Common herbal treatment for malaria, safe but...
By Sade Oguntola - updated: Thursday 19-06-2008
MosquitoHERBAL remedies are still sought
by a cross section of Nigerians in
both rural and urban areas for various ailments.
Although the use of herbs for treatment of diseases in many countries is traced to early man who probably acquired the skill of herbal healing through deliberate selection of plants, but the advent of orthodox medicine has not wiped out their use.
Despite the ready availability of various orthodox malaria drugs in the market, the upsurge in the number of people that rely on herbs for treating malaria has caused increased efforts to authenticating the efficacy and safety of these several herbs people take to cure malaria.
One of such herbs used to treat malaria that efforts are currently on to study its safety limits is Enatia chlorantha, a herb that bears different local names in Nigeria. The stem bark of this plant also known as African yellow wood among the Yoruba speaking community is called “Iyani” or “Awopa” while in Benin it is called “Evenbavbogo”
This plant is well distributed in the southern part of Nigeria, West Cameroun, Gabon, Angola and Zaire and its bark has been used differently in treatment of various diseases in different communities across Africa.
In Nigeria, the bark extract are used widely to treat malaria fever, high body temperature, wounds, kick start labour in pregnant women and as a naturally occurring antibiotics.
The plant is also used traditionally to treat jaundice, tuberculosis and leprous spots and many researchers including Dr. E. A Agbaje from the department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos in the journal West African Journal of Pharmacology and Drug Research of year 2005, have even confirmed that its aqueous extract is effective in the treatment of conditions like ulcer.
Just as the use of herbs for treatment of diverse diseases is increasing, reports of their adverse and toxic effects also abound even though there are misconceptions that “natural” products are safe, or at ;least less toxic.
However, herbal drugs like other drugs are toxins, which can act on different organs in the body to produce a myriad of effects.
This then was the basis of a new study on the cumulate effects of using Enatia chlorantha to treat malaria fever by researchers from the University of Ibadan considering that this plant decoction is considered effective against malaria fever and jaundice. As a result, it is indiscriminately ingested on a regular basis.
The toxicology studies was carried out in 120 mice that were fed the plant extract through the injection route or made to drink it. The animals were closely monitored throughout the period of the experiment for any behavioural or untoward reactions. Their excised organs and tissues such as the liver, stomach and lungs as well as blood samples were then assessed.
The study was designed to examine the degree of safety of the plant extract, given that herbal drugs too have there safety limits and there is the tendency for it to be used in doses larger than the therapeutic dose over a long period of time.
The researchers said that using the plant for the treatment of an ailment for a short period of time was safe considering that “there was no significant pathological changes observed in blood parameters like total blood cholesterol, blood bilirubin and urea levels and most of the organs of mice, except the lungs. The lungs showed mild to moderate oedema( swelling up) that however reversed back to normal with the cessation of the extract’s use.
Because mice feed continuously with the extract eventually died, they concluded that appropriate choice of dose level may be very critical in any prolonged or chronic use of this herb in the treatment of different diseases, especially malaria.
The study done by J.O Moody, O.D Ogundipe, E.U.U Akang and E. O Agbedan, from the Department of Pharmacognosy, Chemical Pathology and Pathology,of the University of Ibadan, was published in the 2007 December edition of the African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences.
Dr J.O Moody speaking on the study said that the work started with the group setting out to confirm whether the plant is able to treat malaria fever. He said usually people soak the bark of the herb in things like carbonated drinks to extract its medicinal components.
According to him, the herb has equally enjoyed patronage from women for the treatment of varginal candidisis, because of its antifungal activity (ability to kill fungi)
He said its effectiveness in treating such problems like malaria and fungal infections have been confirmed in other places like Cameroun and USA.
He described the plant as a poly-medicine whose use goes far beyond only malaria fever, adding that because of its many uses, it became important to also consider its safety limits.
The question is, how much of it should be taking in a short time so that it does not do any damage to the body organs? He said,”The amount you need to take at once for it to cause organ damage is very high and in terms of safety, we looked at the effect on body organs like the lungs and the liver and there was no marginal difference among those mice that had the plant extract and those that did not take.’
“There is really no cause for alarm. There is not much to the odema noticed in the lungs, except when there is a prolong use of the plant extract in treatment of any health condition. That means that there must be some caution taking in case of its prolonged use, but that does not warrant any outright alarm really.”
Meanwhile, a similar study done by Professor Paul Tan and others from the University of Yaounde, Cameroun in the 2007 edition of the journal Pharmacologyonline stated that excessive consumption of its water decoction over medium to long term time could cause lung, liver and kidney problems
Meanwhile, Dr. Moody was also in support of further studies to ascertain the safety of the different active chemical compounds that supports its use in the treatment of various diseases.
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