What do you know about that Herbal concoction/drink!

Gone were the days when you only got the raw ingredients for herbs from aged men and women in a remote section of the local market which stank to high heavens. These days, the merchants are present everywhere. From sophisticated packaging, complete with the so-called NAFDAC registration number, to those being hawked in cellophane wraps, herbal preparations seem to be competing side by side with orthodox medicines.

The herbs of old were indicated in the treatment of any ailment — from less serious issues like pile and eczema, to severe ones like erectile dysfunction, diabetes, barrenness, inability of a nursing mother to lactate, craniosynostosis (a birth defect that causes one or more sutures on a baby’s head to close earlier than normal), and everything in-between.

Experts say though the use of plants as medicines predates written human history, the use of herbs to treat disease is almost universal among non-industrialised societies.

The World Health Organisation notes that in some Asian and African countries, 80 per cent of the population depend on traditional medicine for primary health care; while herbal medicines are the most lucrative form of traditional medicine, generating billions of dollars in revenue.

It, however, warns that counterfeit, poor quality, or adulterated herbal products in international markets are serious threats to patient safety.

In recent times, the Nigerian market has been flooded with all sorts of herbal preparations, some of which the marketers claim could cure several ailments at once. Curiously, the commonest of the herbal preparations are indicated in the treatment of male sexual issues, especially impotency and erectile dysfunction.

They go by all sorts of names: Pakurumo, Ale, Opa Eyin, Energy 2000, Burantashi, Osomo, Olupokipoki, Alomo, and a host of others too numerous to mention. The snag here is that orthodox doctors don’t prescribe them. As such, the veracity of the sellers’ claims can only be confirmed vide users’ testimonies, which may end up standing science on its head.

Again, while orthodox physicians warn that heart medicines must not be taken alongside erectile dysfunction drugs, you don’t get to hear such from herbal medicine merchants, the majority of whom claim to have either inherited or leant their medicinal knowledge from some gurus in remote villages.

The active ingredients in the preparations — when listed at all — usually include ginkgo, garlic, ginger, aloe vera, grape juice, and licorice root, among others. But then, how do herbal medicines affect heart health?

Two American agencies — National Institutes for Health and the Natural Standard Research Collaboration — offer insight into certain herbal products that may not be used by heart patients accessing treatment by an orthodox physician.

NIH warns that the blood-thinning properties in garlic can increase the risk of bleeding associated with Warfarin — an anti-clotting drug commonly prescribed to people with heart-rhythm disorders, and to people who have had heart attacks or heart-valve replacements.

Ginkgo’s leaf extract is sometimes sold as capsules or tea. When taken in combination with orthodox medicine, NIH says, it increases the risk of bleeding associated with Aspirin and Warfarin.

Again, the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, a.k.a the green tea, have become a household name. An examination of packs of the typical green tea claims that it helps in weight loss, improves mental alertness, lowers cholesterol, and prevents cancer. The risk, NSRC says, is that green tea contains vitamin K, which can counteract the effect of Warfarin.

Ginger is a root that is used in cooking, and reputed to be handy in the treatment of various stomach ailments like nausea, diarrhoea, and stomach ache, among other herbal uses. It is, however, feared that it increases the risk of bleeding associated with Warfarin.

Though grapefruit juice is used to lose weight and to promote heart health, the risk, according to the duo of the NIH and NSRC, is that grape fruit juice interferes with an enzyme that is essential for properly absorbing medications, including statins and calcium-channel blockers, which intensify the effect of those drugs.

People juice aloe vera and take it unceremoniously, sometimes before the first meal of the day, with all sorts of claims about its wonders in the human body. The risk, according to the American agencies, is that aloe vera can cause a drop in the blood’s potassium level, which in turn can lead to heart-rhythm problems (arrhythmias), as well as complications in heart patients taking the drug Digoxin.

The licorice root is a regular sight in the stall of any herb seller, and it’s usually in dry form. These days, it also comes in capsule form and is reputed to be used in the treatment of ulcers and other stomach ailments, bronchitis and sore throat, and some viral infections. The risk is that licorice root can raise blood pressure. And, like aloe vera, it can also cause a dangerous drop in blood potassium levels.

Consultant Cardiologist with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Folashade Daniel, said it was absolutely unadvisable for a heart patient to combine orthodox medicine with herbal preparations. She said she had patients who attempted it, with dire consequences.

“Many of these herbal preparations contain alcohol, which is not good for someone with heart condition,” she warns; “as they contain ingredients that are usually unstated beyond the fact that they are ‘blended with active medicinal plant extracts.’”

She says the effect of alcohol on health and heart disease is complex.

On the observation that some herbal preparations do enhance the libido, and whether it is safe for a heart patient to engage in sexual activity — an issue on which physicians differ — Daniel says when someone has heart disease, the last thing on his or her mind is sex.

She explains, “Albeit, it’s a matter of individual preference. While a study claims that men who have sex at least twice a week cut their chances of having a heart attack almost by half, for those who already have heart issue, it’s a different ball game. This is because sex exerts physical pressure on the heart. When having sex, the heart rate goes from 70 beats per minute to 150; and this may take its toll on someone who is suffering from heart condition.

“When you undertake a particularly strenuous bout of lovemaking, you might wonder whether the exertion is actually stressing, rather than strengthening, your heart. Anyone who is in doubt should ask his or her physician, who will be able to counsel them aright based on their medical history.”

Professor of Chiropractor and President, Federal College of Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Bishop Magnus Atilade, agrees with Daniel that it is not advisable to combine both treatments, because one element might work against the other.

He says, “Chemically-prepared drugs (orthodox medicine) must not be combined with organically-prepared ones (alternative medicine) because the elements may work against the other.

“Unlike orthodox medicines which are instant in the way they work, alternative medicines take time to work in the human system because the body needs time to adjust to it. We advise people against marrying the treatments.”