The Yoruba history begins with the migration of an East African population across the trans-African route leading from the mid-Nile river area to the mid-Niger.1 Archaeologists, according to M. Omoleya, inform us that the Nigerian region was inhabited more than forty thousand years ago, or as far back as 65,000 B.C.2 During this period, the Nok culture occupied the region. The Nok culture was visited. by the "Yoruba people", between 2000 and 500 B.C. This group of people were led by King Oduduwa, who settled peacefully in the already established Ile-Ife. This time period is known as the Bronze Age, a time of high civilization of both of these groups. The development of science and medicine began with the priests, and dripped with evidences of its magical origins. Among the people, amulets and charms mere more popular than pills as preventive or curatives of disease. Disease was considered to them as possession by evil devils, and was to be treated with incantations along with the roots of certain plants and mystical concoctions. A cold for instance, could be exorcised by such magic words as: "Depart, cold, son of a cold, thou who breakest the bones, destroyest the skull, makest ill the seven openings of the head!...Go out on the floor, stink, stink, stink!" In many ways, this provided an effective cure, known today by various contemporary medicine as psychosomatic. Along side the incantations that were used, the sick patient was given a foul tasting concoction to help ward off the demon housed in the body.
Out of Africa came the world's first organized system of herbal and medical science. This knowledge was so profound, much of it passed from the Egyptians to the Phonicians, the Yorubas, India, Syria, Babylon, the Middle East, the Greeks, to the Romans, and from the Romans to Western Europe. The three major herbal systems, Ayurveda, Chinese Traditional Medicine, and Western herbology were extracted from the knowledge created by the priests and wise men in the Nile Valley. Early in its history and its development, Nile Valley civilization created a basic way of life that attracted teachers, and priests from other parts of Africa, always enriching the original complex composition of the Nile Valley. By the time the Yoruba people made their journey to the Nile Valley, led by the mystic prophet Orunmila, Egyptian priests had accumulated centuries of herbal and medical knowledge. The Yoruba's drew from this treasure chest of wisdom, and incorporated it into their own religious and cultural customs. The key point, in regards to the evolution of Yoruba medicine, is that Egyptian knowledge, coupled with the earlier Nok people, produced the outcome of Yoruba herbal practices.
The use of herbs and plants, called ewe in Yoruba, is of great importance. Herbs are picked for medicinal, and the spiritual powers they possess. In Yorubaland, herbs are gathered by the Oloogun, or by the various types of herbalists who inhabit the regions where Yoruba is practiced. The population can usually obtain herbs either by private practice or from the marketplace in town. In the America and the Caribbean’s, Yoruba based practitioners are also directed to use herbs as medicine. Here the Oloogun or priests, as well as devotees alike gather herbs for medicine, baths, and religious artifacts. Because of the wide-spread practice of Yoruba in the New World, Nigerians and people from other African countries have begun to set up herbal businesses in increasing numbers. More and more indigenous herbs are now being made accessible to devotees here in the Americas. It is said that ewe (herbs) are for the "healing of Nations" and many health food stores provide them in powder, leaf, and capsule form. Adherents to the traditional practices of Yoruba are usually advised to use herbs as medicine before going to Western allopathic drugs for healing.
Another African traditional medicine I researched on was Jobelyn. Originally marketed in Nigeria under the trade name Jubi Formula, Jobelyn is a herbal preparation from the leaves of tropical plants. The component herbs of Jobelyn have been used by natives of South Western Nigeria for more than a century to treat diseases of diverse origins including sickle-cell anaemia, leukemia, multiple myeloma, heart, other blood-related problems and even headache. Sorghum bicolor is the main active component of Jobelyn.
Jobelyn rapidly restores hematocrit and resolves anaemia. It is useful in the management of anaemia-related diseases such as aplastic anaemia, sickle-cell anaemia, leukemia, multiple myeloma, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS. Studies have demonstrated the ability of Jobelyn to effectively increase the packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations in anaemic rats and rabbits. In trypanosome infected rats. Jobelyn increased the levels of Hb, PCV and red blood cells while the white blood cells and lymphocytes levels were decreased. In a similar investigation, the PCV and Hb concentrations of rabbits with Trypanosoma brucei brucei induced anemia were remarkably increased following Jobelyn administration. Healthy rabbits that received daily doses of the herbal preparation showed gradual elevation in PCV and Hb concentrations which were maintained within normal range.
Jobelyn contains oligomeric and polymeric proanthocyanindins, anthocyanins, monomeric catechins, carbohydrates, protein, saponins, apigenidin and proapigenidin1. A steady stream of animal and in vitro studies supplemented by epidemiological evidence and a smattering of preliminary human studies reveal numerous health benefits associated with these compounds with the antioxidant, proanthocyanindins - a class of nutrients belonging to the bioflavonoid family. Studies show that proanthocyanidins antioxidant capabilities are 20 times more powerful than vitamin C and 50 times more potent than vitamin E. Proanthocyanidins play a role in the stabilization of collagen and maintenance of elastin which are two critical proteins in connective tissue that support organs, joints, blood vessels, and muscle. Possibly because of their effects on blood vessels, proanthocyanidins have been reported in double-blind research to reduce the duration of edema after face-lift surgery. Proanthocyanidins also have an affinity for cell membranes, providing nutritional support to reduce capillary permeability and fragility. Proanthocyanidins strengthen capillary walls, therefore improving circulation. This is especially important for people with compromised circulatory systems, such as stroke victims, diabetics, arthritics, smokers, oral contraceptive users and people with general cardiovascular insufficiencies. Proanthocyanidins eliminate free radicals that are responsible for as many as 60 diseases, including several conditions associated with aging. Therefore, Jobelyn has the benefits possessing antioxidant properties thereby offering protection against many diseases including heart diseases and cancer1. However, these compounds have also been reported to demonstrate antibacterial, antiviral, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, and vasodilatory actions and may be a useful component in the treatment of a number of conditions.
Jobelyn plays a tremendous role in the management of HIV/AIDS, increasing cellular immunity in HIV positive individuals either alone or in combination with antiretroviral drugs. In a preliminary study involving 64 patients, Jobelyn significantly increased the CD4 counts in HIV/AIDS patients receiving triple therapy of Nevirapine, Lamivudine and Stavudine for 12 weeks whose initial CD4 counts were low. It also effectively increased the CD4 counts of HIV/AIDS patients whose CD4 counts were lesser when given alone. There was general improvement in the well-being of the patients.
