POTENTIAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF LIQUID HERBAL MEDICINE IN JIMETA-YOLA REGION, NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

It may not be breaking any world records right now, but herbal medicine once used to be the only solution to bring back our ancestors from the brink of death before the development of synthetic drugs. The use of herbal medicine reduced as modern medicine evolved. Today, many people are finding their way back to the use of herbal medicine, for the treatment of numerous illnesses.

Traditional medicine

Often, the term herbal medicine is confused with “traditional medicine.” Traditional medicine comprises of different health practices, knowledge, beliefs and approaches that consist of plant, animal and mineral-based prescriptions including profound treatments, and practices used singularly or in combination with others to keep up sound health, to additionally treat, prevent or diagnose ailments (WHO, 2003).

Herbal medicine on the other hand, is an integral part of traditional medicine (TM), which means it is only a part of traditional medicine.

Fig 1.1. Traditional medicine

Herbal medicine

The World Health Organization defines herbal medicine as that, which is made up of herbs, herbal materials, preparations, and finished natural products, which consists of active ingredients parts of plants or other plant materials (WHO, 2003). Other natural substances such as fungal, honeybee, and mineral products are incorporated into the scope of herbal medicine (Awodele, Daniel, Popoola, & Salami, 2013).

History of herbal medicine use

Synthetic drugs were not always used for curing diseases, and illnesses; in fact, a significant amount of herbal medicine knowledge was put into the development of synthetic drugs. The synthetic anti-malarial drug known as quinine for example, is derived from a species of a flowering plant, known as Cinchona, a native of the Andean forest of western South America (Adeleye, Okogi, & Ojo, 2005).

Furthermore, the discovery of the famous pain reliever known as Aspirin is highly associated with the Willow tree (Mahdi, Mahdi, & Bowen, 2006). The historical

analysis of Aspirin discovery began with a clinical investigation in the 18th century, when the willow, and its extracts where used to relieve pain. The advancement in organic chemistry especially in the pharmaceutical disciplines during this period made possible the discovery of the tree’s salicilin, salicilic acid, and acetylsalic acid properties. The tree’s extracts were later known to have an effect on prostaglandins (PGs). Modern epidemiology in the 1980s further discovered that there is an inverse relationship between aspirin, and risk of colorectal cancer development, which means that aspirin is a potential anticarcinogenic drug (Mahdi et al., 2006). Many more herbs, which were used in ancient times, have been used as the basis of synthetic drugs (Table 1.1). Our ancestors therefore, were in tune with the use of herbal medicine to cure an unimaginable number of diseases.

Table 1.1. Medicinal plants, their synthesized drugs and functions.

Plant nameSynthetic drugFunction
Gaultheria procumbensMethylsalicylateUsed to relieve muscular pain, and for lumbago, scartia and rheumatic conditions
Papaver somniferumMorphineUsed as a potent pain killer
Rauwolfia serpentinaReserpineUsed as an anti-hypertensive drug
Digitalis lanataAcetyldigoxinUsed to treat cardiac arrest, congestive chronic cardiac failure class II, III, and IV
Taxus brevifoliaPaclitaxelUsed as anti-cancer drug, especially for breast, ovarian, and lung cancer
Artemisisnin annuaArtemisininAnti-malarial drug
Sassafras treeMorphineCommonly used pain medication, especially after surgery, and for terminally ill patients

The antiquated Chinese and Egyptian papyrus, which dates as far back as 3,000 BC, showed record of plants, and their medicinal uses (Farrell, 1998). The availability of this record implies that herbal medicine has been in use for centuries, amongst people with different cultural practices and traditional backgrounds.