Evaluation of herbal drugs used to treat fungal and bacterial diseases in Mbeere, Eastern Kenya.

Abstract

Investigation of traditional medicine for treatment of typhoid, pneumonia and candidiasis in Mbeere, Eastern Kenya was documented. Oral and written interviews were obtained from twenty herbalists aged between 25 to 80 years of both genders. Most of the herbalists did the treatment as their full time job which they had carried on from their fore fathers. They had no clinic but worked from their homes charging small fee for the services. The herbalists’ interviewed were Christians and had average formal education. A decoction of the herb was recommended for treatment of the patients. Typhoid, pneumonia and candidiasis were the commonest diseases found in the area treatable with a total of 5, 4 and 4 plants respectively. Acacia mellifera, Osyris abyssinica and Senna didymobotrya were the most used plants for treatment of typhoid, pneumonia and candidiasis respectively.