Using herbal concoctions and mixtures have recently become a trend, as most Nigerians believe and trust them.
The debate concerning the efficacy of traditional herbs and orthodox medicines has been ongoing for decades, especially in this part of the world.
In Nigeria, even though the healthcare system, with its loads of challenges, has evolved, most Nigerians still believe in patronizing traditional herbs sellers because they believe they are more efficacious than orthodox medicines
However, OsunDailyNG reports that the use of these brewed or mixed local herbs, popularly called ‘agbo‘ in the Yoruba language, has also continued to cause concern to the medical industry.
An article in a World Health Organisation (WHO) bulletin titled: “Herbal medicine research and global health: an ethical analysis” by Jon C Tilburt and Ted J Kaptchuk stated that “Traditional herbal medicines are naturally occurring plant-derived substances with minimal or no industrial processing that have been used to treat illnesses within local or regional healing practices.”
The above is evidence that the WHO recognizes the efficacy of herbal-based medicines, but only when appropriately prepared, under the right circumstance, and with the required standard.
Hitherto, the assumption was that the consumption of ‘agbo’ was solely confined to illiterates, rural dwellers, and the indigent in society. However, that has become a fallacy, as it is the go-to first aid for most urban dwellers in recent times.
However, more concerns have been raised about the consumption of these concoctions, especially about their preparation.
Attesting to this fact, Consultant Nephrologist/ MD DOREN Specialist Hospital, Dr. Adedamola Akinsiku, explained that the huge burden associated with the consumption of herbal concoction is not just limited to renal infections but also affects every part of the body, as it is a significant cause of the liver problem, as well as predisposes consumers to hypertension and stroke, among others.
He said: “Herbal concoction has been shown to cause kidney diseases through many forms like chronic and acute tubulointerstitial nephritis (swelling in between the kidney tubules). It has been shown to cause acute kidney injury, hypertension, and capillary nephrons and also exposes consumers to uroepithelial tumors (cancers of the genital urinary trucks.)
“The chemical agents inside these concoctions have not been isolated and evaluated. So, it is impossible for one to know the agent contained in them, their chemical reactions, what it works for, the extent it works, and the side effects. So, there are key issues there that are missing. We don’t know the dose as well.
“Every medication is a chemical. The difference between an herbal concoction and orthodox medicine is that we already know the composition and side effects of various approved medications. But the composition of an herbal mixture is unknown. It is a bit more complicated than people can see.”
Meanwhile, OsunDailyNG discovered that there is a new trend in the preparation of these traditional herbal medicines, as sellers have learned to add antibiotics and other Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to the herbal mixtures for more effective results.
Confirming the development, one herbal mixtures seller at the Isolo Market in Lagos told our reporter that some of her colleagues in the industry add antibiotics and other orthodox medicines to herbs for better results.
When our reporter, who posed as a customer who wanted to patronize some herbal mixture for treating toilet infection, approached her, she said combining the antibiotics and the herbal medicine is very effective; however, she seldom does it for her customers until it’s requested for specially.
She said she doesn’t do it because she can’t give others what she can not consume herself.
Speaking in Yoruba, she confessed that the antibiotics they usually add to the herbal mixtures are called white capsules, noting that for the treatment of toilet infection, two of the white capsules are added to the herbal medicines for extra effective results.
Explaining how the antibiotics are used, she said the content of the white capsules is emptied into cornmeal (ogi/pap) water and then into the herbal concoction.
OsunDailyNG also spoke with a patent medicine store owner, identified as Mrs. Aishat Olalekan, who sells in the Isolo market too and she revealed that the white capsules the herbal seller was referring to were Chloramphenicol
According to her, for the treatment of toilet infection and other ailments like typhoid fever, they (traditional herbal sellers) add either tetracycline or Chloramphenicol to their herbal mixture for better results.
Mrs. Olalekan attested to the fact that some of the herbal medicine sellers in the market patronize her.
She added that they even add tablets like Vegas 100, which is an aphrodisiac to herbs for sexual enhancement for men.
Throwing more light on the issue, Akinsiku said often, these herbal concoction sellers shake their content well before selling to consumers due to the presence of some of these tablets.
He reiterated that some of them add NSAIDs to the herbal mixture for better outcomes of treatment of the consumers.
He explained that some of the NSAIDs have anti-fever actives and contain painkillers, offering fast relief to consumers.
The expert mentioned some of the NSAIDs they add to be diclofenac, ibuprofen, and meloxicam, among others.
Akinsiku explained further that most of these NSAIDs come in tablet, and they are grinded into powdery form to be added to the herbs.
He said, “The cost of orthodox medication is that the idle dose is known with its possible side effects, indications, and contraindications. But these people are ignorant of all these details; they only want to make sales.
“These NSAIDS are typically not kidney-friendly, so all these medications and herbs are contradictions.
“Most of these patent drug sellers don’t know the harmful effect of what they are doing, or they don’t for the love of cheap money. Also, consumers don’t understand the implications as well.
“We are not saying non-orthodox practices are out rightly wrong, but there must be standard policies and protocols on how those contents are vetted and approved.
” Educating the populace is where the government comes in, through sensitization and enforcement mechanisms.”
