lcesotho Natural Therapeuti Universal Natural Therapeutic Yoes N Practitioners Act, Medicinemen and Practitioners 1976 (Section 2), Herbalists Council Association Lesotho Universal Medicinemen and Herbalists Council Act, 1978 (Section 5) Moalawi NsYse Herbalist Noo N Association of Malawi, Asing'anga of Malawi, Chizgani Ethnomedical Association of Mzuzu Msozambique Yoe NsAssociation do Noo N Medicos, Tradicionais de Mocambique Nsamibia Traditional Healer Namibian Traditional Namibia Eagle Noo N Bill, 1998 Medical Practitioners Traditional Healers Board, Association Traditional Healers Council Soouth Africa NoNsTraditional Healer Noo N Organization Sowaziland NoN-No oN Zgambia National Dru Traditional Health Yoes N Policy Practitioners - Association of Zambia (THPAZ) Zsimbabwe Natural Therapist Traditional Medical Zimbabwe National Yoes N Act, 1981, Practitioners Council Traditional Healers Traditional Medical Association Practitioners (ZINATHA) Council Act, 1981

Some important medicinal and aromatic of medicinal plants specific to respective plants in international trade are given in countries and used locally in traditional Table 3. There is, moreover, a wide range medicine.

103 Table 3: Common medicinal and aromatic plants exported from Southern Africa

P)lant species P)lant part(s Exporting country(ies

Agathosma betulina (fBerg) Pill. Laea South Afric Aloe ferox Mfill. Laea South Afric Bracenridgea zanguebarica Beark Mozambiqu Gloriosa superba Ld. Seee Mozambiqu Glycyrrhiza stpp. Raoo South Afric Harpagophytum procumbens DtC. ex Meiss. R,oo Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique South Africa Harpagophytum zeyheri Dtecne. Raoo Botswana, Mozambique, Namibi Hypoxis ropperi Mtoore Rdoo Swazilan Jateorhiza palmata Mtiers Reoo Mozambiqu Origanum sfpp. Laea South Afric Pelargonium sidoides DfC. Laea South Afric Rauvolfia vomitoria Atfz. Reoo Mozambiqu Ricinus communis Ld. Seee Mozambiqu Salvia srpp. Falowe South Afric Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. Rhizome, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland Birtt. root Sutherlandia frutescens (fL.) R. Br. Laea South Afric Tabernaemontana elegans Sdtapf. Seee Mozambiqu Terminalia sericea Bkurch. Bear Mozambiqu Warburgia salutaris (kBertol. f.) Chiov. B,ar Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa Swaziland Xysmalobium undulatum Rt. Br. Raoo South Afric

Malawi and South Africa import 1993). plant drugs from neighbouring countries The region has the highest concen- because of their dwindling resources. tration of threatened plants in the world Most of the plant material is sourced (Cowling and Hilton-Taylor, 1994). Among through wild collection, while only a few the 17,000 endemic species, the existence species are cultivated. Efforts have been of 13% of these species is threatened with made to cultivate Warburgia salutaris extinction due to over-exploitation and (Bertol. f.) Chiov., Siphonochilus habitat destruction. South Africa (45) aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt. and registers the highest number of threatened Agathosma spp. in South Africa, and plant species followed by Mozambique Harpogophytum procumbens DC. ex Meiss (36), Angola (19), Malawi and Zimbabwe in Namibia and Botswana. Leaf, root and (14 species each), (IUCN, 2000). These bark are the most commonly collected parts figures continue to grow. It has been esti- (Cunningham, 1997; Scholes and Walker, mated that 58 species had become extinct

104 by 1995, compared to 39 by 1980. The species found in Angola, 40 species are number of endangered species has grown used in traditional medicine (Zola, 1999). from 105 to 250 during the same period TMPs are the main health-care pro- (Hilton-Taylor, 1996). In Cape Floristic viders in the country but they are not part Province of South Africa alone there are of the national health-care programme. 1,430 threatened species and 26 species There are no official legislative or regula- are already extinct. tory texts, training facilities or pro- Many threatened plants are of me- grammes governing the practice of tradi- dicinal importance: Harpagophytum tional medicine and no licensing procedure procumbens DC. ex Meiss. from Botswana; for TMPs. Only a registry of TMPs is main- Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. tained (WHO, 1992). Birtt. from Namibia; and Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) Chiov., Ledebouria 6.3 Botswana hypoxidoides, Mystacidium millaria, The Republic of Botswana is nestled Ocotea bullata E. Mey., Aloe ferox (L.) between Namibia, South Africa, Zambia Burm. f. from South Africa. Other threat- and Zimbabwe. In terms of biological di- ened medicinal species are Artemisia afra versity, it is a relatively unexplored coun- Jacq., Harpagophytum zeyheri Decne., try. Besides the Kalahari Desert, the coun- Hypoxis rooperii Moore and Sutherlandia try has vegetation in the zones neighbour- frutescens (L.) R. Br. ing the desert, where the rainy conditions favour the rich forest vegetation. A number 6.2 Angola of species from these zones are used for Angola is located on the Atlantic medicinal purposes in traditional medicine. coast of southern Africa and is bordered There are seven species of medicinal plants, by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the which on the basis of phytochemical analy- east and the Democratic Republic of Congo sis, are considered to be suitable for ob- to the north. The climate varies from tropi- taining pharmaceuticals. These species are cal in the north to subtropical in the south. Achillea millefolium L., Chenopodium The natural vegetation consists of humid ambrosioides L., Datura inoxia Mill., Datura tropical forests, savannahs and deserts. stramonium L., Ocimum americanum L., Most of the population in the coun- Ricinus communis L. and Strophanthus try suffers from malnutrition and HIV/ kombe Oliv. This list is not comprehensive, AIDS. Access to modern medicine and and in addition, there are over 20 plants treatments is limited. Medicinal plants growing wild in Botswana which merit meet the needs of rural people for health- evaluation from the industrial viewpoint. care and are also a source of supplemen- Devil’s claw (Harpagophytum tary income. Among 235 classified tree procumbens DC. ex Meiss.) is an endemic

