In essence, traditional medicine represents the dominant medical system for millions of people, showing a significant impact on health care systems. The importance of traditional autochthonous plant remedies plays a crucial role in the health of millions of people of these two continents.
In Botswana, a number of research studies have been undertaken on the importance of medicinal plants and one such study conducted by Daniel Motlhanka and Shimane Makhabu titled “Medicinal and Edible Wild Fruit Plants of Botswana as Emerging New Crop Opportunities” calls for the strengthening of the documentation and application of the local indigenous knowledge on the use of medicinal and edible wild fruit plants.
The study further calls for the conservation and sustainable use of plant habitats through domestication of the most sought after and threatened species. Botswana with a semi-arid climate offers a good environment for cultivating medicinal and wild fruit plants because most wild plants do well in xerophytic habitat without any special care or maintenance.
According to the authors of the research study, there is burgeoning need for the promotion of medicinal plants and edible fruit plants as cash crops in Botswana because these are re-emerging as health aid. Medicinal plants constitute one of the important overlooked areas of international development. They represent a form of biodiversity with the potential to do much good and not just in healthcare.
Indeed, the production and processing of medicinal plants offers the possibility of fundamentally upgrading the lives and well-being of peoples in rural regions. The research study recognizes that Botswana’s medicinal plants are over-harvested for use as human and livestock medicines. There is, therefore, a risk of depletion and extinction of the most sought after species.
“Initiatives should be put in place to propagate, cultivate and conserve species population through the promotion of community-based and commercial nurseries. Naturally medicinal yields from the wild are unpredictable as the supplies are at the mercy of the weather, pests and other uncontrollable variables. Farming will even out the supply, regularize trade and make available to rural areas new sources of income. In international market, the opportunities are emerging day by day for the trade of medicinal plants to fetch foreign exchange for the country,” states the research study.
The study also on a positive note observes that in Botswana pilot farmer-based cultivation trials for selected number of threatened and indigenous species in home gardens to supply local needs and income generation are ongoing.
The study further advises that initiatives to establish nurseries and ecological medicinal centres to encourage propagation and to provide species to local communities will assist in the conservation, sustainable use and offer opportunity for economic diversification.
It is generally accepted that worldwide, developing countries rely heavily on the use of traditional medicines as their primary source of health care. In spite of this large dependence by native people of Botswana on plants, these plants have not been studied extensively despite their crucial role as sources of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary for the well functioning of living things.
People obtain these when they consume plants as vegetable, fruits or prepared in any food formulation. Plants used as such vary from region to region depending on the availability and acceptability by people in each region.
Many indigenous plants of Botswana play paramount role as sources of food, medicines, firewood and building materials. Other plants are important sources of traditional beverages (including herbal indigenous tea plants) and livestock feed. Given the growing global demand for plants as sources of novel foods and medicines, there is need to document indigenous and threatened species of economic value in Botswana according to the Motlhanka study.
“Although the value of medicinal plants is widely recognized by both rural and urban dwellers in Africa, research in the strategies that may lead to the efficient utilization and management of the medicinal plants used by consumers is sluggish. There is need to intensify efforts of raising awareness of the importance of conservation of indigenous medicinal plants”, states the adding that in Botswana, pilot farmer-based cultivation trials for a selected number of threatened indigenous medicinal species in home gardens to supply local needs and provide alternative income generation are in progress.
It is also observed in the study that indigenous wild fruits remain one of the major options for coping with hunger and nutritional deficiency in diets and with poverty in Southern Africa. “A host of indigenous fruits of Southern Africa have a potential as food and cash crops. Native edible wild fruits can play a crucial role in combating food insecurity, especially the so-called hidden hunger caused by micro-nutrient vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Dozens of tropical fruits are suitable for small scale processing into jams, juices and dried food combinations”, states the research study.
It is also acknowledged that greater use of the indigenous wild fruits could do much to combat malnutrition, boost food security and contribute income generation. In many African countries, these treasures are untapped. The cultivation of these plants is important for their sustainable use and offers an opportunity for economic diversification.
Herbal teas have been used for centuries for all sorts of health reasons. There are many popular teas and herbal tea blends coming into the market place due to herbal tea benefits. Some of the herbal tea benefits include their exceptional antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory activity and anti-microbial activity. Herbal tea plants and plants from which essential oils can be harvested represent some of the potential market opportunities from which the quality of rural lives can be improved.
The study also reports that economic analysis has shown that herbal tea plants can considerably contribute to the economic welfare of people by generating reasonable income. The immense economic potential of these medicinal teas calls for their domestication as cash crops.
Edible fruits, plant species used medicinally and as herbal tea preparations are harvested from the wild. The commercialization of such products is likely to reduce the abundance of species used. This is so because as demand increases so does the rate of harvesting. Harvesting them becomes an open access or common property resource instead of a resource only used by specialists hence is driven by profit without due care to the habitat destruction.
In yet another research study titled “A Data Mining Process in An Indigenous Knowledge Ethno Medicinal Database”, it is not6ed that Botswana, like many African countries has a wealth of indigenous knowledge (IK), and has taken a major step forward in the recognition of the legitimacy of systems of knowledge and reflects a growing shift in consciousness among academics, policy-makers and practitioners in a number of fields as to the value and the legitimacy of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS).
Indigenous knowledge is described as vital information which is diminishing at an alarming rate and as such there is an urgent need to collect it before it is irretrievably lost. In terms of medicinal plants use in Botswana, the knowledge holders are traditional doctors. Bongaka jwa Setswana is a form of diagnosis and prescription of traditional medicine. This dates as far back of the origin of Batswana and it is passed from one generation to the next.
Studies have also shown two-thirds of Batswana have undergone traditional healing or have used traditional medicines at some point in their lives. Traditional doctors are consulted for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from sexually related diseases, lack of child bearing, AIDS, tuberculosis, sore feet, broken body parts, and a lot more Setswana culture related diseases.
On the whole it is accepted that the research is a ground breaking project that shows a sense of recognition and appreciation of Dingaka (traditional doctors) community and even cultural pride for Batswana. In addition, the project will promote networking or collaborations between traditional practitioners, researchers, modern medicine practitioners and other concerned relevant stakeholders as they share their knowledge and experiences.