an investigation into the antibacterial activities of medicinal plants ...

2.2.1.2 Phytomedicine and phytochemistry
Approximately 350 plant species of an estimated 3000 higher plant species
commonly used in South Africa for medicinal purposes has undergone chemical
investigation (George et al. 2001). The popularity of medicinal plants accompanied
with the limited phytochemical analysis, has led to increased research in the safety
and efficacy of these medicinal plants.
Medicinal plants have a wide reputation for containing active components that serve
as phytomedicinals and valuable therapeutic agents for treating disease.
Modern medicine rely heavily on the active compounds of plants, be they natural or
synthetic such as secondary metabolites in higher plants which serve as defence
agents against microorganisms (http://www.world.std.com/~krahe/, Fabry et al.,
1997). At least 130 plant drugs used worldwide are either isolated compounds
extracted from higher plants or were modified synthetically (George & van Staden,
2000).
According to Kong et al. (2003) among the recent 25 best-selling drugs in the world,
30% of the drugs originated from natural products. Some South African
phytomedicine that have gained worldwide popularity include devil’s claw, African
potato, buchu, aloe products and rooibos tea (George et al., 2001).
Recent developments in the traditional medicine sector include anti-diabetic and anticancer
formulations from Sutherlandia under the brand name Healer’s Choice jointly
developed by Rand Afrikaans University and Pharmacare (George & van Staden,
2000). Up to 90% of phytomedicinals available in South Africa are exotic European
formulations (George et al., 2001). According to George & van Staden (2000) there
is a growing need to promote the development and marketing of indigenous
medicines, some of which are more efficacious than imported formulations.
Research and development of plant based drugs is time consuming, resource
intensive and full of uncertainties (George & van Staden, 2000). The ethnobotanical
approach to sampling plants for research are based on traditional knowledge of
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