105 medicinal plant of commercial importance is used for curing sexually transmitted dis- in the Kalahari Desert. Its roots and rhi- eases. Many medicinal plants have become zomes have been sold on the European mar- endangered due to over-exploitation for ket as a source of raw material for domestic use and export (Walter, 2001). antirheumatic medicaments (Lewington, Traditional medicine is integrated 1993). The commercial harvesting of the into the national health-care system. The species has depleted up to 66% of the plant Natural Therapeutic Practitioners Act of population in its natural habitat 1976 regulates the practice of traditional (Cunningham, 1997). medicine in the country (Anonymous, TMPs, popularly known as Ngakas, 1978). The Lesotho Universal Medicine provide health-care services primarily to and Herbalist Council is responsible for the rural population. About 95% of the promoting, controlling and improving the 3,100 TMPs comes from rural areas and facilities for and training of the TMPs is officially accepted under the National (Anonymous, 1981). Development Plan of 1976-81 (Staugard, 1989). Traditional medicine has not been 6.5 Malawi integrated into the modern health-care sys- Malawi registers a wide range of cli- tem. The Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy matic, edaphic and geographic conditions. (Amendment) Act of 1987 outlines the reg- It has a great diversity of vegetation rang- istration requirements for TMPs in Bot- ing from savannah in the dry lowlands to swana. open woodland on infertile plateaus and es- carpments, and evergreen forests on the 6.4 Lesotho highlands. Human activities have signifi- Lesotho is a small country sur- cantly altered the natural vegetation, the rounded on all sides by South Africa. About swamp vegetation has given way to agri- two-thirds of the country is mountainous cultural species and much of the original and the rest is temperate grassland. Me- woodlands have been cleared. dicinal plants play a crucial role in fulfilling the health-care needs of rural commu- Traditional Systems of Medicine nities. Among the many medicinal plant Traditional medicine is the most species found in the flora of Lesotho, Di- popular and dominant medical system in anthus spp., Eucomis autumnalis (Mill.) Malawi, especially in the rural areas Chitt. and Berkheya setifera DC. are of (Maliwich, 1997). Limitations to govern- great importance in the traditional medi- ment health services like drug shortage, cine system. Dianthus spp. are tradition- an insufficient number of hospitals, and an ally used to promote cleaning of the blood unfavourable modern medical doctor-to- stream. Eucomis autumnalis (Mill.) Chitt. patient ratio of 1 : 50,000 have contrib-

106 uted to the reliance on traditional medi- petersiana Bolle., Erythrophleum cine. The state government has recognized suaveolens (Guill & Perrot) Brenan and the contribution of TMPs and the benefits Erythrina abyssinica DC. is an emerging of collaboration between modern and tra- problem in the country. ditional medical communities to the nation’s health-care system (Hauya, 1997). R&D Activities TMPs are involved in the national health- The National Herbarium and Botanic care programme and health workers are Gardens (NHBG) is the principle author- trained in traditional medicine (WHO, ity on botanical and related research in Ma- 1992). There are traditional medicine as- lawi. The National Herbarium, located in sociations, the largest of which is the Herb- Zomba, was established in 1987 by merg- alists’ Association of Malawi with about ing the herbaria of the University of Ma- 2,000 members (Maliwich, 1997). lawi and the government Department of Forestry. It has two regional herbaria lo- Medicinal Plant Resources cated at Lilongwe and Mzuzu, and three In Malawi, local consumption of me- botanic gardens in Zomba, Lilongwe and dicinal plants is more important than their Mzuzu. The NHBG is the head of the Na- sale on the market. However, these plants tional Biodiversity Committee and Clearing constitute an important source of income for House Mechanism of the Convention of rural communities (Nyirenda, 1993). Most Biodiversity for accessing and exchange of of the population prefers to consult TMPs information on biological diversity. The who use a variety of medicinal plants in their National Herbarium houses a collection of preparations. In southern Malawi, local over 90,000 plant specimens, with informa- communities use 20 plant species as medi- tion on their phenological details, geographi- cine. cal distribution and uses. These botanic gar- Securidaca longipedunculata Fres. is dens are also involved in the conservation of an important medicinal plant of common rare and endangered plant species. and widespread use in Malawi. Its fresh The NHBG conducts research on eco- leaves are traditionally used for wound nomic botany, medicinal plant biodiversity healing, cough, bilharzia, venereal diseases and assessment of the efficacy of plant pes- and snakebites, and dry leaves are used for ticides, ethnobotanical studies on medici- headaches. nal plants used in maternal and child health Accelerated deforestation is the ma- care. In addition, it is also working on the jor factor for loss of biodiversity in Ma- documentation of medicinal and aromatic lawi. It is also causing the loss of poten- plant diversity and traditional knowledge tial medicinal plants. The over-exploita- of their use. tion of Dioscorea sylvatica Eckl., Cassia

