Bush Medicine: Intro to Traditional Practices

Although plants have long been recognized for their therapeutic benefits, bush medicine – and, by extension, herbs and traditional herbal medicine – have been criticized and marginalized in the wider community, fueling fear.

Fear of herbs and plants as a functional part of health and wellness, along with a lack of scientific research regarding their safety and effectiveness, limits our understanding of the role and effects of bush medicine.

However, there is promising research underway.

A systematic review showed that some oral herbal preparations improved the severity and frequency of cough symptoms in people with common colds or upper respiratory tract infections (2).

Type 2 diabetes research using mice showed that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of herbal medicines effectively improved insulin resistance and could potentially be used to treat diabetes (3).

And a 2021 research review explored the potential role of herbal supplements in alleviating symptoms of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 infection (4).

Traditional herbal medicine has also been researched for its effect in the treatment of epilepsy and insomnia (5, 6).

Despite the small body of scientific research, these findings demonstrate the larger role that bush medicine and traditional herbal medicine can play in disease management. More human clinical research is needed to determine safety (1).

summary

Bush medicine has potential therapeutic roles in the management of the common cold, cough, type 2 diabetes, COVID-19, epilepsy and insomnia, but more human clinical research is needed to determine safety.

Due to colonialism, bush medicine in Trinidad and Tobago is a cultural fusion of American or indigenous practices and the influences of enslaved Africans, European settlers, Asian Indian people and other ethnic groups (1).

In addition, the proximity to South America gives Trinidad unique natural vegetation and medicinal flora (1).

Bush medicine is part of a larger ethno-medical system, similar to traditional Chinese medicine, which is based on the concept of heat and cold.

The theory of heat and cold states that an imbalance between heat and cold in the body underlies the development of disease. As such, restoring this balance with medicinal plants brings good health (7, 8).

An example of this is the use of “cools” – a practice I remember without enthusiasm from my childhood.

Chills are made when leaves of shrubs or chopped vegetables such as carrots are soaked in water and cooled. The unsweetened infused water is drunk on an empty stomach for several days to a week to remove “heat” from the body.

They can also be used to prepare the body for “cleansing”, with scrubs or laxative mixtures with senna pods.

Cleansing is traditionally done after the two-month school holidays and before or immediately after the start of the new year as a symbol of cleansing and preparing the body for a new phase.

Along with colds, other popular bush medicine practices in Trinidad and Tobago seek to treat common colds, fevers, kidney stones, postpartum or uterine infections, diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure (1).

summary

Bush medicine in Trinidad and Tobago is a cultural fusion of pre- and post-colonial traditional medicine, forming part of the hot and cold ethno-medical belief system.

More than 900 single plant medicines were identified in a large ethnobotanical study of bush medicine in Trinidad and Tobago (1).

Many of these are documented in the National Herbarium of Trinidad and Tobago, under the supervision of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine (9).

Here are some herbal plants common in Trinidad and Tobago and their uses (1):

• Zebapique (Neurolaena lobata): To treat fever, common cold and cough, the leaves are crushed and drunk as juice or steeped in alcohol and taken as a 30ml container.
• fever grass (Cimbopogon citratus): Also called lemon, it is used to treat fevers and common colds or as a cooling agent. These are brewed and consumed as tea.
• Barbadian leaves (Passiflora quadrangularis): In conjunction with passion fruit, barbadiana leaves are injected to treat high blood pressure. Barbadiana fruit is also enjoyed in smoothies and ice cream.
• monkey apple (American genipa): It is used to treat diabetes when consumed as a fruit or decoction (product of a popular extraction method).
• double hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis): It is used to treat “water retention” or urinary retention, due to its diuretic effect. The flowers are made into infusions or decoctions.
• Neem (azadirachta indica): The leaves are chewed raw, or made into a juice or other decoction to treat diabetes or to be used as a coolant.
• Noni (Morinda citrifolia): Also called “pain bush”, the juice of the ripe or fermented fruit is used to treat diabetes or as a coolant.

Some plants, such as the “Wonder of the World” (Bryophyllum pinnate), are considered cures to treat various conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, kidney stones, high blood pressure, and the common cold (1).

Additionally, non-oral bush medicine practices are common and include topical, inhalation or “steaming” methods.

For example, wild cassava leaves can be applied to the body to treat the common cold, or African peppermint leaves can be crushed and the aroma inhaled to treat fever (1).

In addition to single remedies, combinations or mixtures of different herbs with similar benefits are often used to treat a single condition.

summary

More than 900 herbal remedies were identified in the bush medicine of Trinidad and Tobago, but common plants include zebapique, noni, neem, fever grass, monkey apple, barbadian and wonders of the world.

Conventional medicine has been developed through decades of research and is the evidence-based standard for health care.

Over time, conventional medicine has marginalized bush medicine, mainly due to the lack of research on the latter.

However, this has not stopped the use of bush medicine in some communities, and traditional medicine has high therapeutic value and can play an important cultural role in disease management (10, 11).

In fact, scientific exploration of traditional medicine can positively inform the development of herbal supplements and remedies for health management (11).

In Trinidad and Tobago, there is also an opportunity for harmony between conventional and bush medicines. For example, a 2018 newspaper article report on a UWI study highlighted that 60% of doctors believed in bush medicine (12).

This means that, along with medical recommendations, these doctors can advise their patients to use various bush medicines as part of their lifestyle.

With further human clinical research, bush medicine may be a supportive therapy alongside conventional medicine, when deemed safe and appropriate.

summary

Conventional medicine is the evidence-based standard for health management, and over time, it has marginalized bush medicine. However, there is room for harmony between these two systems when it is considered safe and appropriate.

Bush medicine refers to traditional plant medicine practiced in the Caribbean region. It is primarily a cultural fusion of indigenous practices with Indian African, European and Asian influences.

The body of scientific research remains small, but bush medicine may have potential therapeutic roles in managing coughs, type 2 diabetes, COVID-19, epilepsy, insomnia and more.

Zebapique, noni, neem, fever grass, monkey apple, barbadina and wonder of the world are among the common herbal plants used in Trinidad and Tobago to treat the common cold, cough, diabetes, urinary retention and fever to name a few .

Although conventional medicine has marginalized bush medicine, the possibility remains for harmony between these systems, when it is deemed safe and appropriate and after more human research has been conducted.