Accra, Oct 28, GNA- Professor A.K. Nyarko, a Senior Research Fellow of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, said on Wednesday that research had shown that some herbal remedies for malaria, HIV/AIDS, diabetes mellitus, allergic/bronchial asthma and hypertension are safe and potent.
He said some anti-malarial plant medicines were capable of decreasing levels of malaria parasites in patients and effective for drug resistant malaria parasites.
Prof. Nyarko was speaking at the Fourth Annual Research Meeting of the University of Ghana-based, Research Institute, which is celebrating its silver jubilee on the theme: " Bridging the Research-Policy Divide".
He said Laboratory investigations had revealed that some plant medicines were active against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and helpful in the management of symptomatic HIV/AIDS cases. The Research Fellow, said although some of the herbal medicines for the treatment of asthma are effective against the disease, there was the need to categorise them into prophylactic (preventive or protective) and symptomatic relief.
"Since research began in earnest into anti-diabetic plant medicines it has been established that some anti-diabetic plant medicines can lower fasting blood glucose levels and therefore are more useful against type two diabetes mellitus and not type one".
Prof. Nyarko said investigations had proven that some anti-hypertensive plant medicines were very effective in reducing both 'systolic' and 'diastolic' blood pressures.
He said the Institute was carrying out research to determine the usefulness of other plant medicines for the treatment of buruli ulcer, gastric ulcers and erectile dysfunction (impotency).