A survey and analysis of traditional medicinal plants as used by the Zulu , Xhosa and Sotho

A coded list of 794 traditional Zulu medicinal plants is presented with a key to the ailments concerned. Xhosa and Sotho usage of these plants is incorporated. Medicinal usage in the ptendophytes, gymnosperms. monocotyledons and dicotyledons is tabulated. Ailments are categorized and discussed with an analysis of the plant families involved in their treatment. Patterns of usage between related plants are observed and some potentially effective or dangerous characteristic family constituents are briefly outlined.

It w ould be o f great interest to com pare the number o f plant sp ecies used with the number o f plant species known to be available, but research in this field , em brac ing both eco lo g ica l and trading aspects, is beyond the scope o f this paper.C om prehensive research into the A. Sexual remedies include aphrodisiacs and a large number of love charm emetics, which are normally taken by men.Some medicines are administered as charms to secure the fidelity of the beloved or to harm a rival in cases of suspected infidelity or to protect the user against the effects of such medicine.
Of the 109 species recorded as sexual remedies, three or more occur in the following 12 families, accounting for 79: B. Sterility remedies include cures for both women and men.Barrenness in women is usually treated with a pur gative or an enema or medicine may be directly intro duced into the womb.Sterility and impotence in men is treated with orally taken infusions, or powdered medi cines may be blown through the urethra (Bryant 1966).Also included are medicines taken, usually orally, by a couple desiring a particular gender in a child, or medi cines taken by both parents after a miscarriage.
Of the 45 species recorded as sterility remedies, three or more occur in the following six families, accounting for 25:

INTRODUCTION
The data on w hich this paper is based com e mainly from a literature survey conducted by the author towards the com pilation o f a Pharm acapoeia o f Zulu Folk M edi cin e, w hich w as initiated at the U niversity o f Zululand by Dr A. H. Scott in 1986.X hosa and Sotho usage o f the plants, w hich is clo sely allied , has been included.Data from the author's previous fieldw ork in Transkei and lim ited personal interview s with Zulu and X hosa tradi tional healers is included and further data have been abstracted from a list o f the B otanical R esearch Insti tute's holdings o f m edicinal plants.The main sources o f inform ation on usage have been 1, A .T. Bryant, w hose work on Zulu m edicine w as originally published in the Annals o f the Natal Museum in 1909 109 species are used as love charm emetics.
Gynaecological rem edies include m edicines taken regularly during pregnancy to ensure a safe delivery and a healthy child.T hese may be mixtures o f various ingre dients, usually roots (Gerstner 1941) or may be made from the roots o f a single plant, soaked in water, w hich is drunk daily by the expectant mother.A lso included are m edicines adm inistered during childbirth, or for painful or delayed m enstruation, to stimulate breast d ev el opm ent or the flow o f m ilk, or to procure abortions.O f the 78 sp ecies recorded, three or more occur in the fo llo w in g six fam ilies, accounting for 37: Newly-born infants are som etim es given purification purges at birth and later at w eaning; these may be adm in istered orally or as an enem a. M edicines may be applied to the navel or fontanel at birth and others may be ap plied to the m other's breast at w eaning.Som etim es new ly bom infants are held in the sm oke o f a burning plant in a protective or purification ritual.O f the 18 sp ecies recorded, seven occur in L iliaceae.term stress-related is used here to refer to ailm ents that are caused by p sych ological stress, al though there may be other c a u se s .)L. Headaches are considered by traditional healers to be caused by em otional or mental disturbance.They are often treated by snuffed or inhaled m edicines and o cca sionally leaves are wrapped around the head.O f the 44 sp ecies recorded, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g five fam ilies, acountm g for 22: Pain producing ailm ents include pain in the joints or back, rheumatism and also paralysis.A lthough these may ob viou sly not alw ays have a p sych ological cau se, there is a traditional b elief that the joints are the most vulnerable area to the entrance o f evil spirits (N gubane 1977) and conversion disorders often do take the form o f pain in the join ts and som etim es paralysis.Dried p o w dered m edicine is frequently rubbed into freshly cut scarifications to treat these conditions and other form s o f administration such as enem as and em etics are also used.and a condition which Bryant (1 9 6 6 ) and Ngubane (1 9 7 7 ) refer to as gangrenous rectitis, w hich is frequently treated with an enem a, or a locally applied lotion or powder and may also be treated with an orally taken decoction.O f the 318 sp ecies recorded for gastro-intestinal co m plaints, three or more occur in the fo llow in g 35 fam ilies, accounting for 252:

G.
