Between Forest and Laboratory: Knowledge, Practice, and Identity Among Traditional Medicine Practitioners in Yaoundé, Cameroon
A Qualitative Medical Anthropology Study
Abstract
Contextually, traditional medicine remains a primary healthcare resource for a significant proportion of the Cameroonian population. Despite growing pharmacological interest in medicinal plants, the practitioners who constitute the human backbone of this system herbalists, traditional healers, phytotherapists, and naturopaths remain understudied in their socio-cultural context, their knowledge systems, and their relationship to biomedical practice. The objective of this study was to explore the ethnopharmacological knowledge, preparation techniques, cultural transmission mechanisms, and identity of five traditional medicine practitioners in Yaoundé, Cameroon, with a view to understanding complementarities and tensions between traditional and biomedical systems. As far as the Methods are concerned, this qualitative study employed semi-structured in-depth interviews with five purposively selected informants: a phytotherapist-nutritionist, a traditional healer (tradipraticienne), two herbalists from the Mvog-Bi market, and a naturopath. Interviews were conducted in Yaoundé between January and March 2026 and analysed thematically through an ethnomedical lens. Results show that five thematic domains emerged: (1) raw material sourcing and plant identification; (2) preparation and transformation processes; (3) formulation and dosage; (4) cultural transmission and spiritual dimensions; and (5) challenges and prospects for integration with modern pharmacy. Practitioners shared empirical pharmacovigilance logic, intergenerational oral transmission, and polypharmaceutical formulation. Key divergences were found in standardisation practices, spiritual engagement, and institutional recognition. In Conclusion, traditional medicine in Yaoundé constitutes a coherent, adaptive, and culturally embedded therapeutic system. Equitable collaboration between traditional practitioners and biomedical institutions grounded in mutual respect, quality standardisation, and intellectual property recognition holds significant potential for improving healthcare access and preserving phytotherapeutic heritage in Central Africa.
References
Akuodor, G. C., Muazzam, I., Usman-Idris, M., Akpan, J. L., Mkpe, A. B., Umahi, M. B., Ugwu, T. C., & Osunkwo, U. A. (2011). Evaluation of the antidiarrhoeal activity of methanol leaf extract of Costus afer in rats. African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 5(10), 1299–1304. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJPP11.264
Bernard, H. R. (2017). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (6th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
Betti, J. L. (2004). An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants among the Baka pygmies in the Dja biosphere reserve, Cameroon. African Study Monographs, 25(1), 1–27.
Bodeker, G., & Kronenberg, F. (2002). A public health agenda for traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine. American Journal of Public Health, 92(10), 1582–1591. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.92.10.1582
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bussmann, R. W., & Sharon, D. (2006). Traditional medicinal plant use in northern Peru: Tracking two thousand years of healing culture. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2, 47. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-2-47
Ceuterick, M., Vandebroek, I., & Pieroni, A. (2011). Resilience of Amazigh medicinal practices in Belgium: A comparison of home remedies used by elderly and young Moroccans in Brussels. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 135(2), 573–577.
Chabrol, F., & Obrist, B. (2014). Medical pluralism in sub-Saharan Africa: Seeking and switching therapeutic options. Social Science & Medicine, 123, 1–5.
Convention on Biological Diversity. (2011). Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. https://www.cbd.int/abs/
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Eloff, J. N. (1998). Which extractant should be used for the screening and isolation of antimicrobial components from plants? Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 60(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-8741(97)00123-2
Etkin, N. L. (2006). Edible medicines: An ethnopharmacology of food. University of Arizona Press.
Evans, W. C. (2009). Trease and Evans' pharmacognosy (16th ed.). Saunders Elsevier.
