Investing In The Future Of Herbal Medicine
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Investing In The Future Of Herbal Medicine
“The materials we use (herbs, roots, barks and stems), can never become extinct: herbs in the forest can last us for another 300 years. If you remove the bark of a tree today, it grows again in three weeks”.
Chief Isaac Aigbede, Udumuokpagha, Ogwa, Esan East West Local Government, EdoState
WITHOUT doubt, the survival of herbal medicine or its continued relevance to mankind is hinged on the availability of raw materials, (herbs, roots, barks and stems). In the villages which have a higher concentration of Traditional Medicine Practitioners, (TMP's), raw materials could be found in a nearby bush where most of the herbs grow on their own without any deliberate effort in cultivation.
But population explosion and the unstoppable march towards modern trends is beginning to transform the archaic pattern of herbal medicine. Currently, some Traditional Medicine Practitioners now cultivate some of the plants they use in the preparation of some herbal solutions and products beside their homes. Their decision is largely influenced by the crying need for accessibility.
Now, traditional medicine practice is expanding: more people, especially young men and women are increasingly getting involved. Consequently, the source of raw materials is gradually depleting. Even at that, TMP's from the old-guard, like Chief Isaac Aigbede, 84, from Udumuokpagha in Ogwa, Esan, in Edo State, who practices cottage herbal medicine and bone-setting, strongly believes that the forest from where he sources his herbs , roots, barks and stems, remains an endless source of raw materials for his practice. Hear him: “The materials we use, (herbs, roots, barks and stems), can never become extinct: herbs in the forest can last us for another 300 years. If you remove the bark of tree today, it grows again in three weeks”.
But the management of Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories is already thinking of how and where it can source for raw materials in the coming years. With 600 distributors and certified Health Care Providers across the country, whose demand for Pax products is snowballing daily, PaxHerbals needed to act very fast to guarantee continued production and the market strength which its products currently command.
PaxHerbals Botanical Garden also known as Demonstration in-House Garden, occupies one hectare of land, separated from the sprawling Pax Centre by the organizations garage. The Botanical Garden is on your right as you worm you way up the uneven stony pathway that leads to St. Benedict Monastery, Ewu-Esan, along the very busy
The Botanical Garden is tendered by the Farm Manager Mr. Rowland Lazarus and two staff, Messrs Raphael Okogho and Lucky Okugbo. You can't miss the small shed with a green plastic roof. Small plants with young upshots, some in white plastic buckets are even more visible.
What does a Botanical Garden or an in-House Demonstration Garden mean?
Lazarus replies: “This is where we grow plants or show-case herbs that we use in the preparation of our drugs”.
When you urgently need some herbs in the course of preparing your medicinal products, can you walk over here and fetch some herbs?
Yes! Yes! We do collect herbs from the Botanical Garden for the preparation of our products.
Can we refer to your Botanical Garden as a fall back position, should your suppliers disappoint you when you urgently need raw materials?
Exactly! Exactly!
How big is your Botanical Garden?
One hectare.
How many species do you have in your Botanical Garden?
We have over 100 species in our Botanical Garden.
And each of them is identified by a botanical name?
Yes.
Why?
Tourists, visitors and patients who come here want to appreciate the herbs that we use in the production of our products. So, we take them round to have a first hand knowledge of what constitutes the raw materials that were mixed to achieve the herbal solution or product they have been given.
But why the botanical names that are tongue twisting?
The botanical name of a plant is actually the universal name. It is the name that the plant is known and identified worldwide.
You are doing this so as to get tuned to modern trends in the world?
Oh yes! If you take a look at our products, you will notice that the raw materials used in the production are referred to in their botanical names.
So, what is this?
This is our Green shade.
And what is a Green shade?
Some seeds when planted under the direct sunlight cannot grow, so you need to plant them in the Green shade to protect them from the harsh ray of the sun. They are later transplanted to the Botanical Garden. For example, we have, (pointing), Artemisia Annua, the latest herb for the cure of fever now being cultivated in the Green shade because it cannot grow under direct sunlight.
However, the increase in the demand of Pax products and the scientific organizational structure of its clinic and research laboratory, impressed and encouraged the EdoState government during Chief Lucky Igbinedion's tenure as governor to give Paxherbals
Seven staff, messrs Boniface Inegbedion, Francis Tsavegama, Solomon Iorunmbe, Boniface Ahungwa. Thomas Ikeafea, Ernest Ariu and Dominic Akulaga work on the farm under the supervision of Lazarus. So far, five, (5), hectares have been cultivated.
INTERVIEW
Hypertensive Patients Should Learn To Laugh Ajibade
Mr. Peter Ajibade, is a Pax Herbal Health Care Provider, (PHCP), at
How do you treat people who come to you and are frank enough to tell you they have a worrisome history of hypertension?
First, I make my clients to feel comfortable. It's imperative that you build trust and confidence in them. The treatment of hypertension has a lot to do with diet, in addition to Pax Herbal medicines that we administer.
Hypertensive patients should avoid alcohol and take minimal quantity of salt; not more than two milligram of salt. Importantly, I advise people suffering from hypertension to learn to be happy. They should create an avenue that will make them laugh. The art of laughing requires only facial muscles and nerves, while anger aggravates the whole body system. Laughing calms the body.
Water therapy is equally good. Water enables the enzymes to function effectively. The body needs water to avoid dehydration. In addition, coconut water is useful for the treatment of hypertension. Immature coconut water, if taken frequently, is also very efficacious in the treatment of hypertension.
The fresh pulp of the coconut, when eaten, is very good for the memory, especially for those who are experiencing irregular bouts of memory lost.
What if the hypertensive patient is someone who naturally is not used to laughing? I mean a person whose facial features are naturally disposed to a permanent scowl?
Yes, we have people who are naturally like that, but we advise them to create an avenue to be happy. Such persons should also try to forgive those who offend or hurt them. You free yourself from unnecessary tension when you forgive those who have hurt you.
It's not unusual to feel hurt when you see a person who had offended you in the past without feeling hurt, especially when you have a flashback, which may lead to an increase in the heartbeat. But, you will feel a sense of relief if you had forgiven such a person in the past. They can even engage each other in a chat that could elicit a bout of laughter.
Another crucial aspect of people with hypertension is to advise them to avoid vigorous exercises. Hypertensive patients should engage in light exercises like palm robbing, short walks, among others. Hypertensive patients should also eat a ball of onion at night to enable them sleep well.
Adequate knowledge of colour therapy is also useful for hypertensive patients. People with an history of hypertension should not use red colour in their rooms because it wouldn't allow them to sleep.
What colour would you recommend?
Blue is the ideal colour for hypertensive patients. They can also mix a spoon of honey into a glass of warm water and drink it at bed time. It will relax their body and enable them sleep well at night. And people with hypertension require plenty of sleep to relax their body system.