107 Trade and Marketing care. The ratio of modern medical doc- Trade in medicinal plants in Malawi tors to patients is 1 : 50,000, in contrast is less open. Most of the trade takes place to TMPs to patients ratio of 1 : 200. at local markets. The country exports sig- Mozambique does not have a legal nificant quantities of Jateorhiza spp. par- framework for governing the practice of ticularly to neighbouring countries such as traditional medicine, and no licensing pro- Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and cedure exists for official approval of tradi- Zimbabwe. In a survey, a total of 44 me- tional medical practices and remedies dicinal plant species were found at the (WHO, 1992). The Department of Health Limbe market for export to South Africa is responsible for undertaking collabora- (Maliwich, 1997). Malawi also imports tive programmes with TMPs. A number raw material from neighbouring countries of collaborative programmes with district as a result of depletion of its own resources. or provincial health authorities have been sponsored by non-governmental organiza- 6.6 Mozambique tions (Clarke, 1998a). The Republic of Mozambique is situated on the eastern coast of southern Af- Medicinal Plant Resources rica. The dominant vegetation types of the The country has approximately 5,500 country are savannahs and secondary for- plant species and about 10% of them are ests which cover about 70% of the total used in the traditional systems of medicine. area. It is one of the eight poorest coun- TMPs handle a wide range of diseases tries in the world with an average gross (WCMC, 1992). A countrywide survey of domestic products (GDP) growth rate of common and broadly used medicinal plant 3.8% (estimate, 2000). Modern health- species in local remedies recorded the use care facilities are scarce and limited, and of 39 species in the Tonga region and 46 most of the population relies on traditional in the Tinonganine, Kumbane Nirte, Tanga medicine for their health-care needs. Even and Jabula regions. Among these, the most major diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria, common are Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. sexual and respiratory complaints are f.) Chiov., Balanites maughamii Sprague, treated with traditional medicine. Tarenna spp., Securidaca longipedunculata Fres., Zanthoxylum spp., Bridelia cathartica Traditional Systems of Medicine Bertol. f., Swartzia madagascariensis Desv., In Mozambique, about 80% of the Indigofera spp., Xylotheca kraussiana population uses traditional medicine for Hochst., Acridocarpus natalitius Juss., health-care needs (Nhatumbo and Soto, Brachylaena huillensis O. Hoffm., Ochna 1994). Traditional medicine is both a spp. and Garcinia livingstonei T. Anders. popular and dominant system of health Medicinal plants are considered to

108 play a decisive role in slowing down infec- Aloe spp., Ansellia gigantea Reichb., tions (diarrhoea, pneumonia and skin in- Ceropegia ampliata (E. Mey.), Diospyros fections) related to the opportunistic AIDS mespiliformis Hochst ex A. DC., Dalbergia virus. In Mozambique and elsewhere in melanoxylum Guill. & Perr. and Spirostachys Africa, Sarcostemma viminale R. Br. is africanus Sond. are the most threatened widely used against impotency. Prunus medicinal plant species in the country africana (Hook. f.) Kalkm. and Hypoxis (Bandeira et al., 1999; Fato, 1995; Diallo rooperi Moore are used in prostate hyper- et al., 1999). trophy. The root and bark of Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile, Annona R&D Activities senegalensis Pers., Elephantorrhiza Despite a long history of medicinal elephantina Skeels. and Sclerocarya birrea plant use in Mozambique, research in this (A. Rich.) Hochst. are frequently used by field is still in its infancy and concentrated local people to treat diarrhoea (Gelfand, mostly in ethnobotanical work (Jansen and 1985; Scott et al., 1996; van Wyk et al., Mendes, 1990, 1991). Special focus is on 1997). Traditional medicine has proved the plants traditionally used in curing ma- effective in treating malaria, the second jor disorders like diarrhoea, malaria, res- main cause of the high mortality rate in piratory complaints and sexual diseases. the country. Rauvolfia caffra Sond. and The Office of Medicinal Plant Studies of Bridelia cathartica Bertol. f. are tradition- the Ministry of Health and the Eduardo ally used to treat headaches and pains in Mondlane University are gathering infor- bone articulation associated with malaria. mation on plant species used by local peo- The leaves of Bridelia cathartica Bertol. f. ple to treat common diseases. Some phy- and Salacia kraussii Harv. have shown tochemical works on antimalarial plants some antimalarial activity in scientific in- and essential oils have been undertaken and vestigations (Jurg et al., 1991; Figueiredo published (Jurg et al., 1991; Figueiredo et al., 1998). et al., 1998; Pagula et al., 2000). Future The whole Ansellia gigantea Reichb. research in medicinal plants should cover plant is used in the treatment of asthma in species with antibacterial and molluscicidal southern Mozambique, and Opuntia spp. activity (Ndamba et al., 1994; Oketch- are largely used as expectorants against Rabah and Dossaji, 1998; Eloff, 1999). bronchitis and coughs (Fato, 1995). The The main constraint in developing the bark of Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) traditional medicine sector is the reluc- Chiov. is used against coughs and colds, tance of TMPs to disclose information on Momordica balsamina L. for emesis associ- medicinal plant species and the methods ated with fever, and Spirostachys africanus used to prepare remedies. And there is a Sond. against headaches. lack of planned research in the field of phy-

