Traditional medication

The most apparent difference between traditional and orthodox medications is how their usefulness is determined. A traditional medication s reputation rests on use and history, stretching centuries or even millennia into the past. The favorable experience of earlier generations serves as an endorsement of safety and efficacy. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) in its May 2002 report estimated that currently up to 80% of the African people and a significant percentage of the worldwide population still practice some form of traditional medical treatment. Typically, these treatments are in the forms of decoctions, tinctures, syrups, or ointments with plant or animal products (see Exhibit 3.1). 

According to a study conducted hy the World Health Organization in 1988, about 80 percent of the world s population still rely almost entirely on traditional medical techniques in which natural products play the predominant role. The vast majority are people who live in... 

Troupin has also been reported . These alkaloids were found to exhibit antimicrobial and antiplasmodial activities. Epinetrum villosum is a twining liana, growing in secondary forests in the coastal areas in Congo and Angola and is used in traditional medical for the treatment of fever, malaria and dysentery . The genus Cissampelos contains cissampareine, which has potential medicinal uses, but it is also psychoactive. It is a principal alkaloid of dawidjiewortel (Cissampelos capensis), which grows in South Africa. 

Ramkumar D, Rao SS Efficacy and safety of traditional medical therapies for chronic constipation A systematic review. Am 3 Gastroenterol 2005 100 936. [PMID 15784043]... 

Octopuses, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiloids are also other common food source for many of the Asians because of their importance of potentiality in medical applications. More specifically, octopus and squids are well explored in Asian countries due to their traditional medical values. 

Gelfand, M. Mavi, S. Drummond, R.B. Ndemera, B. The Traditional Medical Practitioner in Zimbabwe. Mambo Press, 1985. 

As indicated earlier, the development of the newer antiseizure medications has advanced the strategy of using two drugs rather than a single agent. Because these newer drugs have relatively predictable pharmacokinetic and side-effect profiles, they can be added to traditional medications without excessive complications and risk to the patient.4,31 Combination therapy is therefore a more common approach to treating seizure disorders than it was in the past. 

In addition to traditional medications, consumers have access to many substances that are not considered a part of conventional or mainstream pharmacothera-peutics. These substances often consist of natural products such as herbal preparations, vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional substances that are taken to promote optimal health or to treat various conditions. These products are usually classified as dietary supplements by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and are therefore not subjected to the rigorous testing and scrutiny required for prescription drugs and many over-the-counter medications. 

CAMs represent a diverse array of nutritional supplements and other products that are used to promote health and prevent disease. Because CAMs are often derived from natural sources, patients may have certain misconceptions about the safety and efficacy of these products. CAMs are likewise not subjected to the scrutiny and control of traditional medications,... 

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