The position of herbal mixes and their uses in Nigeria

The practice of Orthodox medicine, though advanced and explanatory, has not been able to discard the potency of the herbal medicine from which it stems. The argument Orthodox medicine brings to the table remains finding appropriate dosage formulations for herbal mixtures, which is significantly understandable.

The average African child grew up with the consumption of herbal medicines, and the older generations have remained loyal to these herbal medicines. We medics refer to those mixtures as herbal concoctions and literally would not recommend them, even though we know they work for certain ailments. But for the argument of unproven dynamics in their mechanisms of action and dosages, we prefer to stay clear of them. Trado medical is another evolution that aims to bridge Orthodox and traditional practices with a significant shift to the latter. My consultant once told me that we cannot eradicate the presence of traditionalists, but he advocates for basal investigations that would give them a right.

Enough of the sciences, and let's talk about a few known herbal mixtures that have become relevant in treating illnesses. I grew up knowing about the popular scent of sweet basil leaves, which is popularly called 'Efinrin'. Almost every parent gave their children and wards efinrin to take, which is usually extracted from its branches, soaked in hot water for a while, and the extract is given to us for consumption. It wasn't as sweet to taste as thought from its name, but it could be consumed without many additives. We were mostly given this to take whenever we had incidents of diarrhea or abdominal discomfort. I'm still ignorant of its mechanism of action, but I know it relieved us of ailing symptoms. Other known benefits include serving as mosquito repellents in the environment. There are other known benefits of efinrin, such as lowering blood sugar levels. Like I said, all these are not scientifically proven and accepted, even though we know they work for highlighted disease conditions.

Yet another potent herbal mix is the fluted pumpkin leaves (Ugwu), which are often combined with milk and purported to boost blood production in the human body. I have had a few patients, including the pediatric age group, who have testified to the potency and boost of the fluted pumpkin leaves when combined with milk to boost blood production or body immunity. Being a scientific individual, it would be difficult to recommend such, despite knowing that there are proven reports of boosted blood levels.

The moringa tree became the talk of the town shortly after the COVID-19🦠😷era as both its leaves and fruits. The moringa leaves are often soakeinke efinrin and can be consumed alone or they could be dried in open air as a tea. We had moringa trees in the house and Hausas would often come to buy some,me which my mom sold to them at cheap prices. It was not unusual to have moringa tea prepared for us by our mom. We have had people come to beg us for the leaves and even the fruits.

Herbal mixes cannot be fully eradicated. They are the backbones of modern medicine, and hopefully, more political will will be forwarded into the sustainability of trado-medicine.

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