109 tochemistry, pharmacology and pharma- dered by South Africa to the south, An- cognosy. gola and Zambia to the north and Bot- swana and Zimbabwe to the east. Its land- Trade and Marketing scape varies from vast expanses of desert Mozambique, has a fairly large and sand dunes to rock formations in the number of medicinal plants, but provides south, contrasting starkly with the only a few species to the international savannahs and woodlands of the central market. On a domestic level, medicinal region and the lush and forested scenery plants play a key role in primary health of the northeast. The oldest desert in the care, particularly in rural areas (Verzar world, the Namib Desert, stretches along and Petri, 1987; Jansen and Mendes, the entire western coast of the country, 1991). Medicinal plants are gathered from while the Kalahari Desert runs along the forests in small quantities by the rural com- southeastern border with Botswana. munities and sold to traders at the main The climate varies from arid and markets located in urban centres: semi-arid to subtropical with the generally Nampula, Beita, Quelimane and Maputo. temperate desert coast sometimes offering High transportation costs result in low fog-ridden days with temperatures between profits in medicinal plant trade. Informal 5 and 20°C. The central, southern and trade takes place among neighbouring coastal areas constitute some of the most countries, mostly South Africa and Zim- arid landscapes south of the Sahara. babwe (Birgham et al., 1996). In the The sustainable use of natural prod- southern part of the country, Warburgia ucts is an important but underdeveloped salutaris (Bertol. f.) Chiov. and Securidaca sector in Namibia. Medicinal plants are longipedunculata Fres. are the medicinal used by rural people to a large extent to plants most in demand (Halafo, 1996; fulfill their health-care needs and to pro- Adamo et al., 1997). Most of the medici- vide income to local communities. In the nal plant material used in traditional medi- Tsumkwe district in the Otjozondjupa re- cine is traded on the urban market (Cunnin- gion, for example, more than 80 plant spe- gham, 1997). The increased demand for cies are used for treating about 30 ailments raw material on the herbal market has re- (Leger, 1998). sulted in over-exploitation of plant re- Devil’s claw (Harpagophytum pro- sources. cumbens DC. ex Meiss. and H. zeyheri Decne.) is a significant biological resource, 6.7 Namibia which has been exported from Namibia for The Republic of Namibia is a vast and several decades. Harpagophytum procum- sparsely populated country, situated along bens DC. ex Meiss. grows exclusively in the south Atlantic coast of Africa and bor- the regions bordering the Kalahari Desert,

110 whereas H. zeyheri Decne. grows in the lished to facilitate the registration process northern part of the country (Schmidt et of TMPs. The Ministry of Health and So- al., 1998). These plants are traditionally cial Services and the World Health Organi- used in analgesic and anti-inflammatory zation jointly conducted studies on scien- remedies. In recent decades, there has been tific evaluation, standardization and regu- a growing international demand for the lation of traditional medicine practices in roots of Harpagophytum procumbens DC. Namibia in 1997, which led to the devel- ex Meiss. and H. zeyheri Decne. for opment of the 1998 draft of the Traditional antirheumatic use. The increased demand Healers Bill. The Bill established the Tra- of pharmaceutical companies is mostly met ditional Healers Council. The Council from wild collections and a little from cul- should oversee the registration and regu- tivation (Schmidt et al., 1998; Kuipers, lation of traditional medicine, supervise 1997). This has resulted in reduction of and control the practice of TMPs, foster plant population of Harpagophytum research in traditional medicine and pro- procumbens DC. ex Meiss. on its natural vide loans to TMPs (WHO, 1992). sites from 1,000 to 2,000 plants per hec- TMPs in Namibia, who are mostly tare in the 1970s to less than 10 plants natives of other African countries, are not per hectare in 1986 (Cunningham, 1997). registered and are operating without guidelines from the Ministry of Health and So- Traditional Systems of Medicine cial Services. All TMPs, except traditional Traditional medicine is a popular birth attendants, undergo one to three years health-care system in Namibia, which was of apprenticeship. legalized in 1990. The Namibia Eagle Traditional Healers Association was cre- Trade and Marketing ated as a result of major restructuring in The annual medicinal plant trade is 1990 and since then, the Ministry of Health worth about US$ 5.8 mn. Namibia is the and Social Services has been trying to in- biggest exporter of devil’s claw tegrate traditional medicine into the mod- (Harpagophytum procumbents DC. ex ern health-care system. Meiss.) with over 90% of the trade, and TMPs are the major health-care pro- the annual export value is US$ 0.95 mn viders in the country. Their importance (Raimondo, 2002; Cole, 2001). The ex- can be seen from their number, which port of dried roots of devil’s claw from ranges from 1 per 300 to 1,000 people in Namibia started in 1962. Since then, the different regions of the country (Anony- annual export volume has risen rapidly mous, 2000). from 28 tonnes in 1973, to 600 tonnes in In 1996, the Namibian Traditional 1998, 400 tonnes in 2000 and 700 tonnes Medical Practitioners Board was estab- in 2002 (Cole, 2001; Raimondo, 2002).

