Pelargonium sidoides, a medicinal plant

Pelargonium sidoides, called umckaloabo (heavy cough) in Zulu, forms a valued part of South Africa’s traditional medicine heritage. The plant is used internationally today in preparing remedies for cold and flu related conditions, including bronchitis, sinusitis, sore throat and ear infection. These sophisticated pharmaceutical products capitalise on the same ingredients benefiting indigenous tribes from ancient times.

The unrecorded knowledge grew over centuries, based on trial and error methods and driven by need. There is no way of knowing the suffering, anxiety and heartbreak after mistakes that accompanied this learning curve. The successes were taught by word of mouth to apprentice sangomas of each younger generation, refining the local herbal medicines through accumulation of insight, as in science.

There is an account of a successful treatment of tuberculosis, originating from a European patient having been treated locally by a traditional healer using this plant, stimulating successful experimental development in Switzerland. Roots are still harvested from three year old plants today for production of off-shore medicines as well as tribal remedies (www.herbalafrica.co.za; Wikipedia; www.heilkraeuter.de).