Leaves from a plant that can be found “in backyards across Samoa” could be as effective as ibuprofen in lowering inflammation and could even be used to treat illnesses such as Parkinson’s and cancer, a new study has found.
For centuries, the leaves of the Psychotria insularum plant, known locally in Samoan as matalafi, have been used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation associated with fever, body aches, swellings, elephantiasis and respiratory infections.
“I was skeptical at first, when researching” said Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni, the study’s author, and the manager of the plants and post-harvest technologies division at the Scientific Research Organization of Samoa.
“There was a lot of superstition around this plant particularly, even in traditional medicine, but I was eager to find out if I could provide scientific merit to the traditional medicines of the Samoan people,” she said. “We can now highlight not only its potential as an anti-inflammatory agent, but also its potential as a treatment for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, as well as COVID-19.”
Molimau-Samasoni and her colleagues’ findings have been peer-reviewed and are due to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
“The leaves are chopped up and the juice is squeezed out. Traditional healers use that juice as drink for their patients. Sometimes they also use the leaves to rub on a person who is unwell or apply it to a wound that needs healing,” Molimau-Samasoni said, adding that traditional medicine runs in her family.
“I grew up with my maternal grandmother and she was a traditional healer,” she said. “When she passed away, she passed on her treatments to me, so I’m now kind of a traditional healer myself.”
Molimau-Samasoni said that there was a lot of skepticism and hesitancy shown toward traditional medicine.
“The challenge between modern medicine and traditional medicine is the instances where people focus on just one type of medicine before seeking the other — so a case where people seek anti-cancer treatments from traditional healers, but then present to the hospital later on with stage 4 cancer, when it’s too late for modern medicine to do anything,” she said.
“So I know many people think traditional medicine is just people mashing leaves together and that people are taking it just for the placebo effect, but you need to remember that traditional medicine has made significant contributions to the world of modern pharmaceuticals, examples of which include aspirin,” she added.
Molimau-Samasoni said that it would likely be years before it is available as an approved medicine, but said she also believes that it is just the beginning for broader research into how Samoa’s traditional medicines could be used today.
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