111 In 1998, the devil’s claw trade earned for- ceeds supply and thereby puts more pres- eign revenue of approximately US$ 1.6 mn sure on the indigenous genetic resources (FAO, 1998). The main importers are of medicinal value. France, Germany and South Africa and the demand in Spain, Switzerland and the UK Traditional Systems of Medicine is also increasing significantly. In South Africa, traditional medicine Most devil’s claw is harvested in com- is a parallel system to western health care munal areas, where an estimated 10,000 and rising in popularity. TMPs are deeply to 12,000 families depend on its trade for interwoven into the fabric of cultural and their livelihood. About 4 to 5 kg of fresh spiritual life in South Africa. They play a tubers yield one kg of dry material. The crucial role in providing health care to international price for dried devil’s claw about 80% of the population (Clarke, tubers was US$ 2.5 per kg in 2000. Over 1998). The increasing importance of tra- the past two decades, the international ditional medicine in the country can be seen price has dropped by 85% in US$ terms. from the number of TMPs, which has increased from 200,000 in the early 1990s 6.8 South Africa to 350,000 in the late 1990s (Maliehe, South Africa is located at the south- 1993). The ratio of TMPs to population is ernmost tip of the African continent and 1 : 700 to 1 : 1,200 as compared to 1 : shares its border with Botswana, Mozam- 17,400 for modern medical doctors. The bique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. It is cost of traditional medicine is reimbursable classed as the third richest country in under health insurance plans. biodiversity in the world and the fifth eco- In order to practise traditional medi- nomically richest region in Africa (DEAT, cine, TMPs from South Africa and a number 1997). The country encompasses a range of neighbouring countries are registered of vegetation types, from arid shrub land with the Traditional Healers’ Organization and semi-desert, through savannahs and (Hess, 1998; Ministry of Health, 1990). woodlands, to coastal and alpine forests. Complementary medicines (dietary Cape Floristic Province (with 45% of the supplements, vitamins and herbal rem- region’s plant species) and Succulent Karoo edies) are regulated under the South Afri- are the two internationally recognized hot can Medicines and Medical Devices Regu- spots for biodiversity in South Africa latory Authority, 1998. (Cowling and Hilton-Taylor, 1994). The National Department of Agricul- South Africa has the potential to be- ture, through the National Plant Genetic come a world leader in the development of Resource Committee, governs traditional medicinal products from indigenous plants. medicine in the country. Under the Re- Demand for medicinal plants generally ex- construction and Development Pro-

112 gramme, the National Department of craft and to test their remedies. It has Health formulates drug policy to promote also signed an agreement with the healers the safe and effective use of quality essen- to ensure that traditional remedies remain tial traditional medicines, to document and affordable to the poor and do not get pat- scientifically validate traditional medi- ented by multinational pharmaceutical cines, and educate and train TMPs. companies. Unregistered traditional healers In order to popularize medicinal and practising traditional medicine are liable aromatic plants, the South African Post to be fined and/or imprisoned for up to one Office has issued postage stamps bearing year. The National Department of Arts, South Africa’s indigenous medicinal plants Culture, Science and Technology provides such as stalked bulbine (Bulbine frutescens funds for research in traditional medicines (L.) Willd.), wild dagga (Leonotis leonurus (Mayeng, 1999). Ait. f.), wild garlic (Tulbaghia violacea Harv.), pig’s ear (Cotyledon orbiculata L.), State Efforts in Development of Traditional wild ginger (Siphonochilus aethiopicus Systems of Medicine (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt.), red paintbrush In 1998, the South African parlia- (Scadoxus puniceus), cancer bush ment decided to involve TMPs in achiev- (Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) R. Br.), Afri- ing major goals in primary health care. In can potato (Hypoxis rooperii Moore), bitter the same year, the parliament passed Act aloe (Aloe ferox (L.) Burm. f.) and sour fig 132 of the South African Medicines and (Carpobrotus edulis (L.) N. E. Br.). Medical Devices Regulatory Authority Bill, covering the registration and regulation of Medicinal Plant Resources traditional medicines (Gray, 1998). Ef- Of the 68 vegetation types in South forts are being made to introduce separate Africa, there are 22,000 species of vascular legislation to control herbal and traditional plants, of which 80% are endemic (DEAT, medicine. Registers have been opened for 1997; Low and Rebelo, 1996). Approxi- herbalists, Ayurvedic and Chinese medi- mately 3,000 species are of medicinal value cines, and many others. South Africa al- and are used by an estimated 200,000 in- lows the importation of traditional digenous TMPs (van Wyk et al., 1997). Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines. The Most of the medicinal plant material National Reference Centre for Traditional is sourced from wild collection. Only a few Medicine was also established under the medicinal plants are cultivated. The culti- National Department of Health. vated species include Warburgia salutaris The Medical Research Council has (Bertol. f.) Chiov., Siphonochilus opened a research centre for traditional aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt. and healers in Delft, Cape Town to survey their Agathosma spp.

113 The practice of over-harvesting and standardization are scarce. The entire in- habitat destruction has endangered the dustry uses simple technology. existence of many medicinal and aromatic The scarcity of popular plants has led plants of high commercial importance. The to their undersupply, with considerable in- endangered plants are Siphonochilus crease in product prices, imports and use aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt., of substitutive plants. Furthermore, there Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) Chiov., has been an increase in the use of destruc- Ledobouria hypoxidoides, Mystacidium tive harvesting techniques, which aim to millaria, Ocotea bullata E. Mey. and Aloe maximize the harvest from declining plant ferox (L.) Burm. f. stocks in order to maintain income levels. Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf.) R&D Activities Bl. Birtt. is a slow growing plant with limited National Botanical Institute (NBI) distribution and its demand exceeds supply. Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) Chiov. is The National Botanical Institute was the most valuable traditional medicine. established in 1989–the result of merging About 95% of the resource base of Ocotea the Botanical Research Institute and the bullata E. Mey. has been depleted for its National Botanic Gardens. The Institute bark. Aloe ferox (L.) Burm. f. is a species is engaged in the exploration of the South of international importance in the cosmetic African biodiversity for its sustainable utili- and personal care products industry. zation and conservation. The ethnobotany The unsustainable and intensive har- programme of the Institute includes natu- vesting from wild stocks is a serious threat ral products research on important Zulu to the biodiversity of medicinal plants in medicinal plants. It also takes care of the South Africa and its neighbouring coun- conservation of over-exploited medicinal tries. There is a lack of significant resource plants, their sustainable use and develop- base management, and plant production ment, and the documentation of medicinal and economics of associated markets. The and economic uses of these plants. The conditions at the markets are generally poor. National Medicinal Plants Database The lack of storage facilities and trading (MEDBASE), developed by the Institute, infrastructures frequently results in spoiled holds floristic, phytochemical and ethno- raw material as well as wastage and dete- pharmacological information on the 300 rioration of the products quality. There is most important plants of South Africa. no legislation regarding the registration Council for Scientific and Industrial and certification of traded products. Research (CSIR) The processing and development of products is extremely limited. Value addi- The Council for Scientific and Indus- tion to the products and efforts to ensure trial Research is the largest community and

