HIV/AIDS is a disease that has caused a lot of havoc and pain to those infected or affected by it. This is because it is a disease that attacks one’s immune system and unless one can afford the cocktail of medicine that helps with the disease most sufferers die a fast and miserable death.
Many die out of fear and the stigma that the disease still carries. The fact that the disease attacks the immune system makes it worse for someone who was already not healthy. These are the ones that succumb to the disease very fast.
There have been many theories about how the disease came into being but this writer believes it was a creation of some twisted human being and now certain communities are more affected than others. Regardless of the genesis of the disease, the disease is with us and continue to cause untold suffering in many communities.
A cure for the disease has eluded the scientific community who have only been able to come up with vacine and medicine to control the symptoms. The only problem is that the medicine can be very expensive and out of reach of most people, particularly those in the developing world. Further this is not a cure but a sure way to ensure that one remains on medication for the rest of one’s life.
Yet this is the mode of treatment encouraged and well like by the pharmaceutical companies for obvious reasons. Things like nutrition and natural herbs are factors to be considered in dealing with HIV yet they are never emphasised. Watch this video
It was therefore exciting to read that Kenyan Scientist have discovered a herb that has been proven to have antineutron- viral properties. Imbasal (Tylosema Fassoglenis) is a vine grown in the Western part of Kenya which has proved effective in treating HIV/AIDS symptoms. Studies for qualities found in the herb have been done both in Kenya and the USA.
Researchers led by Dr Michael B. Odotte, have developed a food supplement called “Sunguprot” currently under commercial observation at the Kenya Industrial Research Institute. According to Dr Odtte, the product “is a protein based protease inhibitor, meaning that it stops the replication of HIV in the body and has been certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards as fit for human consumption”.
Sunguprot, which comes in the form of flour for porridge, is described as ideal for people suffering from HIV/IDS, the malnourished and the aged. It is considered a herbal food supplement with both antiretroviral and nutritive properties. Dr Odotte states that efficacy studies have been done and it has been found to be to be safe in primates as well as showing a significant lowering of HIV in the blood.
More studies are however required because according to Dr Odotte they were “funded by the National council for Science and Technology to carry out limited trials”. A larger sample of research is required for the results to be considered effective for its purposes. The challenges that researchers in Africa sometimes face is lack of resources which hinders progress in this area.
However lately there has been a manifestation of new initiatives which it is hoped will be recognized and give Africa a boost of energy to venture into more areas of research that specifically impact her. For now Sunguprot, seems to be a step in the right direction particularly because it deals with nutrition. This seems to support what the embedded Dr in the vidoe says.