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Introduction:
Anti-retrovirals "will never cure AIDS" (08 July 02, NewScientist.com
news service). AIDS will never be curable using anti-retroviral
drugs alone, says Robert Siliciano, an internationally renowned
HIV researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland.
It is common sense from a health, economic, cultural and political perspective
to seek other treatments for HIV/AIDS. Those who believe that African
medicinal plants have little or nothing to offer in the battle against
HIV/AIDS are grossly misinformed. Principally, African herbal medicine
is in the forefront of new research against this scourge. Worldwide, there
is a growing trend towards herbal medicines as a supplement and/or treatment
for HIV/AIDS.
Culture:
Emingeni Medicines cc aims to correct past misinformation due to ignorance
and greed on the subject of African herbs and medicines. Just as important
and of great significance, it separates fact from fiction. “Orthodox”
education and propaganda has done much to discredit our heritage and culture.
African herbs are often associated with witchcraft. This has to be corrected
as a priority, if we are to achieve the progress and international acceptability
and respectability that the Asian, European and other cultures have already
achieved with their herbs.
Of great consequence is the fact that African herbs are already being
widely used in Asia, Europe and America. In South Africa, there is a trend
within all cultures to supplement present HIV/AIDS treatments with herbs
and more patients are taking these products as a treatment rather than
a supplement for HIV/AIDS and opportunistic diseases that accompany it.
Background:
Tr./Dr. R de Carvalho started a HIV/AIDS study in Mozambique during 1996
with the objective of providing support as well as identifying affordable
and effective indigenous medicines for people living with HIV/AIDS. By
1999 a formula, Impi, had
been developed using African medicinal plants for the treatment of HIV
and other symptoms commonly encountered in HIV/AIDS patients. In conjunction
with other traditional healers (J. Ngome, A. Chambale) and with the help
of Siga Pono, Pride was
later developed to further enhance the effectiveness of indigenous remedies
for HIV/AIDS patients.
Some of the plants used have already been scientifically proven to have
properties for HIV. Tests and studies have been carried out in the USA
and Japan by scientific institutions and doctors (see page 3). Presently
a study on these remedies is being done by Emingeni Medicines in conjunction
with medical doctors and traditional healers to further assess the effectiveness
of these herbal medicines on HIV/AIDS patients.
Safety and toxicity:
All Emingeni Medicines cc products are generally regarded as safe on the
basis of a long history of safe use in Southern Africa. Usage is supported
by reported scientific indications of therapeutic properties. No untoward
effects have been observed in the past four years.
Emingeni Medicines cc Study
1. Methods:
All patients attending a research study being conducted by Emingeni Medicines
cc have been tested positive for HIV. Tr./Dr. R. de Carvalho first assesses
patients. Standard herbal medication for opportunistic infections is made
available and patients are referred to Dr. Mbobo for further testing.
Recorded details of when and why a HIV test was undertaken and details
of living conditions i.e. employment, number of children, health status
of partners and means of support are taken. Records are also kept of patient-perceived
reactions to the herbal medication. Patients must attend regularly and
the need for compliance program rules is explained. All patients are given
Pride and Impi.
2. Documented Results
Data and anecdotal evidence from laboratories, doctors and health workers
of patients using Pride
and Impi is extraordinary.
The terminally ill have returned to work and emaciated patients have gained
weight. Over 90% of patients have recorded increased
CD4 count levels and lower viral loads. Significantly, some patients
have recorded undetectable viral loads.
3. Weight Changes
Significant and often sustainable gains in weight have been recorded.
Some patients showed weight losses, which could often be attributed to
infection or re-infection with TB.
4. Reported Patient Perceived Improvements
Visual improvements are detectable within 2-3 weeks after taking Pride
and Impi. Improved appetite,
energy and general well-being levels were attributed to the use of the
products. Improvements are often dramatic and rapid in skin complaints,
including Herpes zoster, infected scabies, abscesses
and anal/genital sores and itchy rashes and can be attributed to the use
of the products.
5.
Other Recorded Improvements
Relief in respiratory
problems (TB, cough, shortness of breath) is attributed to X-TB
and/or TB tea.
Relief in diarrhoea
and vomiting is attributed to No Diarrhoea
Tea.
Improvements in
energy and stamina are attributed to Bio
Energy.
Although
some of the above conditions are chronic and recur, many patients feel
able to control them themselves with the medication offered and request
repeats when needed.
