Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology & Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda; Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy & Immunology (IZI), Perlickstraße, 104103, Leipzig, Germany.
Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology & Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, P.O.Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2020 Jan 10;246:112205. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.112205. Epub 2019 Aug 30.
Currently, more than two thirds of the world's 36.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. Opportunistic infections (OI) associated with HIV are the single most important cause of mortality and morbidity among HIV/AIDS patients in poor countries. There is widespread use of medicinal plant species to manage the HIV infection and it's associated OI in Uganda, even by patients already on antiretroviral drugs (ARV). However, much of this information remains undocumented and unverified.
The aim of this study was to systematically and comprehensively document the traditional indigenous knowledge and practices associated with the management of HIV/AIDS infections by herbalists in Uganda.
Ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Ninety traditional medicine practitioners (TMP) or herbalists were interviewed in Arua, Dokolo, Mbale, Bushenyi, Iganga, Rakai, Luwero and Kaabong districts to gather information on the plant species used. Data were analysed and presented using descriptive statistics and the Informant Consensus Factor.
We documented 236 medicinal plant species from 70 families and 201 genera. Acacia was the most widely represented genus with five species. The most frequently used medicinal plant species for treating various OI were Erythrina abyssinica (45), Warburgia ugandensis (43), Zanthoxylum chalybeum (38), Acacia hockii (37), Mangifera indica (36), Aloe vera (35), Albizia coriaria (34), Azadirachta indica (32), Psorospermum febrifugum (27) Vernonia amygdalina (22) and Gymnosporia senegalensis (21). Some of the plant species were used for treating all the OI mentioned. There is a high degree of consensus among the TMP on which plant species they use for the different OI, even though they are geographically separated. Herbalists contribute to the widespread practice of simultaneously using herbal medicines and ARV. Some TMP are also engaged in dangerous practices like injecting patients with herbs and encouraging simultaneous use of herbs and ARV. Although the TMP relied on biomedical laboratory diagnoses for confirming the patients' HIV sero status, they were familiar with the signs and symptoms of HIV/AIDS.
There is wide spread use of a rich diversity of medicinal plants species and practices by TMP to manage OI in HIV/AIDS patients in Uganda.
目前，全世界 3690 万艾滋病毒/艾滋病患者中，超过三分之二生活在撒哈拉以南非洲地区。艾滋病毒相关机会性感染（OI）是贫困国家艾滋病毒/艾滋病患者死亡和发病的最主要原因。乌干达广泛使用药用植物物种来治疗艾滋病毒感染及其相关 OI，即使是已经接受抗逆转录病毒药物（ARV）治疗的患者也是如此。然而，这些信息中的大部分仍然没有记录和验证。
本研究的目的是系统全面地记录乌干达传统草药医生管理艾滋病毒/艾滋病感染的传统本土知识和实践。
采用半结构式访谈和问卷收集民族植物学数据。在阿鲁阿、多科洛、姆巴莱、布西亚尼、伊甘加、拉凯、卢韦罗和卡邦戈地区采访了 90 名传统医学从业者（TMP）或草药医生，以收集有关所用植物物种的信息。使用描述性统计和信息共识因子对数据进行分析和呈现。
我们从 70 个科和 201 个属中记录了 236 种药用植物。金合欢属是最广泛的代表属，有五个种。用于治疗各种 OI 的最常用药用植物物种是血桐（45）、乌干达黄檀（43）、麻疯树（38）、金合欢（37）、芒果（36）、库拉索芦荟（35）、阿勃勒（34）、印度苦楝（32）、凤仙花（27）、苦玄参（22）和皂荚（21）。一些植物物种被用于治疗上述所有 OI。TMP 之间在用于不同 OI 的植物物种方面存在高度共识，即使他们在地理上是分开的。草药医生有助于广泛使用草药和 ARV。一些 TMP 还从事危险的做法，如给患者注射草药，并鼓励同时使用草药和 ARV。尽管 TMP依靠生物医学实验室诊断来确认患者的 HIV 血清状态，但他们熟悉艾滋病毒/艾滋病的症状和体征。
乌干达的 TMP 广泛使用丰富多样的药用植物物种和实践来管理艾滋病毒/艾滋病患者的 OI。
