Indigenous Foods And Herbs Can Serve As Alternative To Antibiotics – Prof.

Tope Fayehun, Akure

A Professor of Medical Microbiology (Infections and Immunity) at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, Tinuola Adebolu has warned that antibiotics may have undesirable side effects on the consumers .

Adebolu disclosed this while delivering the University’s 88th Inaugural lecture titled, ‘Mechanisms of Adaptive Immunity and The Endless Battle Against Diarrhoeagenic Bacteria’ held at the Institutions main auditorium.

The don who said indigenous foods and herbs should serve as alternatives, warned against over dependence on vaccines produced from outside the country.

According to her, “Indigenous foods and herbs which are readily available in the community such as the ones researched into can be used in treating infection.

“More so that they are foods that we normally consume with no side effect. We should let food be our medicine. They should, however, be consumed as close to nature as possible, that is in their raw state.”

Adebolu said “, “Ogi”, cheese whey, honey, garlic and beniseed have antibacterial, antidiarrhoeatic, immunomodulatory and immunostimulatory effects that can be exploited in treating individuals suffering from bacterial diarrhea, especially in rural communities where they might not have quick access to orthodox therapy.

She further disclosed that raw “Ogi” used in making pap and other components are highly potent in curing diarrhea. This might go a long way to reduce the morbidity and mortality that accompany such illnesses, especially in children.”

Her words: “These materials can also be used by people dwelling in the cities as alternatives to conventional antibiotics since some of the antibiotics being used in treating this infection can also induce diarrhea and also because most of the bacterial causing diseases have developed resistance to some of the commonly available antibiotics.”

Professor Adebolu recommended that more research work should be done, especially on indigenous foods or raw materials in order to discover more foods or raw materials that can be used locally in treating bacterial diarrhea.

According to her, our foods do not only compose bioactive components that kill diarrhoeagenic bacterial responsible for the illness but also possess components that replenish lost materials, electrolytes, fluid and also have immunomodulatory and immunostimulatory potentials.

The don said, since there are divergent strains and serotypes of diarrhoeagenic bacterial that are implicated in different regions of the world, customers should stop relying on the drug produce outside the country.

According to her , more research work should be carried out on herbal preparations in order to determine the level of effectiveness, biosafety, mechanism of action, proper dosage and mode of preparation for maximal efficacy of such preparations in treating diarrhea.

The Vice-Chancellor, of the university, Professor Joseph Fuwape , in his speech described the lecturer as an erudite scholar who has contributed greatly to knowledge in her field.

Fuwape said, the lecturer stands out in her field of study, having churned out a number of graduates and post graduates students and contributed significantly to the development of the university and human capital development.