The contribution of the trade in medicinal plants to urban livelihoods: a case study of the informal markets in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eastern Cape
- Ah Goo, Delia Felecia Stephanie
- Authors: Ah Goo, Delia Felecia Stephanie
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Markets
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10654 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011601 , Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Markets
- Description: The commercialisation of natural resources such as medicinal plants is a strategy that is increasingly being employed by poor people in developing countries such as South Africa, as a means of generating an income. Increasing economic hardship and a lack of employment opportunities in the formal sector of the economy has led to many urban dwellers seeking alternative means of meeting their everyday livelihood needs. Although the contribution of natural resources to subsistence economies is widely recognised, there are few studies that have examined the significance of the trade in medicinal plants to the livelihoods of poor and marginalised people. Thirty informal street traders were interviewed to investigate the role of the medicinal plant trade in sustaining the livelihoods of the traders who operate in the informal sector of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa. The findings of the research indicate that the sale and collection of medicinal plants is an activity which is exploited by people with limited resources, few skills, little or no education and often without any other source of household income. Middle-aged women from impoverished, single income households dominated the trade. Although income from the trade is modest, it contributed substantially to the total household cash income of the traders. Other benefits of the trade included independence and having a sense of purpose in life, as the traders felt that they were not only helping their families but also the wider community. However, without the income from the trade, many of the traders and their families would be destitute and thus the medicinal plant trade is vital to the wellbeing of these people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Ah Goo, Delia Felecia Stephanie
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Markets
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10654 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011601 , Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Informal sector (Economics) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Markets
- Description: The commercialisation of natural resources such as medicinal plants is a strategy that is increasingly being employed by poor people in developing countries such as South Africa, as a means of generating an income. Increasing economic hardship and a lack of employment opportunities in the formal sector of the economy has led to many urban dwellers seeking alternative means of meeting their everyday livelihood needs. Although the contribution of natural resources to subsistence economies is widely recognised, there are few studies that have examined the significance of the trade in medicinal plants to the livelihoods of poor and marginalised people. Thirty informal street traders were interviewed to investigate the role of the medicinal plant trade in sustaining the livelihoods of the traders who operate in the informal sector of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa. The findings of the research indicate that the sale and collection of medicinal plants is an activity which is exploited by people with limited resources, few skills, little or no education and often without any other source of household income. Middle-aged women from impoverished, single income households dominated the trade. Although income from the trade is modest, it contributed substantially to the total household cash income of the traders. Other benefits of the trade included independence and having a sense of purpose in life, as the traders felt that they were not only helping their families but also the wider community. However, without the income from the trade, many of the traders and their families would be destitute and thus the medicinal plant trade is vital to the wellbeing of these people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Collaborative research with traditional African health practitioners of the Nelson Mandela Metropole : antimicrobial, anticancer and anti-diabetic activities of five medicinal plants
- Authors: Van Huyssteen, Mea
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Healers -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Anti-infective agents
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10148 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/663 , Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Healers -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Anti-infective agents
- Description: The promotion and development of indigenous knowledge pertaining to the traditional African healing system is one of the prime objectives set out by the South African government. Despite excellent research opportunities and funding, the biggest problem with ethnopharmacological research is a lack of interaction with indigenous communities, which tends to dilute the benefits this research has to offer these communities. The primary aim of this study was thus to promote the traditional African healing system through collaborative medicinal plant research with local traditional health practitioners. The research collaboration aimed to validate some biological activities of traditional remedies used by collaborating traditional health practitioners and ensured interactive sessions where scientific literature, research practices, findings and relevant legislation were discussed and debated. The joint development of a medicinal garden was a valuable tool in realising these goals. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of Bulbine frutescens, Ornithogalum longibracteatum, Ruta graveolens, Tarchonanthus camphoratus and Tulbaghia violacea were selected for antimicrobial, anticancer and anti-diabetic screening, because of their sustainable utilisation potential. The ethanol extract of T. violacea produced the best antimicrobial activity on Bacillus subtilis (100% growth inhibition) and Candida albicans (89% growth inhibition) at 250 μg/ml. The EC50 for the ethanol extract of T. violacea against HT29 colon cancer cells was 101 μg/ml. The aqueous extracts of B. frutescens and T. camphoratus (0.5 and 50 μg/ml) produced the highest overall glucose uptake activity in Chang liver and C2C12 muscle cells. T. camphoratus was unanimously chosen by participating practitioners as the plant to be investigated further. The aqueous extract of T. camphoratus increased glucose uptake in C2C12 muscle cells through increased translocation of GLUT4 to the plasma membrane and activation of the PI3-kinase and AMP-kinase pathways. It produced some alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity at concentrations of ≥ 200 μg/ml. Apart from interactive feedback seminars at which the findings were presented to participating practitioners, all scientific literature regarding the plants was summarised, translated, compiled and given to participating practitioners in written format. An indigenous knowledge agreement has been negotiated and will formalise the collaboration in future. It is recommended that future research focuses on plants with economic development potential that can be cultivated in the medicinal garden.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Van Huyssteen, Mea
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Healers -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Anti-infective agents
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10148 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/663 , Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Healers -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Anti-infective agents
- Description: The promotion and development of indigenous knowledge pertaining to the traditional African healing system is one of the prime objectives set out by the South African government. Despite excellent research opportunities and funding, the biggest problem with ethnopharmacological research is a lack of interaction with indigenous communities, which tends to dilute the benefits this research has to offer these communities. The primary aim of this study was thus to promote the traditional African healing system through collaborative medicinal plant research with local traditional health practitioners. The research collaboration aimed to validate some biological activities of traditional remedies used by collaborating traditional health practitioners and ensured interactive sessions where scientific literature, research practices, findings and relevant legislation were discussed and debated. The joint development of a medicinal garden was a valuable tool in realising these goals. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of Bulbine frutescens, Ornithogalum longibracteatum, Ruta graveolens, Tarchonanthus camphoratus and Tulbaghia violacea were selected for antimicrobial, anticancer and anti-diabetic screening, because of their sustainable utilisation potential. The ethanol extract of T. violacea produced the best antimicrobial activity on Bacillus subtilis (100% growth inhibition) and Candida albicans (89% growth inhibition) at 250 μg/ml. The EC50 for the ethanol extract of T. violacea against HT29 colon cancer cells was 101 μg/ml. The aqueous extracts of B. frutescens and T. camphoratus (0.5 and 50 μg/ml) produced the highest overall glucose uptake activity in Chang liver and C2C12 muscle cells. T. camphoratus was unanimously chosen by participating practitioners as the plant to be investigated further. The aqueous extract of T. camphoratus increased glucose uptake in C2C12 muscle cells through increased translocation of GLUT4 to the plasma membrane and activation of the PI3-kinase and AMP-kinase pathways. It produced some alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity at concentrations of ≥ 200 μg/ml. Apart from interactive feedback seminars at which the findings were presented to participating practitioners, all scientific literature regarding the plants was summarised, translated, compiled and given to participating practitioners in written format. An indigenous knowledge agreement has been negotiated and will formalise the collaboration in future. It is recommended that future research focuses on plants with economic development potential that can be cultivated in the medicinal garden.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
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