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Indigenous health system and the use of herbal plants have been recognized as pivotal in primary health care and a system to reckon with in achieving one of the targets of the millennial goals on health. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted to identify indigenous herbal remedies for diarrhoea and associated stomach ailments in rural areas of the O.R. Tambo district municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The main objective of the study was to gather ethnomedical data on potentially valuable indigenous medicinal plants for the eventual development of new pharmaceuticals and also emphasize the role of ethnomedicine in primary health care. The use of herbal remedies in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery was investigated using interviews. The survey was conducted among traditional healers and knowledgeable local elders who use medicinal plants to treat common illnesses. Data from the survey indicated the names of plants commonly used in the treatment of diarrhoea and associated ailments, the methods of preparation, parts used and administration. A total of 32 plant species belonging to 26 families were reportedly used as diarrhoea remedy in the study area. The most predominant families of medicinal plants employed and most frequently recommended were Fabaceae (16.67%), followed by Hyacinthaceae and Hydnoraceae (8.33% each). The most commonly utilized portions of plants for medicinal purposes included roots and leaves. Other parts were corms, bulbs, tubers, fruits and bark. The methods of preparation often employed were decoctions and infusions whilst medication was frequently administered orally or as enema. Some of the plants were used singly or mixed with other plant(s) while some edible ones are consumed as food. The survey documented a diversity of plants employed as remedy for diarrhoea. Integration of this form of health care system into western medicine is warranted. The propagation of such medicinal plants is vital for sustainable use of these medicinal plants.

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BackgroundSeveral herbs are traditionally used in the treatment of a variety of ailments particularly in the rural areas of South Africa where herbal medicine is mainly the source of health care system. Many of these herbs have not been assessed for safety or toxicity to tissue or organs of the mammalian recipients.MethodsThis study evaluated the cytotoxicity of some medicinal plants used, inter alia, in the treatment of diarrhoea, and stomach disorders. Six selected medicinal plants were assessed for their antibacterial activities against ampicillin-resistant and kanamycin-resistant strains of Escherichia coli by the broth micro-dilution methods. The cytotoxicities of methanol extracts and fractions of the six selected plants were determined using a modified tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay).ResultsThe average minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the plants extracts ranged from 0.027 mg/mℓ to 2.5 mg/mℓ after 24 h of incubation. Eucomis autumnalis and Cyathula uncinulata had the most significant biological activity with the least MIC values. The in vitro cytotoxicity assay on human hepatocarcinoma cell line (Huh-7) revealed that the methanol extract of E. autumnalis had the strongest cytotoxicity with IC50 of 7.8 μg/mℓ. Ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of C. uncinulata, Hypoxis latifolia, E. autumnalis and Lantana camara had lower cytotoxic effects on the cancer cell lines tested with IC50 values ranging from 24.8 to 44.1 μg/mℓ; while all the fractions of Aloe arborescens and A. striatula had insignificant or no cytotoxic effects after 72 h of treatment.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the methanol fraction of E. autumnalis had a profound cytotoxic effect even though it possessed very significant antibacterial activity. This puts a query on its safety and hence a call for caution in its usage, thus a product being natural is not tantamount to being entirely safe. However, the antibacterial activities and non-cytotoxic effects of A. arborescens and A. striatula validates their continuous usage in ethnomedicine.

Background: Traditional medicine plays a major role in the primary health care of many people living in rural areas. South Africa is a home to over 30,000 species of higher plants and 3,000 of these species have been found to be used in traditional medicine across the country. South African medicinal plants are decreasing at an alarming rate as a result of over exploitation. Today many medicinal plants face extinction but detailed information is lacking. The purpose of this paper was to review current and proposed cultivation strategies that could be used to improve plant conservation statuses, livelihoods of the people involved in medicinal plant industry and sustainability of this industry. Material and Method: In this review, emphasis was on the members of Hyacinthaceae family and the species Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf) B.L. Burtt (Zingiberaceae), which are some of the most traded and used in traditional herbal medicine. Detailed literature search was conducted on the current strategies that are being used for the cultivation of medicinal and food crops and a conceptual analysis of how technologies used for the cultivation of non-medicinal crops could be adopted for cultivation of medicinal plants in Africa. Siphonochilus aethiopicus was used as a case study to demonstrate the potential of using alternative cultivation strategy such as hydroponics in the cultivation of medicinal plants. Result and Conclusion:The results showed that hydroponics has the potential to improve plant growth and yield of desired plant parts even in areas where these plants do not normally grow under natural conditions. This was the case with Siphonochilus aethiopicus. There is potential for growth in the medicinal plant industry if optimum cultivation technologies such as hydroponics are implemented despite the perception that Africans have an ingrained traditional preference of wild harvested plants, on the contrary many Africans have no issues with cultivated medicinal plants.

Climate change, expanding soil salinization, and the developing shortages of freshwater have negatively affected crop production around the world. Seawater and salinized lands represent potentially cultivable areas for edible salt-tolerant plants. In the present study, the effect of salinity stress on plant growth, mineral composition (macro-and micro-nutrients), and antioxidant activity in dune spinach (Tetragonia decumbens) were evaluated. The treatments consisted of three salt concentrations, 50, 100, and 200 mM, produced by adding NaCl to the nutrient solution. The control treatment had no NaCl but was sustained and irrigated by the nutrient solution. Results revealed a significant increase in total yield, branch production, and ferric reducing antioxidant power in plants irrigated with nutrient solution incorporated with 50 mM NaCl. Conversely, an increased level of salinity (200 mM) caused a decrease in chlorophyll content (SPAD), while the phenolic content, as well as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sodium, increased. The results of this study indicate that there is potential for brackish water cultivation of dune spinach for consumption, especially in provinces experiencing the adverse effect of drought and salinity, where seawater or underground saline water could be diluted and used as irrigation water in the production of this vegetable.

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