Kenyan botanical experts explain traditional African medicine

Martin Odhiambo has always been interested in the healing properties of plants and has been passionately sharing this knowledge with fellow Kenyans for many years.

Every Thursday, he talks to dozens of people in the open-air theater at Nairobi’s National Museum who come to learn and exchange information about traditional medicine.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that about 80% of people in African countries rely on these treatments when they are sick, despite concerns about their effectiveness and safety.

One way to ease Kenya’s security concerns is for authorities to find a way to oversee traditional medicine, as some other countries do.

But for now Mr Odiambo is keen to educate others about botanical remedies that he believes can treat common ailments such as colds, skin conditions and upset stomachs.

He believes that long before the advent of traditional medicine, there were traditional healers who knew from their predecessors what was good for which conditions.

The messages exist within the community but don’t really spread further.

Mr Odhiambo works for the Aboriginal Culture and Health Trust (Ticah), which has a partnership with the museum, which is considered a repository of the country’s cultural heritage.

There, he tended a special garden, known as the Medicinal Garden, which contained more than 250 medicinal plants – not for sale but for education.

Having spent years studying medicinal plants – both scientifically and speaking to people who use them – absorbing so much folklore and indigenous knowledge, Mr Odiambo said he now has “a tendency to dream about plants”.

During one of his weekly plant lectures, he sounded professorial, imparting his wealth of knowledge to all gathered – including herbalists, midwives from the United States, psychologists, teachers, college students and businesswomen.

The presentation begins with prayer and a review of what was learned last week, then quickly moves on to the day’s plants.

The initial focus is Lantana – A common shrub with different local names including “nyabende” and “mukige”.

Traditionally, it is said to treat headaches and relieve toothaches, and to act as an insect repellent. And its twigs can also be used as toothbrushes.

It also brings “good vibes and creates positive energy,” one participant said.

As the conference continued, people discussed, shared and learned about a range of botanical remedies for a variety of health issues.

They also talk about the cultural context of using plants, such as traditional rituals, food preservation, and even their mysterious power to instill “goodwill” within communities.

This forum is not for discussing scientific research and whether these claims can be proven in controlled experiments.

“We’re not going to verify the information,” said Vitalis Ochieng, Ticah’s senior project manager, emphasizing that the point is to get people to share what they know.

He added that the organization’s main mission is to demonstrate the value of traditional medicine and amplify the voices of traditional medicine practitioners.

One of the factors hindering wider adoption of traditional medicine in Kenya is the lack of government policies to encourage its safe use.

Mr Ochieng believes that indigenous knowledge can form the basis of scientific research, adding that in countries like China, traditional medicine is accepted and even exported as “alternative medicine”.

He is pushing for Kenya to regulate and standardize traditional medicines, legislation that has been years in the making.

Many so-called “herbal clinics” now sell low-quality medicines, giving traditional medicine a bad name, experts in the East African country admit.

Center for Traditional Medicine Research (CTMDR) deputy director Dr Ruth Nyangacha said there were issues of fraud and intentional or accidental contamination of products.

She told the BBC this was particularly dangerous for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, who often turn to these treatments, partly because of cost, but also because they are more readily available in remote areas.

In her first botanical talk at the museum, businesswoman Joyce Ng’ang’a said she turned to traditional medicine because she found it was not helping her condition.

In fact, after she was diagnosed with chronic acid reflux eight years ago, the medications she took were causing side effects, such as making her forgetful.

Even traveling to India for treatment didn’t help – which is why she said she sought herbal treatment.

“I never found a reason to go back to them,” she says excitedly, referring to the traditional medicine she has now abandoned.

Doctors would not recommend the practice due to safety concerns, but Ms Ng’ang’a said she hoped her experience meant traditional herbal treatments would eventually become formalized.

Herbalist Patrick Mwathi attends plant talks almost every week – hoping to improve his skills. He has been practicing for decades and learned directly from his father in the 1970s.

He develops and sells herbal products locally, some of which he shares with others at lectures, including an “herbal tea” whose packaging says it can help with infertility. It also “detoxifies” and “activates” the kidneys and “cleanses” the liver, he said.

Another product is said to treat depression.

The treatment has not been scientifically proven to be effective, and Tika encourages herbalists to register and work with authorities to formalize their treatments.

Mr Mwati has taken the samples to a government laboratory for chemical analysis and they have passed tests showing they are valid and harmless.

But the process required to bring a product to market, including standardization and quality control, is long and involves many government agencies. Like other traditional practitioners, he lacks the time and money to do this.

Dr. Nyangacha explained that some of the challenges include knowing when a remedy’s active ingredient expires – noting that this often comes down to “guessing.”

The CTMDR, a unit of the government’s Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), does not have the funds to get the herbal treatments they test approved for routine use.

But there’s no reason why it can’t be done, Dr. Nyangacha believes, noting that Kemri has developed its own products, including herbs for treating genital herpes and salts for treating high blood pressure.

“We have genuine and traditional medicines [that]I must say, works.

Mr Odiambo doesn’t need to be convincing – in fact, he hopes his passion for plants will show Kenyans that common ailments can be treated without question using treatments “just like in the past”.