There Is Something In The Bush: New Therapeutics From Traditional African Medicine

Dear Colleagues,

Allopathic medicines dominate medical practice globally, yet, in many parts of the world, practitioners and patients still rely on traditional medicines for the management of a variety of ailments, ranging from chronic to infectious diseases. Changes in demography and other cultural and population dynamics, the emergence of resistance to classical antimicrobials, an increasing appetite for “green” products, and the high cost of many allopathic medicines, among others, have stimulated research into natural products as potential drugs. The lush vegetation of parts of Africa, in particular, has emerged as a true green treasure chest, which may be explored for the benefit of humankind. Indeed, various recent studies focus on interrogating and validating the experiences of African traditional healers and medicine (wo)men from a scientific perspective. These amazing studies, often conducted by emerging scientists from Africa, tend to be tucked away in the shelves and, so far, have not been communicated properly to the global scientific community.

Consequently, this Special Issue will showcase studies on natural products derived from plant and animal sources. Many of these studies investigate claims from traditional African medicine. The Special Issue is mindful of the amorphous, meaning of “African medicine”, and employs the term for convenience. Original, review, and opinion manuscripts are expected in the areas of new medicines, decoctions and compounds, functional foods, nutraceuticals and supplements, and indeed all bioactive compounds from forest resources, which have shown some promise in medicine and agriculture. While manuscripts are expected from within the African continent, manuscripts from authors in other continents who focus on the topic of the Special Issue are also most welcome. All manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue shall be published using the Sci post-publication peer-review model. Truly, this is a rare and veritable platform for scientists interested in novel therapeutics from the lush bushes of Africa, to tell the world, through Sci, what they found in the bush!

Prof. Dr. Claus Jacob
Prof. Dr. Chukwunonso ECC Ejike
Guest Editor

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