6. Conclusion
The herbal treatments offered by Emingeni Medicines cc address many
ailments experienced by HIV/AIDS sufferers and shows a significant improvement
in quality of life in both non-wasted and terminal patients. It is appropriate
for further development in home-based care and in hospital and industrial
clinics. A formal pilot study to confirm our observations and records
of therapeutic benefits and anecdotal evidence of raised CD4 counts
and lower viral loads in patients taking Pride
and
Impi is urgently needed. This would serve to promote
the use of our valuable natural resources more widely.
In rural areas where there is little access to clinics and care facilities
are limited, training of health workers and care givers and the development
of home or community growing would have a beneficial impact. Protocols
need to be developed for training purposes.
Lack of compliance and adequate nutrition are problems related to the
poverty experienced by the majority of our patients. Other social problems
needing to be addressed include stigmatisation and lack of education.
A. arborescens & AIDS Research:
Various AIDS studies were completed by researchers such as
Dr. Terry Pulse, M.D., Dr. Reg McDaniel, M.D., Dr. Terry Watson, D.O.,
Dr. Clumeck, M.D. (of Belgium) and others throughout the 1980’s
using oral mucopolysaccharides. The results were impressive, demonstrating
in many of the studies an average of 70% improvement in symptoms
and laboratory criteria within 3 to 4 months. Many patients
stated that opportunistic infections had stopped and they were able
to return to normal activity. In one dramatic case, a man with advanced
AIDS had 17 liver tumours and after one and a half years on oral Aloe
mucopolysaccharides, his T-Cell count was normal and all the tumours
had dissolved (confirmed by x-ray films).
Lab studies showed that helper lymphocytes (CD4) rose to three
times the pre-treatment levels. HIV-1 virus could no
longer be cultured. P-24 antigen levels for the virus dropped or became
negative.
Researchers at Vanderbilt Medical Centre in Nashville, Tennessee discovered
that mucopolysaccharides alters synthesis and thus the structure
of the AIDS virus envelope necessary for infecting lymphocytes.
Further studies at The Southern Research Institute found that there
is suppression of the viral messenger RNA in HIV-1 infected
leukocytes. Therefore, the reproduction of HIV-1 is
inhibited with a natural and non-toxic substance.
In studies completed at the Fort Worth Medical Centre Complex, it was
demonstrated that a person’s leukocytes were rendered
resistant to HIV-1 virus in culture tests outside the body.
Substance Boosts Therapeutic Effects of
AZT
Texas A & M University
Aids Weekly August 5, 1991 p2 (2)
A team of scientists from Texas A&M University, College Station,
and three other institutions says that a complex carbohydrate compound
purified from the asphodel family appears to help drugs such as azidothymidine
(AZT) and acyclovir (ACY) block the pathology associated with HIV and
herpes simplex virus (HSV). They also found that the compound interfered
with HIV’s ability to reproduce in infected cells. “It’s
not going to be a magic bullet against AIDS,” cautions Dr. Maurice
C. Kemp, a virologist in Texas A & M’s College of veterinary
medicine. “There aren’t many magic bullets out there. But
as an adjunctive therapy, it looks like it can be used in combination
with other therapies.” The scientists’ findings are published
in the July 1991, issue of the new Journal Molecular Biotherapy.
Purification
of Active Substances of A. arborescens Miller & Their Biological
& Pharmacological Activity
Saito, Hiroko, Dep. Pharm., Aichi Cancer Centre
Phytother Res. (1993) 7 (Spec. Issue, Proceedings of the International
Congress of Phytotherapy, 1991), S14-S19
The authors purified Aloctin A from A.
arborescens Miller and defined its chemical, biological
and pharmacological activities. Aloctin A consists
of two discrete bands, a and b with a combined S-S bond. Its molecular
weight for a is 7500 and the molecular weight for b is 10,500. Aloctin
A has many biological and pharmacological activities defined
as follows:
1. Hemagglutinating
activity;
2. Cytoagglutinating activity;
3. Mitogenic activity of lymphocytes;
4. ppt. - forming reactivity with a2-macroglobulin;
5. Complement C3 activating activity;
6. Inhibition of heat-induced hemolysis of rat erythrocytes;
7. Anti-tumour effect;
8. Anti-inflammatory effect;
9. Inhibition of gastric secretion and gastric lesions.
Prepared by Tr./Dr. R de Carvalho for Emingeni Medicines cc
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