Mlungisi Ngcobo and Nceba Gqaleni
Introduction: Developed from centuries of oral knowledge passed from generation to generation, African traditional medicines (ATM) are at a crossroads. In order for these ATMs to evolve with time similarly to modern medical sciences, there is an urgent need to scientifically evaluate their mechanism of action, safety and efficacy.
Case report: In this short commentary we report on the progress we have made in scientifically evaluating traditional herbal immune boosters at a period where the African continent finds itself ravaged by a plethora of infectious diseases.
Discussion: While the South African government has gone a long way in building an effective modern health system, many people still use ATMs such as immune boosters for a variety of infectious diseases and general wellbeing. The high prevalence of HIV infections is one of the reasons that have led to an increase in the use of ATMs which purport to have immune boosting capabilities. In our laboratory we have developed various models and carried out extensive in vitro and in vivo biochemical and molecular experiments on the immunomodulatory effects of these immune boosters and have shown that these products can modulate the expression and secretion of both cytokines and chemokines. Therefore the potential uses of immune boosters in clinical medicine does not only apply in treating immunodeficiency caused by HIV but can be useful in managing tuberculosis (TB), various forms of cancer and various other diseases that can be managed by modulating the immune response. Such research studies are very promising and present opportunities for further clinical studies to develop unique ATMs.
Conclusion: As medicines meant to stimulate the body’s immune system to defend itself, immune boosters can be useful alone or as immune adjuvants along with pharmaceutical drugs. Therefore further studies on the effectiveness of these immune boosters are justified along with those that will ensure that there are no drug interactions with other pharmaceutical products.
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