01
文章脉络
02
外刊音频
03
外刊原文
Herbalremediescanhelpameliorateneglecteddiseases
Whatdoyoucalltraditionalmedicinethatworks?”“Medicine.”Thisoldjokecontainsmorethanamilligramoftruth.When,forexample,TuYouyou,aChinesechemist,begantestingthesweetwormwoodusedinlocalherbalremediesasacureformalaria,herisolationofartemisininsavedmillionsoflivesandearnedhertheNobelprizeformedicinein.Butnoteveryfolkcureissocloselyexamined—noriseverycondition.Over1.7bnpeople,mostlivingintheworld’spoorestcountries,areaffectedbyagroupof20illnessesknownasNeglectedTropicalDiseases(NTDs).Theseoftenleadtodisabilityandplaceaheavyburdenonhealth-caresystemsbadlyequippedtodealwiththem.
Theyarereferredtoas“neglected”forareason.Astudypublishedin,inInternationalHealth,estimatedthattheyreceivedonly0.6%ofthemoneygivenbyrichcountriestopooronesforhealthpurposes.Thingshavenotimprovedsincethen.ArecentreportbyPolicyCuresResearch,aninternationalthink-tank,estimatesthecashavailablefortreatingNTDshasbeenflatforadecade,withlessallocatedtoallofthemcollectivelythaneithermalariaortuberculosisreceivesalone.
Thislackofresourceshasconsequences.InGhana,thoughestimatedratesoflymphaticfilariasis(alsoknownaselephantiasis)droppedby88%betweenand,thoseofschistosomiasis(alsoknownasbilharzia)andonchocerciasis(alsoknownasriverblindness)roseby39%and81%respectively.However,DorcasOsei-SafooftheUniversityofGhanahasaplantofightback.Herbalmedicineisimportantinthecountry.Indeed,itsFoodandDrugsAuthorityhasalreadyapprovedseveralherbalremediesforuseagainstdiseasesincludingmalaria.Sheintendstobuildonthisapproach.
Todoso,sheandherteamfirstcontactedseveralpractitionersoftraditionalmedicineandobtainedsamplesof15treatmentsemployedagainstarangeofNTDs.Someweremixturesofdriedherbs,otherswateryconcoctions.Hergoalwastotesttheireffectivenessagainstlaboratoryculturesofavarietyofdisease-causingparasites,withtheaimofisolatinganyactiveprinciplestheymightcontain.
Nearlyallthesampleshadsomeeffectagainstoneormoreparasites.Butonestoodoutinparticularwhenusedagainstthetrypanosomesthatcausesleepingsickness.ThiswasadriedmixofAloevera,ashort-stemmedsucculent,andTaraxacumofficinale,the