114 industry-oriented scientific organization. project has been funded by the Department It was established in 1945 as a statutory of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology scientific research council for R&D work. of South Africa (DACST), which has re- Currently it undertakes approximately cently been divided into the Department of 10% of all R&D activities and acts as a Arts and Culture and the Department of key source of information and technology Science and Technology. solutions for South Africa and member Technology and Human Resources for countries of the Southern African Devel- Industry Programme (THRIP) opment Community. The Technology and Human Resources South African Traditional Medicines for Industry Programme strives to improve Research Group (SATMeRG) the competitiveness of South African in- The South African Traditional Medi- dustry by supporting scientific research, cines Research Group was established in technology development and technology 1997 to promote the rational use of tradi- diffusion activities, and enhancing the qual- tional medicine. It is a joint venture of the ity and quantity of appropriately skilled Division of Pharmacology of the Univer- people. It is managed collectively by the sity of Cape Town and the School of Phar- National Research Foundation (NRF) and macy of the University of the Western the Department of Trade and Industry Cape. The South African Medical Research (DTI) of South Africa. Council funds the activities of the Group. Traditional Medicine Programme The School of Pharmacy of the University (TRAMED) of the Western Cape runs the Pharmaco- poeia Monograph Project aimed at the de- The Traditional Medicine Programme velopment of monographs of medicinal was started in 1994 at the University of plants used in traditional medicine. Two Cape Town, in collaboration with the Uni- monographs on Leonotis leonurus and Olea versity of Durban-Westville, the Kenya africana herbs have been developed and Medical Research Institute in Nairobi, published and 58 others are being devel- Kenya, the WHO Collaborating Centre for oped. A project on antimalarial drugs from Adverse Drug Event Monitoring in medicinal plants of southern Africa has Uppsala, Sweden and the Royal Botanic been undertaken by a consortium consist- Gardens, Kew, the UK. It aims at pro- ing of the Medical Research Council, the moting cultural, health, environmental, sci- universities of Cape Town, Pretoria and entific and socio-economic benefits from Western Cape, the National Botanical In- the development, conservation and sustain- stitute, and the Council of Scientific and able use of east and southern African me- Industrial Research of South Africa. The dicinal plants. The main activities of the

115 Programme include the development of an 1993). National annual demand registers all-Africa network of traditional medicines, 20,000 tonnes of medicinal plant material inventories of indigenous rural and tribal worth US$ 60 mn (Manders, 1998). De- knowledge of traditional medicines, and mand for medicinal plant material in in- articulation of national policy for the con- digenous medicines often exceeds supply. servation, control, regulation and use of There are estimated 27 mn consum- traditional medicine in South Africa. ers of indigenous medicine in the country. The Department of Botany of the Each household spends between 4 to 6% of Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, annual income on indigenous medicine and is working on the identification of South services. Massive demand is generated in African plants of medicinal value. In as- terms of number and volume of plant mate- sociation with South Africa Druggists Ltd., rial. Plant products are marketed either as a privately owned company, the University self-medications or as prescription products. is exploring African medicinal plants for These products are traded in residential ar- the development of new products and the eas dominated by black consumers or at preparation of standards for quality, safety transport nodes in urban areas. and efficacy of finished products. It is also Durban is an important market in developing agro-techniques for commercial South Africa, which forms the hub of an cultivation of industrially important me- active regional trade in indigenous medi- dicinal and aromatic plants (van Wyk et cine popularly known as muthi plants. One al., 1997). The privately owned company, thousand and five hundred tonnes of tradi- BioNatural, in collaboration with CSIR is tional medicines are sold annually. The carrying out scientific research on African industry is worth about US$ 0.22 mn per medicinal plants. Moreover, in collabora- year. There are approximately 1,500 tion with Biochemical and Scientific Con- TMPs and 14,000 people employed in the sultants and Biomox Pharmaceuticals trade. Indigenous healers prescribe an- companies, it is fostering R&D in African nually 4 mn products worth US$ 14.58 medicinal plants. mn. The nine most popular medicinal plants sold at the Durban market are Trade and Marketing Alepidea amatymbica Eckl. & Zeyh., Bowiea Traditional medicine is a growing volubilis Harv. ex Hook. f., Curtisia dentata industry and forms the basic source of health C. A. Smith, Eucomis autumnalis (Mill.) care and livelihood. More than 700 plant Chitt., Haworthia limifolia Marloth, Ocotea species are actively traded for their medici- bullata E. Mey., Scilla natalensis Planch., nal uses throughout South Africa. Multi- Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. million-dollar trade takes place between Birtt., and Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. f.) rural sources and urban markets (Maliehe, Chiov.

