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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African traditional medicine | 6/6 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_traditional_medicine | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:16:42.803926+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Safety === A small proportion of ethnoveterinary medicine plants in South Africa have been researched for toxic effects. The possible adverse effects of South African traditional medicines are not well documented; there has been limited research into mutagenic properties and heavy metal contamination. Serious adverse effects, even death, can result from misidentification or misuse of healing plants. For example, various aloe plants are widely used in traditional African medicine, but some varieties, such as Aloe globuligemma, are toxic and can cause death. The potential for traditional African medicine and pharmacokinetic interactions is unknown, especially interactions between traditional treatments and antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS. Herbal treatments are frequently used in Africa as a primary treatment for HIV/AIDS and for HIV-related issues. Collaboration with traditional healers has been recommended to determine what herbal treatments are used for HIV and to educate people supplying alternative treatments against unsafe practices. Given the demands of the local population on the use of traditional African medicine, it has been proposed that South African medical schools should inform medical students about traditional, supplementary and alternative medicine and the possible conflicts and interactions with modern medicine. Use of traditional African medicines as antivirals instead of using specific antiretroviral drugs, is especially a risk with HIV. Cultural expectations play an important role in treatment as a 1985 study amongst the Mende people of Sierra Leone showed that treatment decisions were made "largely on traditional notions of the efficacy of a medicine of a particular color, consistency, taste, size and reputed success in treating analogous illnesses". This led to the inappropriate use of many modern medicines by the Mende.
== See also ==
Infant oral mutilation Pharmacognosy San healing practices Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together against AIDS Traditional Hausa medicine Yorùbá medicine Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Ancient Egyptian medicine
== References ==
== External links == PROMETRA Official Website THETA Uganda Official Website Medicinal plants with Prof Ben-Erik van Wyk – YouTube
== Bibliography == Bruchhausen, Walter (2018). Medicalized Healing in East Africa: The Separation of Medicine and Religion by Politics and Science. In: Lüddeckens, D., & Schrimpf, M. (2018). Medicine – religion – spirituality: Global perspectives on traditional, complementary, and alternative healing. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8376-4582-8, pp. 23–56. Sobiecki, Jean-Francois (2023). African Psychoactive Plants: Journeys in Phytoalchemy. ISBN 978-0-6397-6385-9