Browsing by Author "Nkinda, Siegfried J."

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    Traditional Herbal for Bronchial asthma in Tanga Region: an Evaluation of their Efficient and bronchodilator activity
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1976) Nkinda, Siegfried J.
    Thirty-five prominent traditional medicines—men in Tanga region were interviewed with respect to the treatment of bronchial asthma. 40% of them claimed to be able to cure the disease. Sample recipes of their remedies and brief histories of asthmatic patients who had received traditional treatments are described. The plant which were regarded as the most effective in treating asthma (sixteen different species) were collected for botanical identification; some of these were tested for bronchodilator properties and other smooth muscle relaxing actions in guinea pigs and compared with aminophylline and adrenaline. Only aqueous extracts of dry plants ware tested; the methods used failed to demonstrate actions that should prove to be therapeutically useful in treating asthma. With respect to the methods used in this study, it is felt that they should be regarded as merely one approach to the screening for drug activity. The plants should not be considered to be inactive until other approaches are tried. This investigation has identified plants which are administered to patients with asthma in Tanga region, and this is a most important aspect in the study of traditional medicine. Studies employing similar and several screening methods and covering a wider area will broaden knowledge of our traditional medicine.