116 At the Faraday market in Central interest of pharmaceutical companies for Johannesburg, traders sell 400 tonnes of their medicinal value. finished herbal medicines annually at a Although short supply has not alarm- turnover of US$ 0.52 mn. Most of the ingly raised the prices, the country’s 400 plant material is harvested from KwaZulu medicinal plants are in danger unless cul- Natal province and over 4,000 tonnes of tivation is encouraged. The shortage of medicinal plant material worth US$ 13 mn domestic supply has encouraged imports is traded annually. Out of a total of 1,000 from neighbouring countries, particularly species used for medicinal purposes in the from Mozambique. The drugs prepared area, more than 400 are traded at the ur- from medicinal plants are sold directly to ban markets in KwaZulu Natal (Kuipers, the patient by the traditional healers, but 1997). About 20,000 to 30,000 people are also available at the muthi shops or at derive their livelihood from medicinal plant open-air muthi markets. trade. Most of the people involved are Pharma Natura, Bioforce Interna- black rural women, the most marginalized tional and Natura Homoeopathic Company sector in South African society. The me- are the three main South African compa- dicinal plant industry therefore plays a nies involved in the herbal product busi- critical role in empowering a large number ness. The South African subsidiary of of rural women. The plant collectors sell Solgar, USA markets about 140 dietary medicinal plant material to TMPs worth supplements, vitamins and herbal remedies US$ 5.76 mn a year. In the province, the in South Africa out of 530 different prod- dispensed value of the medicine made from ucts that it manufactures. these plants is estimated at about US$ Aloe ferox (L.) Burm. f., Agathosma 48.02 mn a year. If these values were ex- spp., Harpagophytum procumbens DC. ex trapolated to South Africa, the traditional Meiss., Pelargonium sidoides DC., medicine industry could be generating up Xysmalobium undulatum R. Br., Glycyrrhiza to US$ 220 mn revenue. Apart from these spp., Origanum spp., Salvia spp., Euphorbia large quantities of plants, extracts are also resinifera Berg. and Siphonochilus sold in an informal way. aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt. are the The underground parts (roots, tubers, medicinal plants in the international trade. rhizomes and bulbs) are the dominant me- Quantities of Swartzia madagascariensis dicinal plant material sold at the markets. Desv. are exported mainly to Lesotho (Lange, African potato (Hypoxis spp.), wild ginger 1997; Cunningham, 1993). South Africa (Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. also imports raw material from neighbour- Birtt.), cape bush willow (Sutherlandia ing countries as a result of depletion of its frutecens) and devil’s claw (Harpagophytum own natural resources. procumbens DC. ex Meiss.) have aroused the South Africa is one of the tea pro-

117 ducing countries of the world and about with the Swaziland Genetic Resources Cen- half of the domestic demand is met from tre at the Malkerns Research Station, has its own production. Annual tea produc- undertaken studies on in-situ conservation tion is up to 4 tonnes per hectare, com- of Hypoxis rooperi Moore, a plant used for pared to the famous Darjeeling tea, which HIV/AIDS (Dlamini, 1999). A nursery of produces a quarter of this yield. South Af- medicinal plants has been established in rican tea has lower levels of aroma and the Hhohho region in the Nkomati River flavour and is therefore ideal for ice-tea valley. The important medicinal plant spe- making. cies in the nursery are Euphorbia ingens E. Mey., Callilepis leptophorbia, Ficus 6.9 Swaziland thonningii Bl. and Phoenix reclinata Jacq. Swaziland is a small, land-locked Medicinal plants of commercial im- country bordered by South Africa and Mo- portance are Warburgia salutaris (Bertol. zambique. The country surprisingly supports f.) Chiov., Alepidea amatymbica Eckl. & a wide range of ecological zones, from sa- Zeyh. and Siphonochilus aethiopicus vannah scrublands in the east to rain forests (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt. Warburgia salutaris in the northwest. Hardwood forests domi- (Bertol. f.) Chiov. is exported to South Af- nate the western highlands. rica and Mozambique (Cunningham, 1993 Traditional medicine is the dominant and 1997). Hypoxis rooperi Moore (Afri- system of health care. The ratio of TMPs to can potato), which is used locally for the total population is 1 : 110, in comparison to treatment of HIV/AIDS, is smuggled to 1 : 10,000 for modern medical doctors (Cun- South Africa. Wild ginger (Siphonochilus ningham, 1993). The practice of traditional aethiopicus (Schweinf.) Bl. Birtt.) is much medicine in the country is regulated by the in demand in Europe. Natural Therapeutic Practitioners Regula- tions of 1978 (Ministry of Health, Swazi- 6.10 Zambia land, 1978) and TMPs are integrated with Zambia borders with Angola to the the primary health-care programme of the west, Congo to northwest, Tanzania to the country (WHO, 1992). However, there is northeast, Malawi to the east and Bot- no official training or programme in tradi- swana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zim- tional medicine (WHO, 1992). babwe to the south. Most of the country is The Ministry of Agriculture and Co- covered by moist savannah woodland where operatives has carried out studies on me- broadleaf deciduous trees grow far enough dicinal properties of indigenous tree spe- apart to allow grasses or other plants of cies within the National Forest Research medicinal value to grow on the woodland Plan (1993-2002). The Swaziland Na- floor. tional Trust Commission, in collaboration The inability to afford and access

