February 2, 2026 - Many new or modified herbal traditions arose within Black communities in North America. These traditions were most celebrated, documented, and depended upon in the Southeast, where slavery was most concentrated. Typical elements included a combination of African, European, and Indigenous healing ...

While 90% of the population in Ethiopia use herbal remedies for their primary healthcare, surveys carried out in developed countries like Germany and Canada tend to show that at least 70% of their population have tried CAM at least once [2, 3]. It is likely that the profound knowledge of herbal remedies in traditional cultures, developed through trial and error over many centuries, along with the most important cures was carefully passed on verbally from one generation to another. Indeed, modern allopathic medicine has its roots in this ancient medicine, and it is likely that many important new remedies will be developed and commercialized in the future from the African biodiversity, as it has been till now, by following the leads provided by traditional knowledge and experiences [2–5].

January 14, 2025 - Traditional Use: African Ginger is a plant revered in numerous African cultures for its multifaceted healing properties. Historically, it was used to combat fever, flu, and even rheumatism.

March 18, 2024 - However, Traditional African Medicine (TAM), considered the world's oldest form of traditional medicine, remains largely unfamiliar to many. Yet, many of us unknowingly benefit from this centuries-old wisdom through the use of herbal products originating from African herbalism and folklore.

January 1, 2011 - We describe a rural African community’s interactions in recording and interpreting video on herb lore in our endeavours to design digital systems that extend sharing knowledge in a system of traditional medicine (TM). Designing for such a system involves reflecting on own narratives about medicine and media and recognising that narratives reflect “cultural logics” and media transforms narratives.

February 12, 2026 - Diagnosis is reached through spiritual means and a treatment is prescribed, usually consisting of a herbal remedy that is considered to have not only healing abilities but also symbolic and spiritual significance. Traditional African medicine, with its belief that illness is not derived from ...

January 26, 2026 - According to Sade Muse of Roots of Resistance, African American herbalism is a rich melange of many cultural traditions with deep origins rooted in African history dating back to ancient Egypt.

January 30, 2019 - In the continent of Africa, the practice of traditional healing and magic is much older than some of the other traditional medical sciences [1] and seems to be much more prevalent compared to conventional medicine. African traditional medicine is a form of holistic health care system that is organized into three levels of specialty, which include divination, spiritualism, and herbalism, though these may overlap in some situations [2, 3].

January 28, 2026 - In many African cultures, healing ... body, soul, and nature. One of the oldest records of herbal use in Africa is the Ebers Papyrus (1500 BCE), which mentions species like aloe and myrrh....

January 9, 2025 - African herbal medicine focuses on how the African people were able to relay the uses of plants in a way in which they could understand. It is how they attuned the physical characteristics and attributes of the plant to the physical and ...

February 2, 2026 - African American herbalism is part of the backbone of a multitude of healing traditions in many parts of the Americas. However, it is often underappreciated, as are the rich herbal traditions of the African continent. Thankfully, a time has come where lineages such as these are being lifted up and celebrated as part of the rich tapestry of healing formed over thousands of years and thousands of miles of transition and transformation.

Before the event of colonialism, Africa was a continent where the "witch doctors" and "herbalist healers" taken care of all ailments, real or not. Even now in the 21st Century, African witch doctors are still found all-over Africa. Superstitions, cannibalism and the use of human parts in African witchcraft, are still practiced in many African countries.

Traditional African religions relied on animism, veneration of dead ancestors, and other spiritual practices, and these practices were woven into medical treatment as well. There was not much demarcation, if any, between curing an illness and practicing religion. In the nineteenth century when Europe began its conquest of Africa, some aspects of traditional medicine were made illegal, and controls on herbal medicine attempted to be implemented.

November 12, 2020 - Traditional healing practices existed in Africa long before conventional medicine, and attempts by colonial governments and early religious missionaries to suppress it did not succeed (UNAIDS, 2002; Agbor and Naidoo, 2016), since more than 85% of the population in Africa still relies on herbal medications for their healthcare needs (Jamshidi-Kia et al., 2018), and, at times, they are the only therapy that subsists (Mahomoodally, 2013). Although African traditional religion is not against the Western medical way of treatment or healing process, its followers believe that there are some diseases that Western medicine cannot treat (White, 2015).

August 14, 2024 - Traditional southern African therapies used to treat cardiovascular diseases were identified and recorded following an extensive review of ethnobotanical books, reviews, and other scientific literature. This was followed by a critical analysis of the validation studies, while highlighting gaps for further investigation.

Herbalism practices and plants often cross cultures and traditions. Some of the plants used in Western herbalism entered our knowledge base via Africa, both during ancient times and, undeniably, during slave trade and colonialism. In honor of Black History Month, we’re taking a closer look ...

March 15, 2003 - Practitioners in other groups are known as ixwele and amaquira (Xhosa), nqaka (Sotho) and nanga, mungome or maine (Vhavenda) (Mabogo, 1990, Van Wyk et al., 1997). Most elderly folk in rural areas have knowledge of herbal lore which they apply (mainly using plants in the vicinity), moreover, there are also faith healers who treat gynaecological and other health problems.

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Many herbal mixtures are indubitably expedient for maintaining good health or treating diverse diseases [6,7]. Besides, numerous African rural dwellers believe that since their ancestors used herbal mixtures/concoctions for their wellbeing in the past and with no side effect, they habitually assume that because the herbal mixtures are natural, therefore their safety is guaranteed.

February 1, 2021 - American medical botanists learned ... centuries. The legacy passed down from Western European herbalism combined with First Nations ethnobotany, the traditional healing knowledge of enslaved Africans, and herb lore from midwives and cottage herbalists to create a uniquely American ...