Herb Artemisia seen as potential virus cure
The Chairperson of the Vhembe Traditional Health council, Maine Matamba Mamuremi said the artemisia is currently used to cure flu-like symptoms such as headache and a sore throat.
LIMPOPO – The Chairperson of the Vhembe Traditional Health council, Maine Matamba Mamuremi says it is no surprise that researchers at the Madagascar Institute of Applied Research (IMRA) are considering artemisia, among other possibilities, as a possible cure for Covid-19.
Recently, Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina officially launched a medicine branded Covidorganic which he believes can cure patients suffering from Covid-19. Artemisia, an ingredient in medicine, is derived from a plant cultivated on the Big Island to fight malaria.
Mamuremi said the artemisia, that is known as Tshiumbeumbe in Venda, is currently used to cure flu-like symptoms such as headache and a sore throat. “We boil its leaves and allow you to inhale the fumes,” he explained.
For a headache, she added that you might mix Mufhata roots with the leaves of Tshiumbeumbe for a few seconds and after that, your headache will be healed. He said the leaves of the plant, and not the roots, are key to cure these symptoms. Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200 and 400 species belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae.
Common names for various species in the genus include mugwort, wormwood, and sage brush. The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised governments to clinically test a potential vaccine against Covid-19. Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize recently announced that Madagascar had reached out for help in terms of scientific research.
He further added that South African scientists would be able to assist with this research and the country would only get involved in a scientific analysis of the herb. capvoice@nmgroup.co.za
