Traditional herbal remedies used in the management of sexual impotence and erectile dysfunction

Background

The utilisation of ethnobotanical indigenous knowledge is vital in male sexual reproductive health care delivery in western Uganda. Reproductive health care is the second most prevalent health care problem in Africa. However, this concept of reproductive health care has been focusing mainly on women disregarding men. Thus, some diseases such as sexual impotence and erectile dysfunction that deserve mention are regarded as petty though important in economic productivity, family stability and sexually transmitted diseases control including HIV/AIDS.

Objective

This study was carried out mainly to document medicinal plants used in the treatment of sexual impotence and erectile dysfunction disorders in western Uganda.

Methods

The medical ethnobotanical indigenous knowledge were collected by visiting traditional healers and documenting the medicinal plants used and other socio-cultural aspects allied with sexual impotence and erectile dysfunction. The methods used to collect the relevant information regarding the medicinal plants used included informal and formal discussions, field visits and focused semi-structured interviews.

Results

Thirty-three medicinal plants used in the management of sexual impotence and erectile dysfunction were documented and Citropsis articulata and Cola acuminata were among the highly utilized medicinal plants.

Conclusion

From the researchers' point of view, the usage of herbal remedies in managing male sexual disorders is useful because of long cultural history of utilisation and the current renewed interest in natural products to sustain health globally. As a way recognising the values and roles of traditional medical knowledge in health care provision, further research into the efficacy and safety of herbal remedies in male sexual disorders is precious in Uganda and beyond. More so, the establishment of rapport between relevant government department in Ministry of Health, modern health workers through collaborative and networking ventures with traditional healers under close supervision and monitoring of herbal treatments is noble.

Keywords: Medicinal Plants, Erectile Dysfunction, Sexual Impotence, Ethnobotanical Indigenous Knowledge, Western Uganda

•  Other Sections
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Study area and Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References

Introduction

About 70 – 80% of the Ugandan population still rely on traditional healers for day-to-day health care. In some rural areas the percentage is around ninety compared to 80% reported world-wide^10,13,14. WHO³² had earlier estimates that the usage of traditional medicine in developing countries is 80 %. This is an indication that herbal medicine is important in primary health care provision in Uganda. There are several reproductive ailments that local communities have been handling and treating for ages such as sexual impotence and erectile dysfunction (ED). The concept of reproductive health care has been focusing mainly on women disregarding men and yet men are part.

Sexual Health and Yoga

Despite the abundance of non empirical data suggesting that yoga and sex are not only linked but potentially mutually beneficial, very little research has been conducted to substantiate these claims. Our careful review of the literature revealed only one controlled study of yoga as a treatment for sexual dysfunction.

Dhikav, Karmarker, Gupta, and Anand (2007) successfully treated Indian men with premature ejaculation with yoga. Premature ejaculation traditionally falls into the medical domain and is most often treated with serotonergic anti-depressants (Waldinger, 2008). The 68 men who participated in the study

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