Tanzania, April 10 -- Dar es Salaam. A groundbreaking study has identified 102 medicinal plant species used by traditional health practitioners (THPs) to manage sickle cell disease (SCD) in the Lake Zone, marking a significant step towards integrating indigenous knowledge with modern medicine.

The research, titled Ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants traditionally used to manage sickle cell disease in Mwanza and Mara Regions, Tanzania, was authored by Godfrey Sambayi, Rogers Mwakalukwa, Olipa D. Ngassapa, Luc Pieters, and Emmy Tuenter.

Sickle cell disease remains a major public health challenge in Tanzania, which ranks third in Africa for the number of patients living with the inherited blood disorder.

On average, about 11,0...