Renal ailm ents include kidney and urinary tract c o m plaints.M edicines may be orally adm inistered, so m e tim es fo llo w ed by an enem a o f the sam e m edicine after three days o f treatment, or m edicines may be rubbed into incisions cut in the loins or inserted directly into the urethra or a poultice may be applied externally.O f the 44 sp ecies recorded for renal ailm ents, three or more are found in the fo llow in g five fam ilies, Swellings or growths include sw ollen glan d s, scrofu lous and dropsical sw ellin g s and external or internal sw ellin g s or lum ps w hich may or may not be cancerous.M ed icin es may be adm inistered orally, som etim es fo l low ed by a poultice made from the sam e ingredients, or pow dered m ed icin es may be rubbed into incisions cut around the sw ellin g .O f the 31 sp ecies used to treat sw ellin g s, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g tw o fam ilies, accounting for eight: J. Respiratory ailm ents include ch est pain from pleurisy or bronchitis, co u g h s, sore throats and asthma or catarrh.T hey are frequently treated w ith em etics, w hich perform an expectorant fu n ction , or m ed icin es may be ch ew ed , drunk, sn u ffed , inhaled or rubbed into in cision s Febrile com plaints include influenza, cold s and fevers, including malaria and rheumatic fever.T hey are frequently treated w ith em etics.Snuffed or inhaled m ed icin es m ay also be adm inistered and the patient may be steam ed or bathed to reduce the fever.O f the 123 sp ecies in v o lv ed , three or more com e from the fo llo w in g 13 fa m ilies, accounting for 82: Leprosy is usually now referred by traditional healers to the hospitals.O nly tw o rem edies have been recorded and they are from M elianthaceae and P assifloraceae.Q .Toothache and sore gum s are treated with lotions or pow ders rubbed on to the painful area.O f the 30 sp ecies recorded for toothache, three or more are from the fo llo w in g three fa m ilies, Sorcery is b eliev ed to be the cause o f many illn esses and certain plants are b eliev ed to be used by sorcerers to bring about e v il.T he sam e plants may be taken as an antidote to the d isease thus brought about, usually in the form o f an em etic.O f the 16 sp ecies recorded as sorcerer's m ed icin es, three each are from the fo llo w in g tw o fa m ilies, account ing for six: Snake bite rem edies may be taken or locally applied, the sam e m edicine often being adm inistered at the sam e tim e in both form s. D ried ground sn ak es' heads are som etim es an ingredient in the m edicine.O f the 4 3 sp ecies recorded, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g six fa m ilies, accounting for 20: Skin com plaints include sores, w ounds, bum s and rashes.T h ese com plaints may be treated by applied lotion s, poultices or w ash es.W ashes may also be given to reduce the temperature in fevers.A lso included are hair restorers.O f the 100 sp ecies recorded, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g 10 fa m ilies, accounting for 64: Fractures, sprains and bruises may be treated with lo tio n s, or pow der may be rubbed into scarifications as an anti-inflam m ant around the site o f the dam age.O f the 4 0 sp ecies recorded, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g three fam ilies, accounting for 12: Ear, eye and nose com plaints are treated with lotions or sap directly sq u eezed from the plants.O f the 39 sp ecies recorded, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g four fa m ilies, accounting for 19: Insecticides and piscicides include m edicines applied to rid the body o f lice and fleas and those used to repel or kill flies and those used to stun fish so that they may be caught.O f the 21 sp ecies recorded, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g tw o fa m ilies, accounting for 12: Charms m ay be applied to placate ev il spirits, for protection against en em ies and storm s, for