Conference abstract
Science-based advocacy in the development of traditional medicine for viral infectious diseases in Cameroon
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2023:17(140).04
Jun 2023.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2023.17.140.1574
Archived on: 04 Jun 2023
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Bioresources, medicinal plants, improved traditional medicine, development, advocacy
Oral presentation
Science-based advocacy in the development of traditional medicine for viral infectious diseases in Cameroon
Marceline Djuidje Ngounoue1,&, Paul Moundipa Fewou1, Martin Yakum Ndinakie2, Doreen Enyang1,3, Diane Kamdem Thiomo1, Bernadette Memenasse1, Josué Kana1, Frédéric Mbayam1, Larissa Sime1, Francine Vanelle Komguem1, Tonjock Rosemary Kinge4
1University of Yaoundé I, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2Doctors without Borders (MSF-Spain), Medical Department of the Emergency Unit, Barcelona, Spain, 3Pan-African University, Life and Earth Sciences Institute, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 4The University of Bamenda, Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Bamenda, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
Before the advent of modern medicine in Africa, indigenous populations were using local herbs to manage diseases. The use of herbs for the treatment of diseases’ common symptoms remains in practice, even for diseases with effective treatments. COVID-19 has highly revolutionized the field of traditional medicine in Cameroon. Nevertheless, traditional/herbal medicines or health practices have the potential to harm when they are applied in an inappropriate or uncontrolled manner. This study aimed to explore what traditional practitioners and scientists/product developers propose to manage infectious diseases like COVID-19 and related respiratory infections.
Using a semi-structured questionnaire, scientists were recruited in university settings, research institutions, and diverse ministries (health, research, higher education), whereas traditional herbalists were enrolled through their associations. In total, 60 biological sources among which 3 polyherbal formulations were identified.
Findings reveal that medicinal plants are potential sources for viral infectious disease management. Allium sativum, Artemisia annua, Cymbopogon citratus, Citrus limon, Enanthia chlorenta, Eucalyptus, Ocimum graticimum were the common plants. In the community of herbalists, an archaic concoction and use of herbs and fungi were noticed. Among scientists, there has been minimal industrial processing, exploratory research and in vivo preclinical studies, and a minimum of standards, particularly regulatory (e.g. product approval by an authority), but no clinical trials.
Despite these promising findings, rigorous scientific and ethical approaches are still sparse and expected. Traditional medicine presents the challenge of finding a way of integrating cultural diversity with medical obligations and universally accepted principles; it therefore needs to be improved scientifically for the promotion of African medicine.
Science-based advocacy in the development of traditional medicine for viral infectious diseases in Cameroon
Marceline Djuidje Ngounoue1,&, Paul Moundipa Fewou1, Martin Yakum Ndinakie2, Doreen Enyang1,3, Diane Kamdem Thiomo1, Bernadette Memenasse1, Josué Kana1, Frédéric Mbayam1, Larissa Sime1, Francine Vanelle Komguem1, Tonjock Rosemary Kinge4
1University of Yaoundé I, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Yaoundé, Cameroon, 2Doctors without Borders (MSF-Spain), Medical Department of the Emergency Unit, Barcelona, Spain, 3Pan-African University, Life and Earth Sciences Institute, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 4The University of Bamenda, Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Bamenda, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
Before the advent of modern medicine in Africa, indigenous populations were using local herbs to manage diseases. The use of herbs for the treatment of diseases’ common symptoms remains in practice, even for diseases with effective treatments. COVID-19 has highly revolutionized the field of traditional medicine in Cameroon. Nevertheless, traditional/herbal medicines or health practices have the potential to harm when they are applied in an inappropriate or uncontrolled manner. This study aimed to explore what traditional practitioners and scientists/product developers propose to manage infectious diseases like COVID-19 and related respiratory infections.
Using a semi-structured questionnaire, scientists were recruited in university settings, research institutions, and diverse ministries (health, research, higher education), whereas traditional herbalists were enrolled through their associations. In total, 60 biological sources among which 3 polyherbal formulations were identified.
Findings reveal that medicinal plants are potential sources for viral infectious disease management. Allium sativum, Artemisia annua, Cymbopogon citratus, Citrus limon, Enanthia chlorenta, Eucalyptus, Ocimum graticimum were the common plants. In the community of herbalists, an archaic concoction and use of herbs and fungi were noticed. Among scientists, there has been minimal industrial processing, exploratory research and in vivo preclinical studies, and a minimum of standards, particularly regulatory (e.g. product approval by an authority), but no clinical trials.
Despite these promising findings, rigorous scientific and ethical approaches are still sparse and expected. Traditional medicine presents the challenge of finding a way of integrating cultural diversity with medical obligations and universally accepted principles; it therefore needs to be improved scientifically for the promotion of African medicine.
