Thursday 07 September, 2000
Medicinal Plants of Kenya
For centuries plants have been used in the treatment of illness. From the calming property of the camomile flower, to the life force of guarana, around the world the healing powers of nature are in force.
But are such remedies old wives tales? Elements of witchcraft? Or can they work in conjunction with traditional treatments? In his third and final journey of Discovery, Paul Arnold travels to Kenya to join a group of scientists who are attempting to harness the power of plants.
The road from Kisumu to the Rachuonyo District in Kenya is reasonably straight and not very busy. But nightfall and Kenyan drivers put paid to any hopes of a smooth journey. It wasn’t other cars that were the problem but the hundreds of cyclists we encountered many of who had neither lights nor reflectors and wore dark clothing. That we didn’t hit anyone was a testament to the excellent skills of our driver. Two police stops because of recent trouble in the area further hampered our progress. It’s a route that Dr Hellen Oketch knows well as she regularly makes the journey from her office in the University of Nairobi.
Dying Art
We were visiting the local communities in the Southern Nyanza Districts where Oketch is leading a project to help make best use of knowledge and practices related to traditional medicine. Her team consists of scientists and volunteers recruited from the Earthwatch organisation. By interviewing herbalists about their medical practices the team are preserving knowledge that is in danger of dying out. It is not being passed to the younger generation and indeed many remedies have been lost as the information has died with the individual.
Bioprospecting
Like many places in the world traditional medicines are the primary sources of health care and have been in use since time immemorial. Their conservation is vital to people that do not have ready access to adequate medical resources. Although the communities are the immediate concern of the Medicinal Plants Project in the long run the scientific world may benefit. A logical extension of the work is to screen the most popularly used medicinals for biological activity. These may then become the basis for future drug therapies.
This form of bioprospecting has a chequered history. Communities have hardly ever benefited from commercial ventures derived from their knowledge and resources. But Oketch is keen to safeguard the interests of the people. She is working on reciprocal beneficial programmes to be put in place now as well as other forms of compensation should pharmaceuticals be developed. It may of course take more than a decade for any drug to be produced but this is made known to the herbalists. There are regular workshops and seminars where any concerns are raised and this is an important part in gaining the trust of the people.
| 'Traditional therapies have many components such as spiritualism and herbalism' | |
Complementary Medicine
One of Oketch’s dreams is for a medical centre to be built where traditional and conventional medicine can sit side by side. Some land has been given to the project and at the moment it is being cleared but money and resources still have to be found to make this a reality.
Traditional remedies are viewed in many parts of the world with a heavy dose of scepticism, if not then with downright opposition. When Kenya was first colonised the Christina missions outlawed a practice they believed was dangerous and associated with witchcraft. Indeed there were some practitioners who may endanger the lives of their patients by some of the things they do, but traditional therapies have many components such as spiritualism and herbalism. The missionaries did not want to draw a distinction between people they viewed as witch doctors and herbalists. Whilst this stigma has remained it is changing, especially in areas such as Rachuonyo where there is only one university trained doctor per 40, 000 of the population.
The Luo people
During my stay I visited several communities living near a town called Oyugis, the Luo people made us all feel very welcome and fed and watered us at every available opportunity. They are very proud of their history and I was delighted to hear from the community elders how they came to live in the area. They explained that many years ago, long before the German explorers of the 18th century, Oyugi a very tall and handsome man convinced his people to move from the shores of Lake Victoria to the more fertile land higher up where there were abundant vegetables and fruit. To do this they overcame the indigenous tribe in a mighty battle and the community, and the communities today, are benefiting from Ouyugi’s vision, as the soil always gives them good produce and they are able to welcome visitors.
Some people may question the value of projects such as The Medicinal Plants of Kenya, believing that traditional medicines would be abandoned if conventional pharmaceuticals were in abundance. In a sense this argument is redundant, as most of the world does not have easy access to pills, lotions and antibiotics. Traditional knowledge is under threat but with Oketch’s help it may be protected and conserved in this part of East Africa. |
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| Culpeper Herbs |
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In 1652, the English physician, Nicholas Culpeper wrote his famous herbal reference book. This book has become something of a bible to herbalists in the West and charts some of the benefits and uses of certain plants as follows:
Angelica: ‘The juice or the water, being dropped into the eyes or ears, helps dimness of sight and deafness.’
Barley Water: ‘Gives great nourishment to persons troubled with fevers, agues, and heats in the stomach.’
Golden rod: ‘The decoction of the herb, green or dry, or the distilled water thereof, is very effectual for inward bruises, as also to be outwardly applied, it stays bleeding in any part of the body, and of wounds.’
Hazelnut: ‘The kernels with mead or honeyed water, is very good to help an old cough.’
Thistles: ‘Are good to provoke urine, and to mend the stinking smell thereof.’
Violets: ‘Ease pains in the head, caused through want of sleep.’
Willow tree: ‘The decoction of the leaves or bark in wine, takes away scurff and dandriff by washing the place with it.’ |
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