good luck or to m ake the user liked.T hey may be bathed w ith, w orn, sprinkled or burnt in the hom e or field s or cultivated as protective plants.O f the 182 sp ecies recorded, three or more com e from the fo llo w in g 14 fa m ilies, accounting for 126: Animals may be giv en m edicines to prevent or cure d isease.A lso included are m edicines applied as theft deterrents, either in the field or on e g g s or drying animal skins.O f the 102 sp ecies used to treat or deter anim als, three or m ore com e from the fo llo w in g 11 fa m ilies, account ing for 53: It may be observed (Table 1) that am ong the m ed icinally used plants recorded, a higher proportion o f m on ocotyled on s are used as externally applied charms and for procreation-related purposes and that there is a sligh tly w ider range o f m edicinal usage am ong the d ico tyled on s.Further analysis reveals that am ong the m ono-cotyled on s 43 % o f the sp ecies are used for procreationrelated ailm ents, 37 % as externally applied charms and 26 % for p ossib ly stress-related ailm ents w hereas am ong the d icotyled on s 27 % are used for procreation-related ailm en ts, 26 % for possib ly stress-related ailm ents and 19 % as externally applied charm s.In both groups the greatest proportion o f plants used for other ailm ents are used for gastro-intestinal purposes (32 % o f m on o co ty le dons and 4 2 % o f d icotyled on s) and respiratory ailm ents (11 % o f m onocotyled on s and 20 % o f d icotyled on s).T his is reflected in T ables 2 & 3. DISCUSSION Perception o f aetiology also determ ines treatment.A ccording to Bryant (1 9 6 6 ) and N gubane (1 9 7 7 ), most com m on ailm ents are b elieved to be caused by an e x ce ss o f bile or g a ll, w hich needs to be rem oved.D iseases b elieved to be caused by ev il spirits or pollution also require catharsis.T his explains the w ide use o f em etics, enem as and purgatives.A total o f 238 o f the plants re corded for this study, i.e .30 %, are used as em eticsw here use as an em etic has been recorded with no sp ecific ailm ent, the plant has been considered to be used for gastro-intestinal purposes.E m etics are not normally given to young children but enem as are and are co n sid ered by m edical staff to be the cause o f som e o f the poison in g cases and liver dam age seen in hospitals (S avage & H utchings 1987).Forms o f administration are not alw ays recorded in the sources consulted and more plants are probably used for enem as than appear on the list.S p ecies indicated as being used for children are frequently adm inistered in this w ay.Patterns o f usage betw een c lo se ly related sp ecies, such as the use o f pteridophytes as anthelm intics, O rchidaceae as love charm em etics, R anunculaceae sp ecies for headaches, T hym elaeaceae sp ecies for skin com plaints and snake bite or L am iaceae for febrile conditions and various A sclepiad a ceae for nervous com plaints, are discernible in the list.Such patterns o f usage could o b v iou sly indicate that related plants share chem ical constituents, w hich w ould in turn account for their possib le effectiv en ess and/or toxicity.Som e characteristic fam ily constituents with som e o f their likely effects and potential dangers are given b elow .W idespread steroidal saponins, cardiac g ly co sid es in som e o f the L iliaceae and toxic alkaloids in the Amaryllidaceae are am ong the potentially dangerous consituents found in m onocotyled on ou s plants, o f w hich so many are used in the procreation-related ailm ents.Steroidal saponins may affect the sex horm ones and are relatively harm less w hen taken by mouth but found highly toxic if they enter the blood stream (Trease & Evans 1983).This may happen if there is any dam age to the m ucous lining o f the gastro-intestinal tract when enem as are adm inis tered as, according to N gubane (1 9 7 7 ), the dosage is controlled to enable the patient to retain the