Researchers quiz healers on wound herb
Jan 11, 2005
RESEARCHERS from the department of pharmacy at King’s College London interviewed traditional healers in Ghana to identify plants that heal wounds.
RESEARCHERS from the department of pharmacy at King’s College London interviewed traditional healers in Ghana to identify plants that heal wounds.
The Ashanti, one of the largest ethnic groups in Ghana, used a plant known as the climbing flower which was shown to have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal qualities and prevented infections.
But Prof. Edzard Ernst, who researches complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, said it was important for people to realise clinical trials had not yet been carried out on the plant extracts.
“This research needs independent confirmation and even if it all goes like a flash of lightning, which it never does, we could see something in five years,†he said.
“I think it’s very encouraging, but I think any claims of a cancer cure or a diabetes cure are misleading to patients.â€
Guardian
The Ashanti, one of the largest ethnic groups in Ghana, used a plant known as the climbing flower which was shown to have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal qualities and prevented infections.
But Prof. Edzard Ernst, who researches complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, said it was important for people to realise clinical trials had not yet been carried out on the plant extracts.
“This research needs independent confirmation and even if it all goes like a flash of lightning, which it never does, we could see something in five years,†he said.
“I think it’s very encouraging, but I think any claims of a cancer cure or a diabetes cure are misleading to patients.â€
Guardian