South Africa's Miracle Bush - Sutherlandia frutescens

South Africa's Miracle Bush - Sutherlandia frutescens
With its scarlet flowers and strange, swollen seed pods, the so-called Cancer Bush, is a distinctive plant in the three Cape provinces of South Africa. It is an attractive small shrub, with silvery-grey foliage and is cultivated as a popular garden plant in many countries around the world.

Old Cape Remedy

This plant has been used as a traditional medicine for hundreds of years, but it is only recently that its true pharmacological values have come to light. The Khoi and Nama people of the southwestern Cape and Karoo used parts of this plant to treat fevers and other ailments, and its medicinal uses were quickly adopted by the Dutch settlers. ‘Kankerbos' has long been used as an old Cape remedy for stomach ailments and internal cancers, and also to treat diabetes, rheumatism, influenza and liver problems. It appears that the traditional procedure has been to boil the leaves, or other parts of the Sutherlandia plant, to make a decoction or powdered herb. A modern and commercially available product, ‘Promune' claims to be the first supplement made from the extract of the plant rather than from the powder, for it is known that plant extract is many times more concentrated than dried particles.

Super Tonic

Studies by the Medical Research Council of South Africa and other bodies have demonstrated that Sutherlandia extract is safe, and that it is almost certainly the most profound and multipurpose of the medicinal plants in southern Africa. Taken as a tonic, Sutherlandia assists the human body to mobilise its own resources to cope with diverse physical and mental stresses. Because it boosts the immune system, it can assist those suffering from cancer and tuberculosis, and is also being increasingly used by people with AIDS. One particular compound in the plant - pinitol - has a hypoglycaemic effect with the ability to reduce blood sugar levels, and can therefore benefit diabetics. The tonic is also widely used to treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and ‘Yuppie Flu'.

Value of Nature

This plant provides yet another demonstration of what the biological diversity of our planet can offer humankind. It is just one of thousands of plants which provide the basis for our medicines and other health products. Sutherlandia is inextricably linked to the natural habitat in which it has evolved, where it is pollinated by sunbirds and carpenter bees. Although it is now cultivated, the future viability of domesticated stock is likely to rely on the genetic make-up of wild plants. We need, therefore, to recognise that representative areas of natural habitats should be conserved all around the world, not only for the wild species we know that are there, but also for the potential values which exist in species that remain to be studied.

- Duncan Butchart -

For more information on Sutherlandia - including independent perspectives and news stories, visit http://www.sutherlandia.org/

Posted: Plants by CC Africa, Date: 21 November 2006