‘USES OF medicinal plants in Guyana’ is a 94-page booklet that is basically a compendium of all the known types of local plants that can be used as alternatives for conventional medicine. This booklet is replete with advice on food and nutrition herbal treatments and preparations, teas, and folk medicines, and is the first ever known local compilation of such information in the pages of one book.
It also may be a source of nostalgia to the folks over fifty, who may have benefited from the use of such staple folk or ‘bush’ medicine as bitter aloes, carrion crow bush, teasam and cure-for-all in their childhood days .
The author of this recently released publication is Mr. Fitz H. Ogle, Chairman and founding member of the Evergreen Nature Study Club based at BB 2-3 Mandela Avenue, La Penitence, Georgetown.
The design, layout and printing were done by Communication Concept of 51 Norton Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown.
Ogle, who holds a Diploma in Agriculture with an Associated Masters of Science Degree, said that research for the information in the book started in 2000, and was countrywide.
The information on each medicinal plant in the booklet provides its common name, its scientific name, its habitat and distribution, and its medicinal uses.
For example, the scientific name of the plant commonly known as ‘Soldier Rod’ is given as Achyranthes Indica, and its family name is given as Amaranthaceae.
Under habitat and distribution, it is explained that Soldier Rod is a weed of cultivated waste places throughout the subtopics and tropics, including Guyana.
In respect to its medicinal uses, the booklet says of Soldier Rod: “A decoction of the leaves is taken for relief of high blood pressure, and as a “tea” substitute. A decoction of the whole plant, either alone or mixed with buck-cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), is drunk for relief of colds, stomach troubles and thrush. An infusion of the entire plant alone is taken for heart problems.”
In the booklet, there are one hundred and two other traditional medicinal plants in Guyana similarly identified and explained.
The booklet also lists medical conditions ranging from acne to bedwetting, to bachelor’s buttons, to latta marks, to insomnia, to constipation, to lack of libido, and lists the plants and herbs that can and have been traditionally used as cures, and how they should be used.
Most of these medicinal herbs are available at city markets, many markets along the entire coast of Guyana, and in the hinterland, so the booklet can serve as a handy shopping tool for those who believe in the value of the use of such alternative forms of medicine.
“You may not know the bush, but the people, for example at Bourda Market, know it.
You can get the herb from them, and when you go home you can use the booklet to know how to use it,” Ogle said.
In a foreword on the booklet Robert D. Forrester, a Development Consultant, said Ogle has once again demonstrated his versatility and repertoire of relevant knowledge in creating a publication that concerns and touches all peoples. The book can be termed ‘How to live harmoniously with nature’.
“Needless to say, the publication is timely, since, as we seek to craft a Low Carbon Development Strategy, it is imperative that we live in harmony with nature, accept her gifts, and save ourselves. The solutions propounded here are both imperative and preventative.”
Ogle himself said he strongly believes that Guyanese need to undergo a change of attitude in regard to appreciation of their tropical environment and biodiversity and agriculture, along with consumer tastes.
He added: “The information in ‘Uses of medicinal plants in Guyana’ is mainly educational. With respect to treatments(traditional or non-traditional) for the ailments mentioned, though long and graciously accepted by many, there is no guaranteed measure of success regarding their applications.
“The medicine may work on some but may not work on others. A main factor could be diet. If you use a lot of coffee or aerated drinks, for example, that may neutralize the effects of some of the mentioned herbs.”
‘Uses of medicinal plants in Guyana’ by Fitz Ogle and the Evergreen Nature Study Club is on sale at Austin’s Book Store and at the Headquarters of Channel 9 Television Station.
