Evaluation of Herbs as Potential Drugs/Medicines

Herbal drugs have been used since ancient times as medicines for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, for both human and livestock. A study conducted in the Lake Victoria Basin Kenya revealed vast knowledge and reliance on traditional medicine as a source of healthcare. The study documented 34 medicinal plant species distributed among 21 botanical families and 34 genera, used in the management of human ailments. The highest numbers of species were from the families Asteraceae and Leguminosae. The most commonly harvested plant parts were leaves (46.51%) and roots (34.88%). The most common growth forms utilised were herbs (40.54%) followed by shrubs (27.03%). The major methods of herbal drug preparation were concoction (31.03%) and decoction (24.14%) administered mainly through oral and dermal routes, (64.29%) and (32.14%) respectively. The use of herbal drugs as mixtures was reported to be a common practice by the herbal practitioners; 57.14% of the preparations were dispensed as mixtures while 42.86% of the preparations composed of single plants. A rich knowledge of medicinal plants was recognized and phytochemical and bioactivity analyses of these herbal plants are recommended to determine their safety and efficacy.Key words: Indigenous knowledge, health care, ethnomedicinedoi: 10.4314/ajtcam.v8i5S.2

Antifungal activity of crude extracts of selected medicinal plants used in combinations in Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya

Use of herbs as combinations is a common practice with many herbal practitioners. The main idea behind this usually is the synergistic action expected to take place by the traditional healer hence being able to give better results as compared to one herb and also treat more than one ailment, even those not mentioned by the patient. However, other interactions such as additive and antagonism too take place when herbs are used in combinations. In this study, anti-aspergillus and anti-candida efficacy of crude extracts of five plants used in combination to treat malaria were investigated. Toddalia asiatica (root), Rhamnus staddo (root) , Momordica foetida (shoot), Podocarpus falcatus (bark), Aloe sp (secculent leaves) used by traditional health practitioners in the Kalenjin community were extracted using water and dichloromethane/methanol (1:1) and the crude extracts tested for in vitro antifungal activity singly and in combinations against Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. Dichloromethane/methanol extracts of P. falcatus showed the highest activity (77.77% inhibition) against A.niger while M. foetida showed the highest activity (77.78% inhibition) against C. albicans. Aloe sp. Showed no activity against A. niger when tested singly. A.niger was more sensitive to the plants extracts than C.albicans. Aqueous extracts did not show any activity. Antagonism, additive and synergism were observed when combinations of the herbal plants were assayed. Findings in this study are a preliminary verification of the usefulness of using herbal plants in combinations as a prevalent practice among the traditional healers