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A research consortium led by the South African Herbal Science and Medicine Institute at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the School of Medicine at èßäapp University (MU), has just won R24,5 million from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. Prof. Quinton Johnson (UWC) and Prof. William Folk (MU), will direct The International Center for Indigenous Phytotherapy Studies (TICIPS), consisting of scientists, medical doctors and traditional healers.

TICIPS will be based at UWC and work with partners at the Nelson Mandela Medical School (University Kwazulu-Natal), the Institute for Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine (University of Cape Town) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). Scientists from the University of Texas (Medical Branch), Georgetown University, Mississippi University and the èßäapp Botanical Gardens will be led by èßäapp University, to partner with South African collaborators in this world-class center.

The UWC-MU research team competed with the best science and medicine groups including Harvard, John’s Hopkins, Columbia, Mount Sinai, California (San Francisco), Bastyr, Washington, North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and Maryland. All these competitors  proposed to collaborate with partners in China, Japan, Singapore, India and Korea, studying their ancient systems of medicine. The UWC-MU consortium was the only one to focus on African herbal medicines and healing systems.

TICIPS will investigate African indigenous medicines for AIDS, secondary infections and immune modulation. The central mission for TICIPS is a) to create a collaborative environment of respect, trust, open communication and research; b) to support scientifically rigorous and ethical studies of African phytotherapies and healthcare systems; c) to train scientists and physicians to conduct the highest caliber research in complementary, alternative and traditional medical practices; d) to promote the conservation of plant biodiversity and protection of indigenous knowledge; e) to communicate evidence for the safety and efficacy of indigenous phytotherapies to healthcare providers and the public; f) to advance the health and well-being of the African and American peoples.

The creation of this global center for indigenous herbal medicine, is especially significant for Africa, the United States and beyond. Africa has the most ancient indigenous knowledge systems about medicine, health and healing. South Africa in particular, has a wealth of plant species, which for centuries have served as a source of natural remedies for millions of people. Now for the first time, scientists, medical doctors and traditional healers will work as equal partners within TICIPS, in an exciting attempt to bring innovative herbal medicines and healing to the world, through powerful scientific and indigenous knowledge systems.