Achew! Fetch the herb

Greek folklore had it that this plant was the source of all good health. Many centuries later, the Greeks are in the good company of Nyanza farmers.

Mobydick, (Asclepias fruitcosa) or Gomphocarpus spp is named in honour of the Greek god of healing, Aesculapius. The plant (milkweed is the tongue-friendly name) has a long curative history in many parts of the world as well as among several Kenya communities.

In one Hindu mythology, some species of the milkweed were considered the king of plants. It was believed that god was under the influence of milkweed sap when he created the universe.

In Siaya, the sap is squeezed out and applied to running noses in the belief that the resulting hefty sneezing expels whatever causes colds.

Although Mobydick has gained its new currency as filler flower in bouquets, it is also the subject of research for its suspected anti-cancer effects.

And, the local use of milkweed for medical purposes is not based on bad science. A body of literature indicates that it has been used traditionally as an expectorant and a laxative.

An expectorant or mucolytic is a drug capable of dissolving mucus therefore decongesting the chest consequently relieving respiratory difficulties.

“We crush the leaves of the plant and squeeze its juice into a stuffy nose so as to prompt the sick person to sneeze out the organism causing the flu. The next day, the person will be well,” says Mobydick farmer Kennedy Otieno.

Plant herbarium sources indicate the plant; a native of North America, was used in the treatment of respiratory illnesses.

In Turkana, where it goes by the name Lekule, Mobydick grows wildly on Mt Nyiru. Its sap is used in the treatment of wounds.

In his doctoral thesis, J M Kaendi notes that the Tugen of Baringo use the roots of the plant – they call it Kosirich – for the treatment of kala-azar.

In Marakwet, says the Royal Botanic Gardens of the United Kingdom, the plant is also used to treat various conditions. It is said to be rich in Vitamin A, making it a good candidate for use as an antioxidant. Antioxidants prevent or slow down damage to body cells. Degenerative conditions such as heart diseases, macular degeneration, diabetes and cancer are all exacerbated by oxidative damage.

The local use of the Mobydick as a cure for colds is supported by scientific analysis. It has been found that some species have a particular chemical used in for the manufacture of nasal decongestant sprays.

Further scientific evidence also indicates that sap from any broken part of the plant acts against bacteria, such as Pseudomonas pseudomallei , which cause lung infection. This condition is known to cause fever, chills, cough and chest pains and other conditions known to accompany common cold.

However, the presence of cardenolides (a type of steroid) in the plant worries both medical experts and floriculturists. Several studies published in the past few years in the journal PubMed, indicate this poisonous chemical has also been found to have anti-cancer effects in laboratory settings.

One study reported the substance as causing a significant decreases in the proliferation of human prostate cancer cell lines without affecting the normal cells. However, the uncontrolled use of this herb is dangerous because of the high concentration of the steroid in the plant’s roots.

The poison protects the plant from herbivores and can only be safely fed on by the Monarch butterfly, which makes the insect toxic and bitter tasting to predators.

The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, which is promoting the Mobydick for the flower industry, says the sap has been found to be corrosive.

“The plant produces corrosive milk’ that may affect farm workers and the post-harvest handlers. There is need to analyse the chemicals in Mobydick’s milky sap to determine their composition, safety to handlers and levels in the flower plant,” says a Kari report.

According to Ms Florence Achieng, a Mobydick farmer in Siaya, plants meant for medicinal use are harvested mature when much of the sap has dried off. She says the sap stops bleeding and speeds up the healing of wounds.

“We have been using the milky substance to kill jiggers,” she adds.

Mobydick, though for a different reason, is the latest herb to be domesticated in Kenya after the Aloe spp and the Chinese anti-malarial wonder plant Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood.)

Artemisia whose extract is used in the manufacture of the most effective fast line malaria medicines across the world was introduced to farmers in the Rift Valley a few years ago.

The Aloe spp is used both in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Locally it has been used for treating wounds.

Kenya, though rich in traditional herbal cures, remains poor in the commercial exploitation of this knowledge. According to a traditional practitioner, 62-year-old Bornes Chumo, of Litein in Bomet, she has never had the cause to use modern medicine.

On her shelf are cans filled with juices, some brown, others green and some black. None of the cans is labelled but she assures us that she knows each and every type of juice, by its colour, taste and smell.

From her collection, a good number is used to cure babies of rashes, oral thrush, common cold and diarrhoea. She also has a variety to ease the pain of teething in children.

Some herbal medicines, Ngetwa 1- 4 for instance, have been packaged and sold in a number of chemists and supermarkets in the country.

The Ngetwa series of herbs are each claimed to cure the common cold, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, herpes, gonorrhoea and other diseases.

Another example is the Neem and Aloe Vera derived herbal cures.

Old school herbalists would prescribe leaves, barks and roots to a patient with instructions about their preparation. Today, some herbal medicines are packaged and user instructions written in pamphlets for the patient.

Some herbs are even preserved and sold in chemists while leading pharmaceuticals have been known to adopt herbal extracts to make supplements.

According to Prof Billy Kariaga of the Ray of Hope foundation, there is hope in the discovery of herbal cures for stubborn diseases like cancer, HIV-Aids and diabetes among others.

The former Moi University lecturer says that the merging of indigenous knowledge of herbs and modern science makes herbs even more effective and safe.

“Some herbs have the ability to cure certain diseases, but they are also dangerous to human beings,” he says.

According to Prof Kariaga, there have been situations where an herb that has the capacity to cure even HIV, has been discovered in laboratories to be poisonous, thus preventing its use as a human medicine.

“That is the biggest challenge in the field of herbal medicine. There are times when I proved that a plant extract had the ability to cure a certain disease, only to discover that it also contained a poisonous substance that you couldn’t get rid of.”

He says herbalists have to be very careful when picking some plants, since many plants of the same species share the same names.

“Plants that belong to the same species are very similar in appearance. While some of them are medicinal, some are very poisonous,” he warns.

“It is very important that each herbalist knows exactly which plant they are looking for, after thorough proof that they cure. Not kill.”

An antidote to stimulate vomiting, he says, is very important in herbal medicine, because some patients fail to follow instructions.

“People tend to think the intake of excessive herbs does not amount to overdosing.  Several herbs harm the intestines and can even cause death,” he warns.

The good news about herbs, he says, is that they don’t harm when taken carefully. Like other herbalists, Prof Kangara developed his knowledge of herbs through his grandmother tutelage.

Several members of his family are familiar with the remedies.

“We have been able to work with several public universities in the country to evaluate, identify and develop herbal medicine”.

Although the professor says that there have been advances in the field of herbal medicine, some old-school methods of administering herbal medicine, such as the covering of the head of a patient with a blanket and steaming fumes into the face, are here to stay.

“It is a quick way to cure common colds because the steam gets to the pores of the nose and skin fast”.

He was however opposed to the method used by the Siaya women — squeezing extracts into a patient’s nose to send them to sneezing.

“Too much sneezing can cause the veins in the nose to burst and cause a lot of bleeding that can cause death.”