Iwu, Adodo unveil Healing Plants of Nigeria in Abuja

Researchers in natural medicine, Prof. Maurice Iwu of Bio-resources Development Group (BDG), Abuja, and Rev. Fr. Anselm Adodo of Pax Herbal Clinics, Ewu, Edo State will today, in Abuja, present the book, Healing Plants of Nigeria: Ethnomedicine and Therapeutic Applications.

Published in March 2020 by CRC Press, the 332-page book with 229 coloured pages highlights application of medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, as well as opportunistic infections of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among other diseases.

It offers comprehensive information on the use of herbal medicine in West Africa.

Combining an evidence-based, ethno-botanical perspective with a pharmacological and pharmaceutical approach to phytomedicine, the book bridges the gap between the study of herbal plants’ pharmacological properties and active compounds for the development of clinical drugs and community-oriented approaches, emphasising local use.

It demonstrates how the framework of African traditional medicine can be preserved in a contemporary clinical context.

The book outlines the history and beliefs surrounding the traditional use of herbs by the local population alongside their application in contemporary phytotherapy in West Africa. It features a critical assessment of the scientific rationale behind the use of these plants in ethnomedicine and offers a composite catalogue of phytotherapeutic and wellness agents, detailing the safety profile, efficacy, and scientific integrity of plants used to treat diseases and optimise health.

Adodo, a member of the Benedictine Order of the Catholic Church, was ordained a priest in 1997. He had his initial philosophical training at the studium of Philosophy in St. Benedict Monastery, Ewu. He is the founder and Director of Nigeria’s foremost herbal research institute, the Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories, popularly called Paxherbals.

Iwu is Africa’s foremost pharmacologist and expert in tropical medicine. The Association of Lady Pharmacists (ALPS) has awarded him for his role in the promotion and development of tropical medicine in various ways such as research, training of herbal practitioners and establishment of BDG that promotes the sustainable utilisation of natural products. A member of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene as well as the International Society for Medicinal Plant Research, he was Executive Director, Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme (BDCP) and a Senior Research Associate at the Division of Experimental Therapeutics of Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington D.C.