Traditional healers and medical doctors alike are singing the praises of an immune-boosting medicinal plant, Sutherlandia, which they say offers hope to people living with HIV who cannot afford expensive drugs.

Traditional healers have long known about the power of the plant – known locally as the cancer bush, unwele or phetola – to prevent weight loss and promote general well-being.

The first documented use of Sutherlandia comes from a sangoma based in northern KwaZulu-Natal, who said she had used it as a young sangoma during the 1918 influenza epidemic as a tonic to get people back on their feet again.

In those days, it was usually brewed as a tea whereas today Sutherlandia tablets are available. Then the plant could be found growing in the mountains in KwaZulu-Natal. However, today Sutherlandia is found mainly in the Western Cape.

“Unwele is now very scarce,” says Alinah Bhengu, one of the most respected traditional healers in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, a semi-rural area some 40km outside Durban.

A healer for 35 years, Bhengu has used Sutherlandia to treat “many different sicknesses. It gives strength, it increases a person’s appetite. It can also heal sores inside the body and make the menstrual periods regular”.

Bhengu is very pleased to have the Sutherlandia tablets to offer to those with HIV as she says HIV/AIDS has undermined people’s confidence in traditional healers.

“At first, I was confused. I did not believe in this new disease, HIV,” says Bhengu. “People would show the signs of some of the old diseases, like the sexually transmitted diseases. These could easily be treated in the past. But when I tried to treat them, I failed. A person would be better for a few weeks and then they would be back with the same problem.

“After a time, I had to accept that I can’t cure them. This has diminished the strength of the traditional healers. But some people are still confused and believe that we, the healers, can cure them of HIV with herbs.

“Then I have to talk softly to them and say that I will try to help them to live better with things like unwele and advice on eating properly. But I can’t take the virus out of their body. I tell them they must go for the blood test to see if they have HIV and then start to live properly and not spread this thing.”

Bhengu’s praise for Sutherlandia is supported by a medical doctor, Dr Colleen Coetzee, who works for a large development bank in KwaZulu-Natal. She has given Sutherlandia to over 600 employees and clients.

“I have seen a definite improvement in people’s quality of life,” says Coetzee. “There is weight gain, and some of the fungal and bacterial diseases [linked to HIV] are reduced.”

“Improvements in CD4 counts [a measure of immunity] and decreases in the viral load in AIDS patients taking Sutherlandia have been reported by clinicians in South Africa and Australia,” says Dr Nigel Gericke, a founder member of the company, Phyto Nova, which produces the Sutherlandia tablets.

While the effects of Sutherlandia on people who are ill still have to be proven through clinical trials, solid scientific research into the chemical make-up of the plant shows it has a remarkable combination of healing compounds.

Botanists Professor Ben-Erik van Wyk from Rand Afrikaans University and Dr Carl Albrecht of Stellenbosch University have isolated three compounds in the plants’ leaves:

1. The amino acid, L-Canavanine, which has antiviral, anti-bacterial, antifungal and anti-cancer activities.
2. Pinitol, a known anti-diabetic agent, which is used in the US to treat the wasting in cancer and AIDS patients.
3. GABA, an inhibitory neuro-transmitter, which has been found to lift depression and could explain why many patients report that their mood improves after they take the tablets.

Sutherlandia and a basket of other medicinal plants are being promoted by Phyto Nova, which has been set up by three scientists and two traditional healers, including the renowned Credo Mutwa.

Gericke says his company has taken a principled position not to patent any of the compounds of the plant.

However, it has published information about the plant’s properties to prevent other companies from taking out patents that would restrict access to the plant or make it expensive. Once such information is in the public domain, it is difficult for other companies to claim the research as their own and patent the plant, says Gericke.

“People have picked up on our work, and suddenly we find there is large scale importation of the plant to places like India and Italy,” says Gericke. “But we need to use it here in South Africa. So we are encouraging farmers to grow Sutherlandia.”

A local pharmaceutical manufacturer has joined forces with Phyto Nova to produce a tablet form of the plants. It plans to distribute tablets in Discom stores within the next two weeks.

Phyto Nova is also committed to reaching people who cannot retail prices, and is offering packets of Sutherlandia powder to bona fide community organisations for R7 for two months’ supply or a month’s supply of tablets at R22.80.

“We don’t have the capacity to handle individual orders, so people can only order in bulk through us and pay upfront,” says Gericke.
– Health-e News Service.

For further information, contact Phyto Nova at 021-789 2694 or Bioharmony at 021-797 8629.

Natural remedies

A number of natural remedies can help to boost the immune system, and treat or soothe various infections. These are useful for all immune-compromised or sick people not just those with HIV/AIDS.

1. Selenium, a trace element found in ProNutro, is very good for boosting immunity.
2. To reduce the chances of infections, people can raise their body temperature slightly (by half a degree) by taking a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper three times a day.
3. The African potato, marketed in tablet form as Moducare, also boosts immunity.
4. For diarrhoea and nausea, take a teaspoon of crushed charcoal threetimes a day.
5. Chest infections respond well to a teaspoon of chopped ginger a day. Exercise is also important to strengthen the lungs.
6. Thrush can be treated with chopped garlic. Women with vaginal thrush can insert a clove of garlic wrapped in tissue into their vaginas. If possible, a bowl of plain yoghurt daily should be eaten. The juicy succulent growing wild on KwaZulu-Natal beaches sometimes referred to as the “Hottentots fig” is also good for thrush.
7. Open sores: Gauze covered in honey helps to draw out the infection. Tea tree oil is also very helpful.