The importance of traditional medicine has been recorded throughout the world. It has also been practiced throughout Africa by more than 80 % of rural communities. Traditional medicine has since been imbedded in the culture of many rural communities. People of the world continues to use traditional medicine because of their accessibility and affordability.
Plants are universally recognised as a vital component of
the world’s biological diversity and an essential resource
for ecosystem functioning – goods and services. Additionally,
plants have great economic and cultural importance.
Plants play a key role in maintaining the planet’s basic
environmental balance, ensuring ecosystem stability, and
This paper explores preservice science teachers’ views and reflections of science, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and their perspectives on the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge holders as teachers in the academy, in the context of teaching Environmentally sustainable development practices.
– This article responds to a call for rethinking the science that we teach to school learners in South Africa. Much of the debate on the nature of science and science learning is reflected in a body of literature which analyses the tensions between disparate perspectives on science education.
South Africa has a number of policies to protect and promote indigenous knowledge (IK). The increasing interest in research into indigenous knowledge and science education in southern Africa has led not only to the production of publications, but also to numerous conferences, seminars, research centres, projects, learning materials, and postgraduate courses.
Impaired inflammatory response could result in undesirable effects as seen in chronic diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and cancer. This study was based on an ethno-botanical survey of 6literature citations of medicinal plants used to treat inflammation-related conditions in Limpopo province of South Africa.
Understanding the uses of indigenous plants that are of economic importance to local communities is very much important in rural development strategies. The Marula (Sclerocarya birrea) Anacardiaceae family is widely used.
Indigenous plant resources provide rural communities with non-timber forest products that provide energy, food, shelter and medicine. Indigenous plant users in the rural communities have developed selective management methods to sustain plant resources.
The medicinal flora of the Venda region consists of a variety of species, which may potentially provide therapeutic agents to treat different diseases. Bark use for medicinal purposes has been reported for approximately 30% of the woody species (153 species) in the Venda region in southern Africa.
Africa Spectrum, first published in 1966 by the GIGA-Institute of African Affairs in Hamburg, is an inter-disciplinary fully refereed journal, indexed by ISI, focusing on social science dealing with Africa. In 2009 it has become an open access journal and is published in cooperation with the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation.