ABSTRACT
The gastrointestinal system occupies a pivotal position in the conceptual framework of African traditional medicine; the gut is considered a very important aspect of the human health and disease cycle. Gastrointestinal diseases are common in most African communities and these are attributable to a number of ecological and cultural variables inherent in rural Africa. Among the diverse symptoms and diseases that have been recorded among these communities are colic, dyspepsia, nausea, hemorrhoids, hepato-and splenomegaly, as well as intestinal worm infections, hematuria, diarrhea, and dysentery. Most rural or traditional African habitats are in territories that are characterized by high mean annual temperatures ranging between 20°C and 43°C; extremes in atmospheric humidity, exceeding 90% during the rainy season; reliance on rainfall or (sometimes contaminated) well water that is in limited supply and not ordinarily boiled for drinking; the use of hands in eating instead of cutlery; lack of refrigeration and other modes of food preservation, aside from air-drying; use of communal cooking and eating vessels; close proximity to livestock; earth-oored habitation units; high population density; minimal or no foot covering; exposure to human excreta; and no physical isolation of sick individuals, which exposes the communities to various gastrointestinal diseases.1 Herbs used for the treatment of the so-called bowel and stomach diseases constitute about a third of remedies dispensed by traditional healers.
