Perspectives of the rural communities of Impendle, Bulwer, and Kokstad in South Africa using ethnomedicinal plants to cure flu and associated symptoms in the advent of COVID-19
Abstract
The contribution of ethnomedical research in the advent of infectious illness is not new. Ethnomedicinal plants have historically embodiment of wisdom from the ancestors and play a significant role in treating various human disorders. This study embodies qualitative research methods as well as the Social Constructivist Theory to understand how the rural communities (Impendle, Bulwer and Kokstad), located within the geographical landscape of South Africa use ethnomedicinal plants to cure flu and other associated symptoms in the advent of COVID-19. Through telephonic interviews, twenty (20) research participants were recruited using the snowballing-chain referral sampling technique. Research participants contributed by noting that rural communities/cultures have a rich knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants that they have used for decades to treat flu symptoms and even cure people suffering from flu. This paper strongly recognises that people’s voices in rural communities are important in understanding their illness or disease experience and how they ethnomedical respond to them. Data analysis revealed African activism towards the COVID-19 impact on rural communities. This paper thus recognises indigenous knowledge as ancestral learning, as the source of social, domestic wisdom as well as a guide on the use of ethnomedicinal plants/ethnomedicine. Ethnomedicinal plants remain the wealth of rural communities as they are able to demonstrate their agency and resilience when confronted by different illnesses. This is their contribution to the decolonial agenda which seeks to recognize the wealth of ethnomedical plants against the hegemonic pragmatism of biomedicine. This paper then proposes that discussed ethnomedicinal plants should be acknowledged in South Africa as well as in Southern Africa as their indigenous wealth and should be vetted as traditional remedies that people have used to cure flu and associated symptoms. This recognition will thus achieve decolonial thinking of African indigenous/ethnomedicinal plants.
Keywords:
ethnomedicine/medicinal plants, flu, rural communities
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
1. Aremu, A.O. and Pendota, S.C. (2021). Medicinal Plants for Mitigating Pain and Inflammatory-Related Conditions: An Appraisal of Ethnobotanical Uses and Patterns in South Africa. Front. Pharmacol. 12:758583. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.758583
2. Bachir, B. and Atanasio, P. (2020). Medicinal plants as Source of Active Molecules Against COVID-19. Front. Pharmacol. 11:1189. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.01189
3. Berhanemeskel, W. (2009). Review on the importance of documenting ethnopharmacological information on medicinal plants. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology Vol. 3(9). pp. 400-403, September 2009 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ajpp ISSN 1996-0816 © 2009 Academic Journals.
4. Bhugra, D. and Ventriglio, A. (2015). Do cultures influence placebo response? Acta Pyschiatrica 132-227. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd All rights reserved DOI: 10.1111/acps.12422
5. Bhuyan, M. (2015). Comparative study of ethnomedicine among the tribes of North East India. International Research Journal of Social Sciences,4 (2): 27-32
6. Buwa-Komoreng, L.S., Mayesiko, B., Mhinana, Z. and Adeniran, A. L. (2019). An Ethnobotanical and Ethnomedical Survey of Traditionally Used Medical Plant in Seymour, South Africa: An Attempt toward Digitization and Preservation of Ethnic Knowledge. DOI: 10.4103/pm.pm_259_18
7. Cuerrier, A. and Mathez-Stiefel, S. (2013). Ethnomedicine in the contemporary world article. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263446376
8. Drabble, L., Trocki, K.F., Salcedo, B., Walker, P.C. and Korcha, R.A. (2016). Conducting qualitative interviews by telephone: lessons learned from a study of alcohol use among sexual minority and heterosexual women. Qualitative Social Work, 15 (1): 118-133.
9. Draper, J. (2015). Ethnography: principles, practice and potential. Nursing Standard, 29(36) pp.36-41.
10. Ezekwesili-Ofili J. O. and Okaka A. N. C. (2019). Herbal Medicines in African Traditional Medicine. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80348
11. Farooq, M.B. and De Villiers, C. (2017). Telephonic Qualitative Research Interviews, when to consider them and how to do them. Meditari Accountancy Research, 25(2), 291-316.
12. Forsyth, C. J. (2014). Structural Processes and Local Meaning: Explanatory Models, Political Economy, and Chagas Disease in Tropical Bolivia. Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5482.
