An estimated 70% of all South Africans use traditional medicines derived from plant species indigenous to the region. In order to formalize the position of these medicines within the state health care system, a necessary first step is the establishment of standards of quality, safety, and efficacy. With this objective in mind, pharmaceutical monographs for 60 plant species used as traditional medicines in South Africa were drawn up according to WHO guidelines. The results of some of this work are reported here, focusing in particular on 26 species belonging to Asteraceae, Geraniaceae, and Lamiaceae, families well represented in indigenous traditional medical practice. Quality standards for the identification of these species, established using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and traditional microscopy, are given. The results of investigations, using the disk assay method, of their efficacy as antimicrobial agents are reported. Secondary chemical profiles, drawn up using standard techniques in pharmacognosy, are shown and discussed with reference to the known bioactivity of each chemical class.

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