Traditional Medicine and Its Role in the Management of Diabetes Mellitus: “Patients’ and Herbalists’ Perspectives”

Table 5

Summary of responses given by participants in the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, regarding the types of traditional medicines that they used and their source.

Theme	Data source	Participants’ Key message	Participants’ remark
Foods used to treat diabetes	FGDs and IDIs	Intake of large quantity of indigenous vegetables such as amaranth leaves, hare lettuce, spider plant leaves, nightshade leaves, okra pods, African eggplant, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and tamarind juice	These vegetables are generally eaten as part of the meal. Some medicinal plants, especially okra pods, are used in medicinal doses.
Common traditional medicines/herbs used to treat diabetes	FGDs and IDIs	Moringa seeds and leaves, rosemary flowers (Vinca rosea), bitter melon, soursop leaves, avocado seeds black plum bark, lemongrass, and Aloe vera were the most common plants that were used to treat diabetes	Patients reported that some of the plants are effective in managing diabetes and other related health conditions if used properly, but some are not.
Sources of traditional medicines	IDIs	Herbalists obtained most of the plants that they used for preparing traditional medicines, from forests and farms	Generally, plants used for traditional drug preparation are locally available
	FGDs	Diabetic patients obtained from of their traditional medicines from their homes, neighbors, friends, and markets

Abbreviations: FGD, focus group discussion; IDI, in-depth interview.