Africa · West Africa Biomedical Students 5 September 2026

WEST AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE West Africa hosts some of the world's oldest and most sophisticated traditional medicine systems. Two of the most extensively studied are the Yoruba system of south-western Nigeria and the Akan system of Ghana. THE YORUBA HEALING SYSTEM Yoruba medicine (Oogun) is embedded in the Ifa corpus — one of humanity's oldest oral knowledge systems, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Babalawo (Ifa priest-healer) uses divination to identify the spiritual causes of illness before prescribing herbal treatments. Key plants include: - Ocimum gratissimum (African basil / Efinrin): antimicrobial, used for infections - Morinda lucida (oruwo): antimalarial, antipyretic - Garcinia kola (bitter kola): anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective THE AKAN HEALING SYSTEM The Akan people of Ghana have an elaborate pharmacopoeia documented in ethnobotanical research. The Okomfo (traditional priest-healer) integrates ritual, plant medicine, and community healing. Significant plants include: - Nauclea latifolia (African peach): anti-malarial, anti-diarrhoeal - Xylopia aethiopica (African pepper): digestive, anti-inflammatory - Bridelia ferruginea: antidiabetic, wound healing RELEVANCE TO BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE Numerous West African traditional medicines have been subjected to rigorous pharmacological investigation. Artemisinin — the basis for modern malaria treatment — was derived from Artemisia annua, a plant long used in traditional Chinese and African medicine. The principle that traditional knowledge can guide drug discovery is now widely accepted in ethnopharmacology.

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