One-hundred four plant species used medicinally by herbalists from three southern Ugandan tribes were collected and identified. The collection includes a large portion of the materia medica of the Abayanda of the southwest region, as well as species used by herbalists of the Baganda and Bakiga Tribes. Literature searches were performed in preparation for further collections, and for collaborati...

This article attempts to investigate the modern medical practices and major factors triggering changes in views, attitudes, among Hyolmos, an indigenous people residing high hill region, Helambu, northeast of Sindhupalchok, central Nepal. ethnographic study with key informants' interview, participant observation household census was employed during a year-long fieldwork. The collected data were...

The seven categories of alternative medicine, as established by the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine, are mind-body interventions, bioelectromagnetic therapies, alternative systems of medical practice, manual healing methods, pharmacologic and biologic treatments, herbal medicine, and diet and nutrition. Mind-body approaches have been shown to be effective in a varie...

To describe the role of traditional healers in STD case management, in-depth interviews were held with 16 healers (seven witchdoctors, five herbalists and four spiritual healers) in four slum areas in Nairobi, Kenya. All healers believed that STDs are sexually transmitted and recognized the main symptoms. The STD-caseload varied largely, with a median of one patient per week. Witchdoctors and h...

The aim of this study was as part of a baseline assessment in PMTCT in the traditional health sector: a) to determine the views of women who have used the services of traditional practitioners before, during and/or after pregnancy, and b) to conduct formative research with traditional health practitioners (THPs), i.e. herbalists, diviners and traditional birth attendants (TBAs) on HIV, pregnanc...

INTRODUCTION The use of medicinal plants was a very spread therapeutic way. At present, several studies are moving toward this ancestral option, seen the emergence of several bacterial resistance and for the large number of side effects of some synthetic drugs. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to collect and evaluate information on medicinal plants commonly used in five Moroccan citi...

OBJECTIVE Many Chinese herbs contain aristolochic acids (ALAs) which are nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. The objective of this study was to identify whether exposure to herbs containing ALAs increased the risk of kidney disease among Chinese herbalists. METHODS A nested case-control study was carried out on 6538 Chinese herbalists registered between 1985 and 1998. All incident cases of chronic ...