BY GETACHEW MINAS
The cultivation and use of spices, herbs, medicinal and other essential oil bearing plants is not new to Ethiopia. It is as old as the crops themselves, and its history can be traced back to the reign of Queen Sheba.
Ethiopia is the origin and/or center of diversity for many of these plant species. The various studies available show the significant role of medicinal plant in primary health care delivery in the country.
A large majority of the Ethiopian people and their livestock depend on traditional medicine similar to many developing countries particularly that of Sub-Saharan African countries. The traditional health care is culturally deep rooted with oral and written pharmacopoeias.
Ethiopian plants have shown very effective medicinal value for some ailments, bodily disorder or chronic disease of human and domestic animal. Thus, medicinal plants and knowledge of their use provide a vital contribution to human and livestock health care needs throughout the country.
The demand for such plants and species is high in Ethiopia due to culturally linked traditions. E. Bekele revealed that the communities have trust in traditional medicines that are available at relatively low costs.
This is acknowledged by studies that showed that the value of both imported and domestically produced pharmaceutical products. The value of medicinal plants including traded and non-traded ones is also high.
The traditional medicines significantly contribute to saving in foreign exchange that would have been spent on importing medicines that serve the same purpose. The volume of sales of medicinal plants has increased over the years and this has been taken by some as indicator of diseases healed with traditional medicine.
This has led to increased demand for these medicines, which in turn have led to harvesting more medicinal plants. The expected increase in the cost of imported commercial drugs and their ineffectiveness also increase demand for local medicinal plants.
As pointed out by Bekele, the proportion of “consumers” who rely on harvesting medicinal plant is the high in the rural area, where collection of medicine is cheap.
Studies show that there are 6500 species of plants in Ethiopia making it one of the countries with plant diversity. There is a large number of moderate to high value medicinal herbs and spices existing in the wild. But, only a small amount of them of these herbs and spices are externally traded.
As a land of diverse climatic potentials, several of the indigenous and exotic species could be grown in Ethiopia. Those plants that bear essential oil seeds could provide remarkable benefits to the national economy. However, only a few research works have been conducted in the major agro-ecological zones on the production activities of some herbs, spices and related aromatic plants.
Inventories and checklists on Ethiopian medicinal plants have been made. Research is conducted on the principal ingredients and components of these plants.
The bulk of the plant matter used for medicinal purposes is collected from natural vegetation stocks that are shrinking with degraded environment. Consequently, the medicinal plants are facing a substantial reduction or dwindling of species.
Yet, different vegetation types that are found in the various agro ecological zones of Ethiopia accommodate various types of medicinal plants. Reports show that the woodlands, the mountain vegetation, including grasslands and forests and the evergreen scrubs and rocky areas contain more medicinal plants.
Reports indicate that the vegetation of the woodlands contain more medicinal plant species followed by the mountain grassland in Ethiopia. There is a widespread use of indigenous traditional medicinal plants with various levels of sophistication. These plants are blended with religious and other beliefs that need further investigation and study. This may include the various categories of practitioners.
Dawit et al have described and categorized the traditional medical system of Ethiopia as a mix of medicine and religion. Others have classified and branded it as magical and religious.
Such description is due to close interaction of the Christian, Islamic and indigenous religions with the traditional medical system in the country. It also reflects the features of magic, beliefs and faith in some parts of the country.
The enigmatic nature of the medical system does not make such features clear in some parts of the country. Ethiopians have their own set of written and oral tradition on the medicinal value and application of some plant species.
The cultural and indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants is, however, unevenly distributed among communities. People in different zones and locations with different religious, linguistic and cultural backgrounds have their own specific knowledge about the use of plants.
This in part has gradually entered wide circulation in the country. Though the knowledge on medicinal plants is largely oral, Ethiopia’s ancient churches have documented some of the practice inscribed in Geez on parchments.
Other ancient written sources include the book of remedy (Metsehafe Fews) of the 17th century. As pointed out by F. Fullas, the book contains a wide range of medicinal plant prescriptions, which reflect the medical traditions of the followers of Coptic Christianity. Other cultural groups in the country have their own written or oral traditions that could be associated with individual clans or groups.
They practiced on nearly one thousand medicinal plant species. It is believed that there are many other species that are not yet identified. About three hundred of these species are frequently mentioned in many studies. It is revealed that the greater concentration of medicinal plants is found in the south and south western parts of the country.
Various records of medicinal plants from central, north and northwestern part of the country endowed with medicinal plants. The Bale Mountains National Park, for example, is rich with these plants, having 337 identified medicinal species of which 24 are widespread.
These species are used as human and livestock medicines by community healers, crop harvesters, livestock raisers, traders and other users. Studies further identified spots that could be considered sources of medicinal plants within the Bale Mountain area.
However, some medicinal plant species of Ethiopia are reported to have been threatened by excessive harvest for the market that tends to root out the plant.
Environmental degradation, agricultural expansion, loss of forests and woodlands, over-harvesting, fire, cultivation of marginal lands, overgrazing and urbanization appear to be the major threats to the medicinal plants of Ethiopia. Prevalent medicinal species restricted to Ethiopia are of primary concern for the country and the world at large.
It requires serious attention before it is too late. Preservation of these plants requires knowledge and skill in maintain them. The distribution of knowledge and services of medicinal plants are not placed as needed. There is a shortage of skilled personnel.
Apart from the regular health services, medical services are obtained from the family, the neighborhood, the village or the community. However, there is little or no documentation on these community level services. The status of the traditional medicines, preparation of crude extracts and isolation of active ones is very minimal.
The recorded species of medicinal plants also requires special attention. It is pointed out that there are studies conducted in the higher learning institutions on several aspects of medicinal plants in Ethiopia. Most of these studies, however, focus on listing of plants used as remedies for various ailments.
The studies are reported to be crude with incomplete description and uncertain samples. Yet, they are useful reports that can be referred to from different angles. Medicinal plants from wild habitats are found in different natural ecosystems of the forests, grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, garden fences as weeds.
They are also harvested in many other habitats when the need arises. These are freely accessed resources to all who want to use them for practicing traditional medicine. In the traditional market place in Ethiopia, medicinal plants are usually associated with spices and herbs. They have to be looked for in the areas of the market where spices and herbs are displayed on roadsides during religious ceremonies around churches and mosques.
The informal sector takes a major share in the trading of medicinal plants in the rural areas. Traditional healers, shamans and witchdoctors also trade in crude materials. They also charge fees for the diagnosis and treatment of patients using plant in its crude form.
Although woodlands are where most of the medicinal plants are available, their supply and viability has to be assessed. In the assessment process, the key issues to be considered are the following: requirements of users; size and conditions of the resource; harvesting of the plant; response of the species to different harvesting practices; production and recovery rates of the species and affected habitat; options that are available for development of alternative resources and land ownership systems.
The Ethiopian Herald March 25/2021