13. Golap, H., Paul, D. Arfan, A., Huda. ,N., Sarowar Alam1,3, Shreef, M., and Bahget T. H. (2020). The Perspectives of Medicinal Plants for COVID-19 Treatment: A Review. Journal of Agricultural Science & Engineering Innovation (JASEI) U.S. ISSN 2694 -4812 Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020.DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4250485
14. Iwu, M. A. (2020). Handbook of African Medicinal Plants. https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.1201/b16292
15. Karunamoorthi, K., Kaliyaperumal, J., Vijayalakshmi, J. and Mengistie, E. (2013). Traditional Medical Plants: A Source of Phytotherapeutic Modality in Resource-Constrained Health Care Settings. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine 18(1) 67-74 sagepub.com/journals Permissions DOI: 10.1177/2156587212460241 http://cam.sagepub.com. Sage publications.
16. Lew, F. B. and Afolayan, A. J. (2009). Ethnomedicine in South Africa: The role of weed species. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 8 (6), pp. 929-934, 20 March, 2009 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB
17. Mahomoodally, M. F. (2013). Traditional Medicine in Africa: An Appraisal of Ten Potent African Medicinal Plants. Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2013, Article ID 617459, 14 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/617459
18. Mahwasane, S.T. and Middleton, L. N. ( 2013). An ethnobotanical survey of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used by the traditional healers of the Lwamondo area, Limpopo province, South Africa Boaduo University of Limpopo, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 139, Medunsa, Pretoria 0204, South Africa.
19. Maroyi, A. (2019). Traditional use of medicine plants sin south-central Zimbabwe: review and perspectives. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2013, 9:31
20. Mhlongo, L.S. (2019). The Medicinal Ethnobotany of the Amandawe Area in KwaCele, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree. Magister Scientiae in Botany in the Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg.
21. Miller, B. (2007). Cultural Anthropology. (4th Ed.). Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
22. Mohammad, S.H. C., Maso, K. Nur, M. Abdul, H., Narayan, S. and Hajime, K. (2009). Use of plants in healthcare: a traditional ethnomedicinal practice in the rural area of South-Eastern Bangladesh, International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management, 5: 1, 41-51, DOI: 10.1080/1745159092771342
23. Mongalo, N. I. and Makhafola, T. (2018). Ethnobotanical knowledge of the lay people of Blouberg area (Pedi tribe), Limpopo Province, South Africa. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2018) 14:46 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-018-0245-4
24. Naderifar, M., Hamideh, G. and Ghaljaie, F. (2017). Snowball sampling: A purposeful method of sampling in qualitative research. Journal of Strides in Development Medical Education, 14(3): e67670. Doi: 10.5812/smde.67670. Published online.
25. Parthiban, R., Vijayakumar, S., Prabhu, S., Yabesh, J. G. E. M. (2016). Quantitative traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used to treat livestock diseases from Kudavasal taluk of Thiruvavrur district, Tamil Nandu, India: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bjp.2015.07.016
26. Pieroni, A., Quave, C.L., (2005b). Traditional pharmacopoeias and medicines among Albanians and Italians in Southern Italy: a comparison. Journal of Ethnopharmacology.
27. Phua D. H., Zosel A, Heard K. Dietary supplements and herbal medicine toxicities—When to anticipate them and how to manage them. International Journal of Emerging Medicine. 2009;2(2):69-76
28. Singh, B., Singh, B., Kishor, A., Singh, S., Bhat, M.N., Surmal, Q. and Musarvella, C. M. (2020). Exploring plant-based ethnomedicine and quantitative ethnopharmacology: Medicinal Plants Utilized by the Population of Jasrota Hill in Western Himalaya.Sustainability 2020, 12, 7526; doi:10.3390/su12187526. www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability.
29. Quinlan, M.B. (2011). A Companion to Medical Anthropology, First Edition. Edited by Merrill Singer and Pamela, I. Erickson. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
30. Reid, A.M., Oosthuizen, C.B., Fibrich, B.D., Twilley, D., Lambrechts, I.A., de Canha, M.N., Rademan, S. and Lall, N., (2018). Traditional medicine: the ancient roots of modern practice. In Medicinal plants for holistic health and well-being (pp. 1-11). Academic Press.
31. Riaz, U., Ali, U. A., Alqahtani, A. Ba. , Omar, M. A. , Noman, A. Alqahtani, A.M. Ibenmoussa, S. and Bourhia, M. (2020). A review on ethnomedicinal plants used in traditional medicine in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.06.020 1. Elsevier publishers.
32. Srivastava, A.K., Chaurasia, J.P., Khan, R. and Dhand. C., and Verma S (2020). Role of Medicinal Plants of Traditional Use in Recuperating Devastating COVID-19 Situation. CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI), Hoshangabad Road, Bhopal, India. Open Access is freely available online.
