Thousands of plant species are used in African traditional medicine. Extracts from some of these plants are part of important pharmaceutical drugs.
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Articles on Traditional medicine
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Medicinal plants and the associated indigenous knowledge could offer alternatives for women who lack access to modern contraceptives.
Traditional herbal medicines and cosmetics remain popular in South Africa especially in rural areas where they are part of people’s culture.
Relying on donor funding means that the funder ultimately determines the health priorities. This is one reason why many programmes in Africa focus on a single disease such as HIV.
What’s needed is a prioritisation of the health and medicinal values of the food that’s consumed in African countries.
Most South African provinces are favourable for the establishment of a new invasive alien pest, which may lead to the extinction of native cycad species.
The pandemic will not end for anyone, anywhere until it is controlled in every country. Tanzania’s approach will make it that much harder for normality to return.
Currently there is no specific antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 and no vaccine to prevent it. Most treatment strategies focus on symptomatic management and supportive therapy.
Alternative therapies have a lot to offer consumers. The Goop Lab only serves to set back the wellness cause.
From herbal remedies to acupuncture, traditional therapies are valued particularly by ethnically diverse groups.
Pangolins are one of the most trafficked wild mammals in the world.
Stories of substitution and surrogates are all too common in the wildlife trade, especially when it comes to medicines derived from animal parts.
Understanding the different beliefs about disorders is important in efforts to improve mental health care in developing countries.
At least half the food eaten by the first Australians came from plants. And in terms of medicines, many different parts of plants were used.
Traditional Aboriginal healers are recognised as having special facilities for healing in childhood and are encouraged to develop their skills. They are often taught by their grandparents.
The medicinal plants that chimpanzees feed on in the wild could hold the key in dealing with common diseases.
Numerous traditional African medicines are undeniably beneficial in treating disease or maintaining good health.
Traditional medicine is believed to be accessible and affordable but should be made complimentary to contemporary medicine in the treatment of mental disorders.
People with albinism tend to identify with the black rather than the white community. Their physical differences, though, mean they don’t fit into either race group.
Could holistic medicine partly explain the ‘Hispanic health paradox’?
Top contributors
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Associate professor, North-West University
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Adjunct Professor, RMIT University
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Researcher in Conservation, University of Stirling
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Associate Professor: Medicinal plant biotechnology, Stellenbosch University
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Executive Director, African Population and Health Research Center
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Professor, Stellenbosch University
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Lecturer in Medical Anthropology, University of Kent
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Visiting Professor of Social Work, University of Johannesburg
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Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Zimbabwe
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Post-Doctoral Fellow under Afrique One-ASPIRE, Nangui Abrogoua University
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Senior Lecturer, North-West University
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Honorary Research Fellow, Monash University
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PhD Student, Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University
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Visiting Scholar, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
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PhD candidate, University of Technology Sydney
