Abstract:
HIV/AIDS pandemic is currently the most socio-economic
challenge that faces Tanzania as it affects mostly the
young and most economically productive population. People
living with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania are susceptible to fungal
and bacterial opportunistic infections, which are a major
cause of mortality and morbidity in the country. Despite
the government’s intervention to provide ARVs to people
living with HIV/AIDS, many of them especially those living
in the rural areas can neither afford them due to poverty
nor access them due to distance to health centers. Moreover,
resistance of opportunistic microbial pathogens to
conventional medicines and the serious side effects associated
with antiretroviral drugs are also a major drawback
to the management of HIV/AIDS in the country. Due to
these factors, many people opt to use of traditional medicines.
This paper highlights the use and conservation of
herbal remedies to manage HIV/AIDS pandemic in Tanzania.
Ethnobotanical surveys were carried out in Bukoba
Rural District to explore the traditional ethno-medical
knowledge, the use and conservation of medicinal plants
in the management of HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections
and to determine whether levels of harvesting are sustainable.
The district is currently an epicenter of HIV/AIDS and
although over 90% of the population in the district relies
on traditional medicines to manage the disease, this traditional
knowledge still remains largely unknown. Seventyfive
plant species belonging to 66 genera and 40 families
were found to be used to treat one or more HIV/AIDS
related diseases in the district. Eight plant species were
tested in-vitro for their antifungal activity against three major
fungal pathogens, Candida albicans (C.P. Robin) Berkhout,
Cryptococcus neoformans (San Felice) Vuill., and
Aspergillus niger Tiegh. Three of them were further tested
in-vivo for their anti-Candida activity. With decreasing natural
stocks of medicinal plants, and based on the results,
this study further provides concrete recommendationsfor the conservation of these important non-timber forest
products and the region’s medicinal plant biodiversity.
