Have you ever wondered how babies born deep in the heart of Ghana survive convulsion even though their mothers cannot afford the GHC3.20 lorry fare to the nearest clinic five kilometres away? Or how those bitten by snakes survive even without meeting a qualified health practitioner?
Over the years, our healthcare delivery system has been heavily reliant on orthodox medications and other orthodox methods of therapy. A considerable section of the populace, however, view herbal medicine either as a better choice or a viable alternative to orthodox drugs. Indeed, the practice of traditional medicine in Ghana, which dates back to the pre-colonial era, has continued to thrive.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that about 80 per cent of the Ghanaian populace use herbal preparations in meeting their primary healthcare needs. Lack of access, high cost and perceived side effects of synthetic drugs have informed this preference. Our cultural disposition and traditional belief systems have made it easier for the average citizen to believe his ‘herb’ and shun the ‘white man’s poison’.
Development of herbal medicine
Though the role and importance of orthodox medicine in our healthcare system is undeniable, the call for the development of herbal medicine practice and its integration into our healthcare delivery system cannot be overlooked. Currently, a new and exciting trend is developing. There is a resurging interest in natural products and plant-based medicine, especially in the developed world.
Plant-based medicine is no longer tagged as the witchdoctor’s cure, fit only for the poor in our villages but a viable and reliable treatment system that can be incorporated into our mainstream healthcare delivery. The irony is that, a significant amount of orthodox medications we view as the holy grail of therapy, are, or were developed from plant-derived compounds. Do you know that household names such as quinine and artesunate; both used in the treatment of malaria were developed from naturally occurring compounds in plants?
Though a strong case can be made for herbal medicine, there remains many issues regarding its practice in Ghana. There is insufficient scientific data pertaining to the efficacy and toxicity of herbal medications, some of which are already in active use for various conditions. In Ghana, only a small percentage of the traditionally used medicinal plants have been scientifically investigated for their acclaimed benefits.
Regulation challenges
Regulation of herbal drugs and herbal medicine practice remains a problem. Consumers make decisions based on rigorous media campaigns which trumpet the ‘one cure for all diseases’ and ‘100 percent safety’ mantra. The issue, however, is no medicine, natural or synthetic can be said to be without adverse effects.
The destruction of biodiversity such that even before the health benefits of a medicinal plant are scientifically exposed, it has been long cleared and burnt for charcoal or the land on which it thrives has been cleared to make way for infrastructure.
Though strides have been made by stakeholders to modernise this sector and incorporate it into the health system, we are still a long shot away from home.
For some time now, the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (FPPS) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been working tirelessly to address some of these issues.
Research findings
Research has centred on verifying traditional claims surrounding locally used medicinal plants in addition to identifying and isolating the compounds responsible for these medicinal effects. These compounds may serve as motifs for developing new drugs. So far, collaborations with Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) and the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research into Plant Medicine (CSIR-PM), Mampong, and other international outfits have helped in this cause.
The formation of the New Year School for herbalists by the Department of Herbal Medicine of the FPPS, KNUST, is a new concept geared towards providing them with basic scientific teachings in an attempt to standardise the practice and to preserve knowledge.
Currently, the writers of this article, who are postgraduate students of the FPPS, are also engaged in research in this area and so far, some interesting preliminary findings have been made.
For instance, the bark of the stem of the Wawa tree (Triplochitonscleroxylon), a popular source of timber, has been found to reduce joint swelling and bone damage associated with arthritis and airway inflammation associated with asthma.
Interestingly, chronic toxicity studies in animals treated with extracts from this plant showed minimal harmful effects. Bunasub (Magaritarianobilis) a popular plant among the Konkomba, used locally as a chewing stick, has been found to have huge potential as a drug in treating arthritis, sprains and open wounds.
We have also established that the Akuamma tree (Picralima nitida), which is commonly used for making our mortar and pestles and as a remedy for pain in several communities, may have additional sedative properties as well. In all cases, plans have been made to identify and isolate the compounds responsible for these effects.
So with our vast bio-resources, Ghana is blessed with a unique and readily available raw material base for research and drug development. Alternative medicine is not without financial benefits. For instance, the world market for Chinese herbal medicine has soared over a few years and is now estimated to be worth about $23 billion.
With preference for Chinese medicine growing by 25 per cent per year in the US alone, that figure is bound to increase. The discovery of new compounds have transformed pharmaceutical industries and indeed boosted the economies of other countries such as the United States and Switzerland.
Although much cannot be said about Ghana, our country can also boast an increase in volume of trade generated by herbal medicine in terms of exports and internal trade.
The writers are all pharmacists currently undertaking PhD programmes in Natural Product Pharmacology and Natural Product Chemistry respectively, at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, KNUST.