m edicine for a tim e. T his custom w ould also make enem as made with other toxic material more dangerous than em etics as ab sorption o f material through the rectum is easier than through the sm all intestine.Steroid or triterpenoid sapo nins (w hich are com m on in the d icotyled on s) are often found in the plants used as em etics and have the property o f foam ing and also frequently irritate the m ucosa.T his may account for their expectorant and d econ gestive action w hen used for chest ailm ents.A nti-m icrobial, c y tostatic and anti-inflam m atory activity have been d em on strated in saponins (L ow er 1985).C ardiotonics, w hich can have a diuretic action by in creasing the renal b lo o d flo w , may be found in m em bers o f various other fam ilies apart from L iliaceae and these include A pocynaceae and A sclep iad aceae.R ubia ceae and Solanaceae (see O liver-B ever 1986).The d i uretic action w ould be helpful in cases o f gonorrhoea and also in various kidney or heart d iseases w hich cause dropsical sw ellin g s.Various species o f the ab ove-m en tioned fam ilies are used for venereal d isea ses, renal c o m plaints, dropsical sw ellin gs or heart com plaints and may be found effectiv e.The toxic A m aryllidaceae alkaloids produce gastro intestinal upset (Jaspherson-Schib 1970).H ighly toxic sp ecies are found in other alkaloid-containing fam ilies such as A p ocyn aceae, Solanaceae and Euphorbiaceae.T hese sp ecies also o w e their effectiv en ess as purges and their potentially dangerous properties to extrem e gastric irritation.A ntipyretic, protozoicidal and local anaesthetic pro perties are to be found in many o f the W est African sp ecies o f the alkaloid-rich Rubiaceae fam ily (O liver-B ever 1986) and m em bers o f the fam ily locally used for febrile ailm ents w ould probably merit further investiga tion.A lkaloids have a marked action on the central ner vous system and can act as depressants (e .g .the sedative reserpine from Rauvolfia vomitoria A fz e l.) or stim ulants (e .g .the Strychnos alkaloids) w hich may account for the use o f various species from fam ilies such as Euphor biaceae and Solanaceae for nervous com plaints.Tannin has frequently been observed in the parts o f the plant used in the treatment o f dysentery and diarrhoea or for respiratory ailm ents and is a characteristic constituent o f many o f the fam ilies thus used (e .g .R osaceae.F abaceae, G eraniaceae).It is likely to be e ffectiv e on account o f its protein-precipitating properties w h ich , in sm all d o ses, w ould form a protective, im perm eable layer and also tend to prevent the developm ent o f bacterialarge d oses w ould irritate the m ucosa (Fluck 1976).The presence o f volatile o ils with possible carm inative or antispasm odic activity is likely to account for the use o f the clo sely related Lam iaceae and V erbenaceae and other aromatic fam ilies for co u g h s, co ld s, influenza and d igestive disorders.The snake bite cures are interesting.M any are known to be either toxic or else clo sely related to know n toxic sp ecies, notably from fam ilies where cardioactive toxins (M elianthaceae, L oganiaceae, A pocynaceae and A sc le piadaceae) or alkaloids (P hytolaccaceae, Solanaceae and Asteraceae) are known or else from fam ilies w here c y to toxic activity has been observed (Euphorbiaceae and T hym elaeaceae).M ore fieldw ork w ill undoubtedly reveal new usage o f plants as the practice o f herbal m edicine is still very much alive.Patterns ob viou sly exist in the usage o f plants, but the perception thereof is influenced by the way in w hich the data are analysed and on the cultural Bothalia 19,1 (1989) &S.2 3 -S .s.a S S ^o.-2 73-Sej2 0 = ^« j --w ._íí;í 5-<=*í L.waa.^fljcaoG^aÔ U,UJ<<>-JcAc/2<Qfi< o H : see key to ILst of medicinal plants.perceptions of the researcher.Nevertheless, plant usage is patterned, and these patterns deserve further investiga tion.