Eastern Cape, South Africa [Source: TUBS, Wikimedia Commons]Alfred Maroyi of the Medicinal Plants and Economic Development Research Center, University of Fort Hare, conducted a study in six villages in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, to assess useful plant species diversity, plant use categories, and local knowledge of both wild and cultivated useful species in the region.
Writing in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, Professor Maroyi notes that the majority of the inhabitants in the study sites are traditional isiXhosa speaking people who are highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods. Working with 138 local informants, Maroyi documented 125 useful plant species, more than a third of them exotic and the remainder native. Approximately 75 percent were collected from the wild, 21 percent cultivated, and 5 percent “spontaneous” (growing without the assistance of humans).
Aloe arborescens [Photo: Andrew massyn, Wikimedia Commons]Most of the identified species (62 percent) were used as ethnoveterinary and human medicines. Documented species considered to have potential in the development of new medicinal products with commercial value include Acacia karroo, Alepidea amatymbica, Aloe arborescens (Aloe candelabro), Aloe ferox, Aloe marlothii, Artemisia afra, Bulbine frutescens, Carpobrotus edulis, Elephantorrhiza elephantina, Gunnera perpensa, Helichrysum nudifolium, Helichrysum odoratissimum, Hypoxis hemerocallidea, Leonotis leonurus, Lippia javanica, Mentha longifolia, Pittosporum viridiflorum, Prunus africana, Tulbaghia alliacea, Tulbaghia violacea, Typha capensis, Withania somnifera, Xysmalobium undulatum, and Ziziphus mucronata.
Of these, A. amatymbica, G. perpensa, H. hemerocallidea, and P. africana are threatened with extinction mainly because of over-exploitation for the traditional medicine trade.
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The information on my blog is not intended as a substitute for medical professional help or advice but is to be used only as an aid in understanding current medical knowledge. A physician should always be consulted for any health problem or medical condition.
Afar Regional State, Ethiopia [Source: TUBS, Wikimedia Commons]Tilahun Teklehaymanot of the Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, conducted an ethnobotanical survey to document medicinal and edible plants used in Yalo, a woreda in Ethiopia’s Afar Regional State.
Writing in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, Professor Teklehaymanot describes the vulnerability of traditional knowledge in Afar:
“The people in the Afar region have the lowest health and education coverage in the country with the highest food insecurity. They are a traditional society that has native and unique information exchange system by word of mouth called ‘Dagu,’ which their livelihood is very much dependent on the information transferred through Dagu system. The information ranges from weather to availability of grazing lands for their animals, and peace and security of the region. Nevertheless, the cultural transformation, expansion of modern education and development in the area could detach the younger generation from such cultural values and pastoral systems that lead to loss of traditional knowledge in general, and knowledge of medicinal and edible plants in particular.”
Acalypha fruticosa [Photo: J.M.Garg, Wikimedia Commons]Working with 160 informants selected with the assistance of elders, the author documented 102 medicinal plant species used to treat human as well as livestock diseases. Particularly important plants (species reported by 15 and more informants and used as a remedy for multiple diseases) included Acacia mellifera, Acacia oerfota, Acalypha fruticosa, Acalypha indica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Balanites rotundifolia, Cadaba farinosa, Cadaba glandulosa, Cadaba rotundifolia, Celosia polystachia, and Indigofera oblongifolia.
The plants were used as remedies for a variety of conditions such as breast cancer, dyspepsia, epilepsy, herpes zoster, jaundice, lung infection, malaria, stomachache, bloody dysentery, and fever.
In his conclusion, the author recommends conservation to ensure sustainable use of the plants and protect the associated traditional knowledge.
“The edible plants are used as food security and generate the pastoralist economic. All the plants with medicinal and economic importance are collected from the wide and conservation is not practiced in the area. Hence, conservation of the plants in the home garden and in the natural vegetation is a necessity against the recurrent drought and climatic changes that negatively affect the vegetation of the area, to protect the associated traditional knowledge from fast disappearing and ensure sustainable use of the plants in the traditional healthcare system. The integration of edible plants in the food sufficiency strategies in the area has to be considered since animal productivity is severely affected by encroaching invasive plants and recurrent drought. The holistic soil and water conservation policy that is being implemented in other parts of the country has to be employed in the region to save the natural vegetation that is also the repository for the medicinal and edible plants for future pharmacological and nutritional studies.”
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The information on my blog is not intended as a substitute for medical professional help or advice but is to be used only as an aid in understanding current medical knowledge. A physician should always be consulted for any health problem or medical condition.
A Single-Arm, Open-label, Phase II Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Abemaciclib in Patients With Recurrent Oligodendroglioma
University of Pennsylvania
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03969706
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania [Photo: Penn Medicine]Investigators at the University of Pennsylvania have started a Phase II, single-arm, open-label study looking how well abemaciclib (VerzenioTM, Lilly) works in patients with recurrent oligodendroglioma.
See additional details, including study location(s), eligibility criteria, contact information, and study results (when available) at ClinicalTrials.gov.
Send email to avery@williamaveryhudson.com for information about submitting qualified clinical trials for sponsored posts on this blog.
The information on my blog is not intended as a substitute for medical professional help or advice but is to be used only as an aid in understanding current medical knowledge. A physician should always be consulted for any health problem or medical condition.
