A “magic” herb, Carissa Edulis, that drew thousands of people to a remote Loliondo village in Tanzania was identified by Kenyan scientists a few years ago as a cure for a drug-resistant strain of a sexually transmitted disease, gonorrhoea. This herb also is believed to cure many other diseases besides gonorrhoea. The Kamba refer to as mukawa or mutote and use it for chest pains, while the Nandi boil the leaves and bark to treat breast cancer, headache and chest pains.
Researchers discovered the plant could be used for the treatment of the herpes virus. Led by Dr Festus M Tolo of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), the team from the University of Nairobi and the National Museums of Kenya found the herb could provide an alternative remedy for herpes infections.
“An extract preparation from the roots of Carissa edulis, a medicinal plant locally growing in Kenya, has exhibited remarkable anti-herpes virus activity for both wild type and drug resistant strains,” they reported in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.