Herbal medicines used by Bapedi traditional healers to treat reproductive ailments in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

A Maroyi,Ljc Erasmus,Mj Potgieter,Ss Semenya

doi:10.4314/ajtcam.v10i2.19

Abstract

The current study focussed on documenting the ethnobotanical knowledge of herbal medicines used by the Bapedi traditional healers to treat reproductive ailments in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Fifty one healers from 17 municipalities covering Capricorn, Sekhukhune and Waterberg districts of the Limpopo Province were interviewed between January and July 2011. Semi-structured interviews, observations and guided field surveys with the healers were employed. Thirty-six medicinal plant species belonging to 35 genera and 20 families were documented. The most used species were Zanthoxylum humile (25.5%), Catha edulis (21.6%), Ozoroa sphaerocarpa (15.7%), Hypoxis hemerocallidea (13.7%), Hypoxis obtusa (11.7%), Gomphocarpus fruticosus subsp. fruticosus and Gymnosporia senegalensis (9.8% each). The dominant growth forms among the reported medicinal plants were herbs (39%), followed by shrubs and trees with 33% and 28%, respectively. The preferred plant parts were roots (63.9%), followed by bark (13.9%), whole plant (11.1%), tubers (8.3%), bulbs (5.6%), fruits, leaves, stems and twigs (2.8% each). The majority of the species were used to treat gender specific reproductive ailments; while a minority were used for treating reproductive ailments of both genders. Twenty-two species (61.1%) are supported by reports of similar uses in other countries or have proven biological activity. This study illustrates that Bapedi traditional healers possess remarkable knowledge on medicinal plants used for treating and managing reproductive ailments.

Highlights

Traditional healers can be found in most societies (Cheikhyoussef et al, 2011)
70 - 80% of the South African population still rely on traditional healers for day-to-day health care (UNAIDS, 2006), who prepare traditional remedies from as many as 700 indigenous plant species (Meyer and Afoloyan, 1995)
Research shows that a wide range of reproductive ailments from across the world are being treated by medicinal plants

Summary

Introduction

Traditional healers can be found in most societies (Cheikhyoussef et al, 2011). In sub-Saharan Africa, the ratio of traditional healers to the population is approximately 1:500, whilst western-trained medical doctors present a 1:40 000 ratio to the rest of the population (Richter, 2004). Kale (1995) and Setswe (1999) estimated that there were approximately 200 000 traditional healers practising in South Africa in 1995, compared to 25 000 medical doctors. A large percentage of the population in developing countries uses traditional medicines The reasons being their close proximity (Muthu et al, 2006), the high cost of western pharmaceuticals and health care, and because traditional medicines are more acceptable from a cultural and spiritual perspective (Cunningham, 1988). In South Africa, substantial numbers of women seek treatment from traditional health practitioners for a variety of complications and disorders associated with reproductive health (Bereda 2002). These include amongst others, menstrual disorders, abortion, antiabortifacient, contraception and breast problems (Steenkamp, 2003).

Materials and methods

Results and discussion

Conclusion