ABSTRACT
The use of herbs both as food and medicine is widespread among African communities. Long ago, Price (1939) emphasized the signifi cance of traditional food items in the context of changing conceptions of food and food habits and underscored the fact that the changing of food habits is accompanied by new infections and deficiencies. Etkin and Ross made similar observations about a West African commu nity. They write:
The Hausa of Africa eat many kinds of leafy vegetables at the end of the rainy season, the time of greatest risk of malaria in fection. These are food plants, but they also may treat malaria, for laboratory investigation shows that they increase red blood cell oxidation. (Etkin and Ross, 1983, p. 188)
As well as being used as food, most traditional vegetables may have medicinal potential. Plants and plant material gathered from the
wild (including weeds) have received little attention in terms of their potential value as high-nutrient foods in rural communities. To achieve enhanced food and nutrition security, especially among vul nerable, rural communities, emphasis has been placed on the estab lishment of kitchen gardens and campaigns to promote the consump tion of traditional food items (Ogoye-Ndegwa et al., 2002). In rural settings, traditional vegetables often double as food and medicine, but the dual functions have received little attention.
