Significance of Herbal Plants in the Treatment of Sickle Cell Anaemia

Medicinal plants have been a source of succor in the control of many diseases in developing countries and sickle cell disease is no exception. The lower strata of the population living in developing countries rely heavily on traditional medicine due to their cultural alignment as well as their inability to afford the cost of treatment offered by orthodox medical practitioners. The bioactive ingredients that have the therapeutic activity in plants used in traditional practice are mostly unidentified and traditional healers believe in the holistic nature of their treatment. Substances found in medicinal plants, containing the healing property of plants is known as the active principle. Hence, herbal plants play a very crucial role in the treatment of sickle cell anaemia. Also found that males suffer more from the disease as the gene responsible for it is dominant and highly expressive while the females are generally carriers as the is recessive and does not express itself. The use of phytomaterials such as Piper guineensis, Pterocarpa osun, Eugenia caryophyllala and Sorghum bicolor extracts for the treatment of sickle cell disease was reported. The extract of Pterocarpus santolinoides and Aloe vera was reported to increase the gelling time of sickle cell blood and inhibits sickling in vitro. This indicates that such plants may indeed have a great potential in the management of sickle cell disorder.