The need and use of medicinal plants in Nigeria is
growing at a tremendous rate. Whether for food or as medicines for ailments
ranging from common cold, malaria and even
more complicated health problems such as hypertension and diabetes,
Nigerians of all ages and classes find it easier to consume the herbal remedies
produced from medicinal plant.
 |
| Picture of Herbarium at the National Parks Service, Abuja, Nigeria. Taken by Comfort Ndefo |
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines
traditional medicine as the
sum total of all the knowledge and
practical, whether explicable or not, used in the diagnosis, prevention and elimination
of physical, mental or social imbalance and relying exclusively on practical
experience and observation handed down from generation to generation, whether verbally
or in writing. Traditional medicine might also be considered as a solid amalgamation
of dynamic medical know how and ancestral experience.
These traditional medicines are adjudged as
potent by their users. However , oftentimes,
problems arise from consumption of
either overdose, under dose or even some natural toxins within the plant
due lack of scientific information of the components of the plant.
According to, a postdoctoral fellow and College of Arts &
Sciences alumni, Dr. Allan Showalter, “Misidentifications or adulteration of
authenticated materials can lead to reduced effectiveness of herbal products or
accidental poisonings. Barcoding provides a way to confirm the identification
of raw plant material and establish a level of quality assurance.
The DNA Barcoding is an exciting new tool for
taxonomic research. The DNA barcode is a very short, standardized DNA
sequence in a well-known gene. It provides a way to identify the species to
which a plant belongs.
Barcoding is generating a global, open access
library of reference barcode sequence which enables non-taxonomists to identify
specimens.
No comments:
Post a Comment