33. Suharijito, D., Darusman, L.K., Darasman, D. and Sawarno, E. (2014). Comparing medical plants use for traditional and modern herbal medicine in long Nah Village of East Kalimantan. Bionatura-Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Hayati dan Fisik Vol. 16, No. 2, Juli 2014: 95 – 102.
34. Thirumalai, T., Kelumalai, E., Senthilkumar, B., David, E., 2009. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the local people in Vellore District, Tamilnadu, India. Ethnobotanical leaflets 13, 1302–1311.
35. United Nations Human Rights (2020). TOPICS IN FOCUS COVID-19 AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS. Office of the High Commissioner.
36. Waldstein, A. Adams, C. (2006). The interface between medical anthropology and medical ethnobiology. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2006.00275.x
37. World Health Organization. The Regional Strategy for Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific (2011–2020). Manila, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, 2012.
2. Bachir, B. and Atanasio, P. (2020). Medicinal plants as Source of Active Molecules Against COVID-19. Front. Pharmacol. 11:1189. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.01189
3. Berhanemeskel, W. (2009). Review on the importance of documenting ethnopharmacological information on medicinal plants. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology Vol. 3(9). pp. 400-403, September 2009 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ajpp ISSN 1996-0816 © 2009 Academic Journals.
4. Bhugra, D. and Ventriglio, A. (2015). Do cultures influence placebo response? Acta Pyschiatrica 132-227. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd All rights reserved DOI: 10.1111/acps.12422
5. Bhuyan, M. (2015). Comparative study of ethnomedicine among the tribes of North East India. International Research Journal of Social Sciences,4 (2): 27-32
6. Buwa-Komoreng, L.S., Mayesiko, B., Mhinana, Z. and Adeniran, A. L. (2019). An Ethnobotanical and Ethnomedical Survey of Traditionally Used Medical Plant in Seymour, South Africa: An Attempt toward Digitization and Preservation of Ethnic Knowledge. DOI: 10.4103/pm.pm_259_18
7. Cuerrier, A. and Mathez-Stiefel, S. (2013). Ethnomedicine in the contemporary world article. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263446376
8. Drabble, L., Trocki, K.F., Salcedo, B., Walker, P.C. and Korcha, R.A. (2016). Conducting qualitative interviews by telephone: lessons learned from a study of alcohol use among sexual minority and heterosexual women. Qualitative Social Work, 15 (1): 118-133.
9. Draper, J. (2015). Ethnography: principles, practice and potential. Nursing Standard, 29(36) pp.36-41.
10. Ezekwesili-Ofili J. O. and Okaka A. N. C. (2019). Herbal Medicines in African Traditional Medicine. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80348
11. Farooq, M.B. and De Villiers, C. (2017). Telephonic Qualitative Research Interviews, when to consider them and how to do them. Meditari Accountancy Research, 25(2), 291-316.
12. Forsyth, C. J. (2014). Structural Processes and Local Meaning: Explanatory Models, Political Economy, and Chagas Disease in Tropical Bolivia. Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5482.
13. Golap, H., Paul, D. Arfan, A., Huda. ,N., Sarowar Alam1,3, Shreef, M., and Bahget T. H. (2020). The Perspectives of Medicinal Plants for COVID-19 Treatment: A Review. Journal of Agricultural Science & Engineering Innovation (JASEI) U.S. ISSN 2694 -4812 Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020.DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4250485
14. Iwu, M. A. (2020). Handbook of African Medicinal Plants. https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.1201/b16292
15. Karunamoorthi, K., Kaliyaperumal, J., Vijayalakshmi, J. and Mengistie, E. (2013). Traditional Medical Plants: A Source of Phytotherapeutic Modality in Resource-Constrained Health Care Settings. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine 18(1) 67-74 sagepub.com/journals Permissions DOI: 10.1177/2156587212460241 http://cam.sagepub.com. Sage publications.
16. Lew, F. B. and Afolayan, A. J. (2009). Ethnomedicine in South Africa: The role of weed species. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 8 (6), pp. 929-934, 20 March, 2009 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB
17. Mahomoodally, M. F. (2013). Traditional Medicine in Africa: An Appraisal of Ten Potent African Medicinal Plants. Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2013, Article ID 617459, 14 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/617459
18. Mahwasane, S.T. and Middleton, L. N. ( 2013). An ethnobotanical survey of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used by the traditional healers of the Lwamondo area, Limpopo province, South Africa Boaduo University of Limpopo, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 139, Medunsa, Pretoria 0204, South Africa.