118 modern health facilities has strengthened State (Naur, 2001). There is no formal the utilization of medicinal plants. Tradi- training in traditional medicine at the tional medicines are used and accepted by medical institutes and traditional medicine about 70% of the population, regardless is not covered by insurance. of ethnic, religious or social background. Medicinal Plant Resources Traditional medicine is widely practised in urban centres (Cunningham, 1997). Prac- Zambia has about 6,000 species of tice is recognized and supported by the Tra- vascular plants many of which have found ditional Healers Practitioners Association, common and widespread use in rural and founded in 1978. The Association has more urban centres for their medicinal values than 35,000 registered members (Mudon- (IPGRI, 2002). About 78 medicinal plant do, 2000). It controls the practice of tra- species have been identified in the Central ditional medicine. Traditional medicines Copperbelt and Luapula provinces, with are not integrated with mainstream medi- common use in traditional systems of medicines or the national health-care system. cine. The root and bark are plant parts in However, the Traditional Birth Attendants demand for the preparation of traditional and the Community Health Care Workers remedies. As a consequence of deforesta- practise at the level of primary health care. tion and population growth, many valuable The National Drug Policy has a chapter on medicinal plant species are collected from traditional medicines, which discusses the very distant places (Nswana, 1996). materia medica but not the practice of traditional medicines (Mudondo, 2000). Trade and Marketing TMPs provide health care to eco- In Zambia, annual trade in tradi- nomically weak, rural, poor and urban tional medicine is worth over US$ 43 mn populations. In 2001, Zambia had about (Nswana, 1996). Trade generally takes 900 modern medical doctors and a very place within and between neighbouring large number of traditional healers countries. Pterocarpus angolensis DC. is (40,000) for a population of 10 mn. As a used by TMPs and is also exported. Its result, most of the Zambian population rely supply to traditional healers is affected by upon TMPs for their health care (Nswana, competing uses such as timber logging 1996). About 60% of registered tradi- (Cunningham, 1997). Other locally used tional healers are women. An estimated medicinal plants are Eulophia petersiana 20 to 25% of the population is HIV posi- and Selaginella imbricata (Forssk.) Spring tive. Traditional healers are part of the ex Decne. (Cunningham, 1993). Technical Committee on Natural Remedies Zambia has vast potential to develop for HIV and Other Related Diseases and its production of essential oils. SDK Es- are under the direct control of the Head of sential Oils Company, based at Kitwe, pro-

119 duces lemon grass, eucalyptus, geranium traditional medicine to prevent abuse or and pine oils. The company has also de- quackery, and cooperates with the Minis- veloped herbal balm with proved efficacy try of Health to establish better working in the treatment of skin diseases such as relations between traditional and medical herpes zoster and kaposis sarcoma. There practitioners (Cavender, 1988; Ushewo- are many other companies involved in es- kunze, 1984; Chavundka, 1986). sential oil production in Zambia. In 1997, In 1994, there were 24,000 TMPs the Traditional Healers and Practitioners in Zimbabwe that increased to over 55,000 Association (THPAZ) signed a five-year in 2000 (Amooti-Kyomya, 1994; Matondo, contract with an American company to 2000). In 1981, the Natural Therapists assist research in traditional medicine and Act and the TMPs Council Act were en- herbs under the auspices of the United acted to regulate the practice of traditional States Agency for International Develop- medicine (Ministry of Health, 1982, ment (USAID). 1982a). TMPs are registered with the TMPs 6.11 Zimbabwe Council under the responsibility of the Min- Zimbabwe is located between South istry of Health. Only registered TMPs are Africa and Zambia. Its 11,3 mn popula- entitled to practise traditional medicine. tion registers the highest number of HIV/ The practice of an unregistered TMP is an AIDS cases. The deterioration of the pub- offence and punishable by up to two years lic health-care system and the escalating imprisonment and/or a fine. The Council cost of drugs mean people rely on TMPs. has the authority to cancel or suspend the Around 10% of the country’s flora is uti- registration of TMP if found guilty of im- lized in the preparation of traditional rem- proper or disgraceful conduct. edies (Birgham et al., 1996). Medicinal Plant Resources Traditional Systems of Medicine Zimbabwe has more than 500 plant Traditional medicine has been inte- species of medicinal value. The Zimbabwe grated into the national health-care sys- National Traditional Healers Association tem. The Zimbabwe National Traditional (ZINATHA) deals with the production of Healers Association (ZINATHA) acts herbal medicinal products and, apart from within the framework of the TMPs Coun- fulfilling domestic demand, it exports to cil Act of 1981. The Association is re- the European Union. Zimbabwe has the sponsible for promoting research, develop- capacity to give a meaningful contribution ing knowledge of traditional medical prac- to the fight against HIV/AIDS and to come tice and granting loans to associations or up with local solutions through research, persons. It also supervises the practice of evaluation and development of promising

120 traditional remedies. present and future generations. The practice of over-harvesting, de- There is, unfortunately, a non-condu- forestation and the lack of appropriate cive legal and policy environment, inad- propagation techniques of commercially equate scientific information on medicinal used medicinal plants has hampered their plants, and a lack of formal links between sustainable use. The 70,000 hectares of traditional medicine and biodiversity. woodland cleared for agricultural purposes during the last few decades have adversely Trade and Marketing affected medicinal plant diversity. One of the most important medicinal plants of Zimbabwe is Warburgia salutaris R&D Activities (Bertol. f.) Chiov., which has become both The Traditional Medicinal Plant Re- expensive and endangered due to high de- search and Development Trust of the state- mand and limited distribution (Cunnin- owned Blair Research Institute carries out gham, 1997). Other medicinal plants with bio-medical and clinical trials on promis- limited distribution in the eastern highlands ing local natural herbal therapies for HIV/ are Spirostachys africanus Sond., AIDS and other diseases. The Trust also Erythrophleum suaveolens (Guil & Perrot) undertakes activities of protection, pres- Brenan and Phyllanthus engleri Pax ervation and developing of indigenous me- (Cunningham, 1993). dicinal knowledge and know-how for

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