Medicinal Plants Used as Home Remedies: A Family Survey by First Year Medical Students

Abstract

Background: There is a hierarchical organisation of knowledge in the use of medicinal plants in communities. Medicinal use knowledge starts in the home and is passed on to family members. Next in the hierarchy are neighbours, village elders and finally, traditional healers being the most knowledgeable. For primary health care this hierarchy is actively followed in seeking remedies for ailments. Materials and Methods: This study was a survey of medicinal plant knowledge from family members of 1 st year medical students registered at Walter Sisulu University. A total of 206 first year medical students participated in this study in 2010 and 2011. Results: Results revealed 47 species used as home remedies, 32% of which are food plants. Leaves and roots were reported as most commonly used. The top five ailments managed at home were gastrointestinal problems (25 plants), wounds (19 plants), respiratory tract problems (19 plants), infections, including sexually transmitted diseases (19 plants) and pain including headaches (19 plants). Chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and reproductive ailments also formed a large group of diseases self-managed at home (29 plants). Conclusion: Family members hold knowledge of medicinal plant use. From this study, first year medical students were made aware of the relationship between common ailments and associated home remedies. This study forms a basis for further study of medicinal plants to validate their use as medicinal remedies.

General practitioners’ perspectives on the use of nonpharmacological home remedies in two regions in Switzerland and France

“…In countries with lower income levels and traditional cultures, a majority of the population reports using home remedies [4,5]. In high-income countries, we have more of a mixed picture.…”

“…In general practice, patients often report using nonpharmacological home remedies (NPHRs) in addition to or instead of treatments advised by the general practitioner (GP) [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Although in Western cultures traditional medicine is less frequently cited, doctors in these countries sometimes advise the use of more traditional medical practices.…”

Cactus: Chemical, nutraceutical composition and potential bio‐pharmacological properties

“…Cochineal nopal cactus Le Drink a hot or cold infusion of grated leaves for cooling and cleanser (Trinidad and Tobago); sprain: pound, put in the affected area, and wrap with a piece of cloth (Philippines); earache, toothache, and rheumatism (Philippines) (Carag & Buot Jr, 2017;Clement, Baksh-Comeau, & Seaforth, 2015;Olowa & Demayo, 2015) Jo Snakebite (Trinidad and Tobago); menopause, hot flashes (Trinidad and Tobago); kidney stones and hypertension (Trinidad and Tobago) (Cheryl Lans, 2007a, 2007bLans, 2006) Ns Infection and circulatory system disorder (Belize) (Blanco & Thiagarajan, 2017;Sewani-Rusike & Mammen, 2014) Opuntia aurantiaca Lindl.…”

Helichrysum Longifolium and Helichrysum Pedunculatum: A Comparative Analysis of Their Medicinal Uses, Chemistry and Biological Activities

“…This argument was based on the usage of the two species as herbal medicines against microbial infections and infestations, thus directly or indirectly providing protection or inhibiting the growth of undesirable microbes. Leaf or root decoction or infusion of H. pedunculatum is also used as herbal medicine for colds [36,60,61,63,[76][77][78], cough [36,60,61,63,[76][77][78], respiratory problems [65], postpartum problems [64], skin infections [74], and stomach ailments [49,61,64].…”