19. Maroyi, A. (2019). Traditional use of medicine plants sin south-central Zimbabwe: review and perspectives. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2013, 9:31
20. Mhlongo, L.S. (2019). The Medicinal Ethnobotany of the Amandawe Area in KwaCele, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree. Magister Scientiae in Botany in the Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg.
21. Miller, B. (2007). Cultural Anthropology. (4th Ed.). Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
22. Mohammad, S.H. C., Maso, K. Nur, M. Abdul, H., Narayan, S. and Hajime, K. (2009). Use of plants in healthcare: a traditional ethnomedicinal practice in the rural area of South-Eastern Bangladesh, International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management, 5: 1, 41-51, DOI: 10.1080/1745159092771342
23. Mongalo, N. I. and Makhafola, T. (2018). Ethnobotanical knowledge of the lay people of Blouberg area (Pedi tribe), Limpopo Province, South Africa. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2018) 14:46 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-018-0245-4
24. Naderifar, M., Hamideh, G. and Ghaljaie, F. (2017). Snowball sampling: A purposeful method of sampling in qualitative research. Journal of Strides in Development Medical Education, 14(3): e67670. Doi: 10.5812/smde.67670. Published online.
25. Parthiban, R., Vijayakumar, S., Prabhu, S., Yabesh, J. G. E. M. (2016). Quantitative traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used to treat livestock diseases from Kudavasal taluk of Thiruvavrur district, Tamil Nandu, India: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bjp.2015.07.016
26. Pieroni, A., Quave, C.L., (2005b). Traditional pharmacopoeias and medicines among Albanians and Italians in Southern Italy: a comparison. Journal of Ethnopharmacology.
27. Phua D. H., Zosel A, Heard K. Dietary supplements and herbal medicine toxicities—When to anticipate them and how to manage them. International Journal of Emerging Medicine. 2009;2(2):69-76
28. Singh, B., Singh, B., Kishor, A., Singh, S., Bhat, M.N., Surmal, Q. and Musarvella, C. M. (2020). Exploring plant-based ethnomedicine and quantitative ethnopharmacology: Medicinal Plants Utilized by the Population of Jasrota Hill in Western Himalaya.Sustainability 2020, 12, 7526; doi:10.3390/su12187526. www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability.
29. Quinlan, M.B. (2011). A Companion to Medical Anthropology, First Edition. Edited by Merrill Singer and Pamela, I. Erickson. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
30. Reid, A.M., Oosthuizen, C.B., Fibrich, B.D., Twilley, D., Lambrechts, I.A., de Canha, M.N., Rademan, S. and Lall, N., (2018). Traditional medicine: the ancient roots of modern practice. In Medicinal plants for holistic health and well-being (pp. 1-11). Academic Press.
31. Riaz, U., Ali, U. A., Alqahtani, A. Ba. , Omar, M. A. , Noman, A. Alqahtani, A.M. Ibenmoussa, S. and Bourhia, M. (2020). A review on ethnomedicinal plants used in traditional medicine in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.06.020 1. Elsevier publishers.
32. Srivastava, A.K., Chaurasia, J.P., Khan, R. and Dhand. C., and Verma S (2020). Role of Medicinal Plants of Traditional Use in Recuperating Devastating COVID-19 Situation. CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI), Hoshangabad Road, Bhopal, India. Open Access is freely available online.
33. Suharijito, D., Darusman, L.K., Darasman, D. and Sawarno, E. (2014). Comparing medical plants use for traditional and modern herbal medicine in long Nah Village of East Kalimantan. Bionatura-Jurnal Ilmu-ilmu Hayati dan Fisik Vol. 16, No. 2, Juli 2014: 95 – 102.
34. Thirumalai, T., Kelumalai, E., Senthilkumar, B., David, E., 2009. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the local people in Vellore District, Tamilnadu, India. Ethnobotanical leaflets 13, 1302–1311.
35. United Nations Human Rights (2020). TOPICS IN FOCUS COVID-19 AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS. Office of the High Commissioner.
36. Waldstein, A. Adams, C. (2006). The interface between medical anthropology and medical ethnobiology. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2006.00275.x
37. World Health Organization. The Regional Strategy for Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific (2011–2020). Manila, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, 2012.
Published
07/06/2022
Statistics
487 Views | 316 Downloads
Citatons
How to Cite
[1]
L. P. Zondi and S. Ehaine, “Perspectives of the rural communities of Impendle, Bulwer, and Kokstad in South Africa using ethnomedicinal plants to cure flu and associated symptoms in the advent of COVID-19”, Int J Indig Herb Drug, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 62-75, Jun. 2022.
Issue
Section
Research Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright © Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
.