Traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. In the last decade traditional medicine has become very popular in Cameroon, partly due to the long unsustainable economic situation in the country. The high cost of drugs and increase in drug resistance to common diseases like malaria, bacteria infections and other sexually transmitted diseases has caused the therapeutic approach to alternative traditional medicine as an option for concerted search for new chemical entities (NCE). The World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the Cameroon Government has put in place a strategic platform for the practice and development of TM in Cameroon. This platform aims at harmonizing the traditional medicine practice in the country, create a synergy between TM and modern medicine and to institutionalize a more harmonized integrated TM practices by the year 2012 in Cameroon. An overview of the practice of TM past, present and future perspectives that underpins the role in sustainable poverty alleviation has been discussed. This study gives an insight into the strategic plan and road map set up by the Government of Cameroon for the organisational framework and research platform for the practice and development of TM, and the global partnership involving the management of TM in the country.

Bacterial resistance to classical antibiotics nowadays is becoming a health concern in Cameroon. Patients suffering from bacteria attack spend money to carry out laboratory tests for effective diagnosis, with very little positive results. This is due to the fact that most of our hospitals lack the up to date laboratory equipments, to detect the real antibiotic that will kill a particular bacterium. This has led to more patients spending a lot of money on bacterial infection treatment, and some even end up dying with the disease. It is on this basis that this work was designed to research the antibacterial properties of the extracts namely crude extract, hexane-acetate 25%, hexane-acetate 50%, hexaneacetate 75%, hexane, acetate and methanol of the leaves of Dorstenia mannii, a plant that is readily available from our natural environment at little or no cost. These extracts were tested on the following bacteria species namely; Gram-negative bacteria; Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica; Gram-positive bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus sp. After some laboratory analysis using the antibiogramme sensitivity test, it was discovered that the extracts of the leaves of D. mannii were only sensitive on three of the eight bacteria used which were, E. coli, S. enterica and Klebsiella sp. The other five namely; P. aeruginosa, E. aerogenes, P. mirabilis, S. aureus and Bacillus sp, were resistant to the extract. The sensitivity level of the three bacteria, that showed positive response where however low. Therefore, more research has to be carried out using different concentrations of the leaves extract for a more conclusive result. This concentration could permit to appreciate the degree of sensitivity and also to see if other bacteria that have not manifested any sensitivity can show some positive response to the extracts. Also, different laboratory methods and more bacteria should be used to prove that the leaves of D. mannii have the potential as a promising antibacterial medicinal plant to either render bacteria inactive or kill them completely.

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