Alternative medicine: challenges and opportunities

The terms “complementary medicine” and “alternative
medicine” refer to a broad set of health care practices
that are not part of that country’s own conventional
medicine and are not fully integrated into the dominant
health care system. They are used interchangeably with
traditional medicine in some countries. Examples include
herbal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Prophetic
medicine amongst others.
In developing countries between 80% - 85% of the population
rely on herbal medicines1 Herbal Medicine enjoys
a wider acceptability than does orthodox medicine. This
is because it blends readily into the socio cultural life of
the people in whose culture it is deeply rooted. Furthermore
The practitioners are more accessible to most of
the population. Despite these benefits, herbal medicine
has its problems and challenges and this creates opportunities
for more research into other types of alternative
medicines.2,3
This paper highlights the problems of herbal medicines
ranging from quality issues, use of the wrong species of
medicinal plants, incorrect dosing, errors in the use of
herbal medicines both by health-care providers and consumers,
products’ contamination with potentially hazardous
substances, such as toxic metals, pathogenic microorganisms
and agrochemical residues and interactions with
other medicines.
The paper reviews the potential benefits of another type
of alternative medicine: Prophetic medicine and highlights
the concepts and provides evidence of its pharmacological
effects against several non-communicable and
communicable diseases including COVID 19

Author(s): Ibrahim Adekunle Oreagba

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