The “Relevance” of the African Traditional Medicine (Alternative Medicine) to Health Care Delivery System in Nigeria
This paper set out to examine the relevance of the African Traditional Medicine in Health Care Delivery Services in Nigeria. This has become necessary for three main reasons: Firstly, African Traditional Medicine Practitioners provided the earliest medical care in Nigeria. Secondly, the World Health Organisation has recognized the need to integrate the traditional medicine on the orthodox medicine when it defines it, as the total combination of knowledge and practices, whether explicable or not, used in diagnosing, preventing or eliminating physical, mental or social diseases. Thirdly, there are claims by the practitioners that since orthodox medicine cannot cure all diseases; hence, they can intervene in the areas where orthodox medicine is weak. Such areas include, social psychiatry, hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy and other psychosomatic illnesses. The researcher thus took a purposive sample of one hundred and fifty consisting of (50) traditional medicine practitioners, 50 orthodox medicine practitioners and 50 patients using interview and questionnaire administration to garner information on the relevance of traditional medicine in the Health Care Delivery system in Nigeria. Participant observation method was also used to reinforce the interview and questionnaire administration respectively. Secondary data were also obtained from the traditional medical clinics visited in Ibadan, Oyo, lIe-lfe and Ikire all in South Western Nigeria. Data collected were analysed descriptively and the findings are that: (i) African traditional medicine predated orthodox medicine in Nigeria; (ii) Traditional medical care is strong in some areas where the orthodox medicine is not very effective; (iii) There are problems associated with administration of traditional medical care such as issues of measurability of its drugs, dosage, preparation, documentation, preservation, potency and determination of the side effect and (iv) if the shortcomings are rectified, then, the African traditional medicine has a lot to offer in saving lives of African citizens and beyond the continent. The paper concluded that there is a need to properly integrate and blend African medicine on the orthodox medicine because such reinforcement will be of immense advantage to the sick and humanity in general.
Multiple Uses of Some Important Aquatic and Semiaquatic Medicinal Plants
Plants which have helpful pharmacological and restorative impacts on human wellbeing are considered as medicinal plants. These plants are rich in bioactive mixes like alkaloids, sterols, saponins, flavonoids, unpredictable oils and so on and are being used since old times. Folk or conventional medicine systems are used and preferred all over the world depending on choice, religious conviction, superstitions, social elements like socio-economic reasons and family-based therapeutic systems since time immemorial. They make use of a number of terrestrial, aquatic and semiaquatic plants and plant parts or their extracts for treatments of various disorders and diseases. Aquatic and semiaquatic plants are used for a number of purposes including their ornamental uses, biomonitoring and phytoremediation of water ecosystems and as medicinal plants. More than 5000–8000 plants are used as herbal medicine all over the world as synergic, supportive or preventive medicine by providing raw material for healing and treatments. Although people all over the world are interested to know about the role of aquatic plants in herbal medicinal systems, rare studies are found on the subject. This study compiles medicinal value of medicinal aquatic plants found or cultivated all over the world with high medicinal value and pharmacological importance.
Thermodynamics on the Carbochlorination of Titanium-bearing Ores
The equilibrium compositions of the multi-component, multi-phase and multi-reaction system of carbochlorination of titanium-bearing ores are calculated with HSC, a computational chemistry software. The thermodynamic equilibrium calculation of the reaction system shows that a complete conversion of titanium-bearing ores is feasible at a temperature near 200oC. At temperatures ranging from 800 to 1600oC, the products of the reaction system are all in gaseous phase. Thermodynamic analysis accords with the industrial practice. The simulated results provide reasonable scientific basis for improving suitable technological conditions of the carbochlorination reduction.