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Alternative Medicines for HIV/AIDS in Resource-Poor Settings: Insight from Traditional Medicines Use in Sub- Saharan Africa
Maroyi, Alfred
Abstract
Purpose: To document the utilization of traditional medicines in managing human immunodeficiency
virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) opportunistic infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This study is based on a review of literature published in scientific journals, books, reports
from national, regional and international organizations, theses and conference papers obtained from
libraries and electronic search of Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science, MEDLINE, Pubmed, Scopus and
Science Direct. Results: A total of 79 medical conditions related to HIV/AIDS were treated using 74 plant species. The
common diseases treated by herbal remedies were bacterial/fungal infections, boosting of
appetite/immunity, cold/cough, cryptococcal meningitis, diarrhea, fever, herpes simplex/zoster,
oral/oesopharyngeal candidiasis, skin infections/rash, tuberculosis and wounds. More than three quarters
of the documented plant species (63 species, 85.1 %) have anti-HIV active compounds. Conclusion: This study reveals that traditional medicines are often used as alternative sources of
medicines for HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Further investigations are
needed to explore the bioactive compounds of these herbal medicines, aimed at exploring the bioactive
compounds that can be developed into anti-HIV drugs.
Keywords
Antiretroviral; HIV/AIDS; Sub-Saharan Africa; Traditional medicines
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