Curbing Abuse Of Herbal Medicine - by Bilikis Bakare

The proliferation and influx of herbal medicine from within and outside the shores of Nigeria, particularly from China, should be a source of concern for the citizens as its development has led to an upsurge in various categories of healers. 

In fact, the developmental rate can be likened to the period of renaissance of traditional medicine in Nigeria. But in as much as the efficacies of these herbs are proved to a limited extent, consumers should be wary of the potential side effects, especially as a result of over dosage, which most times are irreversible.

Recently, a man presented with a case of priapism, a medical condition in which the penis remains erect, after the consumption of one of the popular herbal preparations. This was probably to prove his manliness to his female companion which eventually went awry because the manhood remained erect even after he had sapped himself of energy and complaints of weariness from his partner.

Globally, people develop unique indigenous healing adapted and defined by their culture, beliefs and environment which satisfies the health needs of their communities over centuries. The increasing widespread use of herbal medicine has prompted the World Health Organisation to promote the integration of Herbal Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine into the National Health Care System.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a cover name for alternative medicine, complementary medicine, and integrative medicine.” Basically, this is through the use of herbs. It includes all such practices and ideas, self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and wellbeing. The practice has existed since prehistoric times and flourishes today as the primary form of medicine for perhaps as much as 80 per cent of the world’s population. Over 80,000 species of plants are in use throughout the world. For instance, in China, herbal medicine is considered as primary health care, where it has been documented and used for over 2,500 years.

Since time immemorial, herbs have been popular, not only in the preparation of food, but also in medical, cosmetics and religious use. During the olden days, early men depended on plants and animals for food. And gradually through trial and error, learned which herbs were good to eat and which had healing properties. In Egypt during the reigns of Pharaohs, stories were told of how they fed the slaves building the pyramids with garlic and onions to give them stamina and ward off diseases. Also, the ancient Greeks were fond of mixing herbs with their bath water to give off pleasant aroma, while during the Middle Ages in Europe, mothers were said to have stitched cloves of garlic into their children’s clothing to protect them against epidemic throughout the long winter months.

Herbs may be used directly as teas or extracts, or they may be used in the production of drugs. It had been found out that approximately 25 per cent of the prescription drugs sold in the United States are plant based. Many more herbal ingredients are present in over-the-counter drugs, such as laxatives – drugs used in aiding bowel movement. Other medicines that come from plants include acetyl salicilate in form of aspirin, derivative of salicylic acid, that is used to lower fever, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and thin the blood. Common conditions treated with aspirin include headache, muscle and joint pain, and inflammation.

Scientific interest in herbal medicine in the countries of Asia and Europe has continued to grow; in Germany, for example, one third of graduating physicians have studied herbal medicine, and a comprehensive therapeutic guide to herbal medicines has long been published there. Some people have used botanicals in an attempt to stave off serious illnesses such as AIDS.

The importance of the practices cannot be undermined in Nigeria, considering the challenges being faced by the masses who believe in alternative cure by applying herbal elements in treatments of various ailments prevailing in the tropics. It has been discovered that Nigerians, mostly rural dwellers, prefer herbal medicines in forms of roots and herbs to orthodox ones because they believe it’s a waste of time to go to hospitals, when they can easily get cure for their various ailments in their back yards.

But despite the widespread use of herbal medicines worldwide and their reported efficacies, they are not completely harmless. The rate at which Nigerians, both rural and lately urban dwellers, develop chronic kidney diseases and subsequently kidney failure due largely to the consumption of these herbs call much for concern. Worse culprits are the artisans and commercial bus drivers, who consume these products arbitrarily, mostly in form of alcoholic herbal mixtures to treat ailments such as pile, weak erection, premature ejaculation, back pains and low libido because they have many wives and concubines and will want to satisfy all parties. Some of these mixtures are supposedly used in the treatment of a wide range of diseases at the consumption of a single dose.

In Lagos, the level of consumption of these herbs is quite high, mostly in form of “Agbo jedi” (Pile mixture), “Agbo Iba” (Malaria mixture) etc. It is not uncommon to see women of various shapes and sizes hawking these herbs early in the morning on the streets of Lagos and at motor parks. In fact, some residents have become habitual consumers of these products that the hawkers yell out to call their attention whenever the former are plying their trade. Sadly, at times the consumers combine two or three different mixtures for the treatment of two or three different ailments together at a go, even when they are not yet suffering from the ailments; and all in form of protection from these diseases.

In as much as these herbs are effective, the multifarious side effects, which most times outweigh the benefits, particularly if consumed in excess, should not be overlooked. Therefore, government at all levels should enlighten the public on the potential danger of consuming these herbs, especially in their raw forms due to high toxicity.

A body to be saddled with the responsibility of evaluating the safety, efficacy and quality of herbal medicines and their products should be constituted to carry out random clinical trials on these drugs before consumption. Also, the Federal Government should check the influx of sub-standard imported herbal mixtures mostly from India and China, and standardise the local ones by re-branding them in form of tablets and capsules.

...Bilikis Bakare is a public health education specialist in Lagos