The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Farming Reporter
ONE of the country’s leading herbal medicines manufacturer, Musimboti Traditional Science and Technology Institute, has embarked on an extensive indigenous medicinal plants market gardening project aimed at enhancing the population of the tree species.
Musimboti Traditional Science and Technology Institute is part of Musimboti African Traditional Association that produces pills, cough mixture, eye drops, tea leaves, ointments and other medications which help the body to keep fit under the Musimboti brand.
Musimboti Traditional Science and Technology Institute managing director Mr Morgan Zimunya said there was a need for people to embrace herbal medicines as they had the same effective properties to cure numerous ailments as modern remedies.
“At this stage we are registering herbal medicine practitioners and individuals with the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe in the rural areas of Matabeleland North Province to embark on our pilot herbal gardens project initiative as groups or individuals at their homes in consultation with local traditional leaders.
“Those that need these indigenous medicinal plants can approach our offices or email us on [email protected] and we can give them for free and in the spirit of fair trade we will be buying the medicinal parts of the trees to enable them to improve their livelihoods but we urge them to harvest sustainably for continuation purposes,” said Mr Zimunya.
He said plans were underway to spread the concept to other provinces.
“We need all herbal medicine practitioners to engage in the planting of African medicinal plants. We embarked on the same project in Zambia sometime ago and we expect to spread the project in all the country’s provinces but at the moment we are being slowed down by lack of adequate resources such as the various forms of literature to sensitise communities,” said Mr Zimunya.
He also said there were a number of indigenous trees that could be harnessed and consumed to alleviate hunger.
Zimbabwe usually faces food shortages particularly during drought years and this impacts negatively in terms of nutrition among the vulnerable population, particularly children.
Food insecurity exposes many people to various diseases because of loss of body defence mechanisms as a consequence of poor nutrition.
The use of herbal medicine was paramount in olden days when modern medicine was virtually absent.
The advent of modern medicine has made advances from traditional medicine by packaging the knowledge and commercialising the use of natural plants.
“A number of people are hunger stricken due to the effects of drought but they don’t know that they are indigenous trees whose parts can be harnessed for consumption and can assist them to alleviate their plight at a relatively low cost.
“During the spring season all animals including human beings tend to suffer from nyongo (nausea) and claim to be having allergies yet it is nyongo of which we have remedies for. In actual fact the biological clock of all mammals is affected during this season,” Mr Zimunya said.
Traditional medicine is recognised under an Act of Parliament Chapter 27:14 which include herbal gardens, traditional medicine ingredient sellers, traditional medicine manufacturing companies, faith healers, prophets, traditional birth attendants, spirit mediums and herbalists.
Musimboti Traditional Science and Technology Institute is registered under the Traditional Medical Practitioners’ Council while its products are licensed for commercial distribution under the newly gazetted Medicines and Allied Substance Control Regulations, Statutory Instrument 97:2015. The company is allowed to manufacture its products as complimentary medicines so that they could be sold and distributed commercially.
@DNsingo
