When Herbs Are Better Than Drugs

People knowledgeable in natural medicine maintain that herbs generally have fewer side effects, can be procured more easily and are often less expensive than pharmaceuticals. Those are some of the reasons Danish scientists are investigating natural treatments for snakebites which, worldwide, kill more than 100,000 people annually.

The team of Danish researchers is going back to nature and focusing their research on the African continent to find locally available herbal snakebite antidotes.

Marianne Molander, with the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, is leading the team in their investigation of African plants.

“Snake venom antidotes are expensive, it’s often a long way to the nearest doctor and it can be difficult to store the medicine properly in the warm climate. As a result many local people rely on natural resources for treating potentially fatal bites,” says Molander.

Equipped with the results of their research, the Danes intend to provide guidance in the use of plants in remote areas where local people have limited access to Western medicine.

“We have particularly focused on the snake species Bitis arietans, which is widespread south of the Sahara. All snake venoms consist of a unique cocktail of enzymes, which results in rapid tissue death. Along with our African partners, we are currently testing plants that act as venom antidotes in remote regions of Africa. A hundred plants from Mali, 27 from South Africa and 13 from the Democratic Republic of Congo are now under the microscope,” says Molander.

In Africa alone, 1 million people are bitten by snakes each year — but only half of them receive treatment because of the expense and distance to available medicine.