African Knowledge And Plants For Health Care
Medicinal plants and herbs contribute a great deal to the health care system in Africa. These are based on knowledge transmitted as folklore from generation to generation. About 10 percent of the plant species of the world are estimated to be found in southern Africa. But only a few have been commercially exploited based on scientific research. The number of scientific publications as well as patent applications is also increasing.
There are herbal or medicinal plant markets in African countries. These markets are the source of these plants for use by the local people. This is mostly a part of the informal economy. However, there is also an expanding formal economy of these products in African countries. This is due to the increasing demand of these herbal remedies by the well off people in Africa and outside. There is also a worldwide increasing demand for these natural remedies. This has come along with the global cultural trend towards organic naturopathies. The traditional knowledge and herbal and medicinal plants are becoming commercialized. Nutraceutical, cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical industries locally as well as globally are making use of the reported use of medicinal plants by local communities. The information on the traditional use of medicinal plants is available from the field researches being carried out in African countries on indigenous knowledge, traditional knowledge and folklore medicines.
There are many products in the global market that are based on such traditional knowledge of the people of southern Africa. The knowledge is valued for their reliability. The rush to document this knowledge before they are lost has increased with more documentation and research. So also the market for these ethno-botanicals too has increased. In recent times Hoodia gordonii from Kalahari Desert has caught the attention of those who want to lose weight. This is a reputed appetite suppressant. Available in different forms such as pills, capsules and powder, Hoodia is also available in liquid form. Hoodithin review tells us that the liquid form is much superior to other forms.
The global market for such products present rising opportunities for these African countries that could raise the income levels of these impoverished peoples. At the same time there is a threat of exhaustion of these plants from its natural habitat as a result of uncontrolled collection. Scientific conservation management practices are required to ensure that the extraction of these herbs is sustainable.
July 01 2009 06:45 am | Obesity