Fabricant, D. S., & Farnsworth, N. R. (2001). The value of plants used in traditional medicine for drug discovery. Environmental Health Perspectives, 109(Suppl 1), 69–75. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.01109s169
Fennell, C. W., Lindsey, K. L., McGaw, L. J., Sparg, S. G., Stafford, G. I., Elgorashi, E. E., Grace, O. M., & van Staden, J. (2004). Assessing African medicinal plants for efficacy and safety: Agricultural and storage practices. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 95(2–3), 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2004.07.015
Flint, K. E. (2008). Healing traditions: African medicine, cultural exchange, and competition in South Africa, 1820–1948. Ohio University Press.
Hamilton, A. C. (2004). Medicinal plants, conservation and livelihoods. Biodiversity and Conservation, 13(8), 1477–1517. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIOC.0000021333.23413.42
Kleinman, A. (1980). Patients and healers in the context of culture: An exploration of the borderland between anthropology, medicine, and psychiatry. University of California Press.
Kuete, V. (Ed.). (2017). Medicinal spices and vegetables from Africa: Therapeutic potential against metabolic, inflammatory, infectious and systemic diseases. Academic Press.
Kuete, V., Ngounou Telefo, P. B., & Ouahouo, B. M. W. (2011). Antibacterial and antibiotic-potentiating activities of the methanol extract and compounds from Vepris louisii (Rutaceae). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 135(2), 525–531.
Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). Interviews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Last, M., & Chavunduka, G. L. (Eds.). (1986). The professionalisation of African medicine. Manchester University Press.
Leonti, M. (2011). The future is written: Impact of scripts on the cognition, selection, knowledge and transmission of medicinal plant use and its implications for ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 134(3), 542–555.
Mahomoodally, M. F. (2013). Traditional medicines in Africa: An appraisal of ten potent African medicinal plants. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, Article 617459. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/617459
Moerman, D. E. (1979). Anthropology of symbolic healing. Current Anthropology, 20(1), 59–80.
Moerman, D. E. (2002). Meaning, medicine, and the "placebo effect." Cambridge University Press.
Ncube, B., Afolayan, A. J., & Okoh, A. I. (2012). Assessment techniques of antimicrobial properties of natural compounds of plant origin: Current methods and future trends. African Journal of Biotechnology, 7(12), 1797–1806.
Newman, D. J., & Cragg, G. M. (2020). Natural products as sources of new drugs over the nearly four decades from 01/1981 to 09/2019. Journal of Natural Products, 83(3), 770–803. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b01285
Nguelefack, T. B., Ndongo Toyang, N. J., Watcho, P., Nkeng-Efouet-Alango, P., Wansi, S. L., & Kamanyi, A. (2015). Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of extracts from the leaves of Kalanchoe crenata (Andrews) Haworth (Crassulaceae). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 86(1), 49–54.
Ngogang, J., Nyegue, M., Amvam-Zollo, P. H., & Lebitsa, F. (2007). Traditional medicine and health in Cameroon: Synergies and conflicts with the biomedical system. African Health Sciences, 7(3), 127–132.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Pieroni, A., Quave, C. L., & Santoro, R. F. (2014). Folk pharmaceutical knowledge in the territory of the Dolomiti Lucane, inland southern Italy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 101(1–3), 14–28.
Singer, M., & Baer, H. (2012). Introducing medical anthropology: A discipline in action (2nd ed.). AltaMira Press.
Telefo, P. B., Lienou, L. L., Yemele, M. D., Lemfack, M. C., Mouokeu, C., Tagne, C. S., Tamo, R. S., & Moundipa, F. P. (2011). Ethnobotanical survey of plants used for the treatment of female infertility in Baham, Cameroon. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 136(1), 178–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2011.04.036
Vandebroek, I., Picking, D., Meragiaw, M., Vanhove, W., & Kibret, M. (2011). The importance of a multidisciplinary approach for studying medicinal plant use. In I. Vandebroek & T. R. Van Damme (Eds.), African ethnobotany in the Americas (pp. 3–28). Springer.
Waldstein, A., & Adams, C. (2006). The interface between medical anthropology and medical ethnobiology. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 12(S1), S95–S118.
World Health Organization. (2019). WHO global report on traditional and complementary medicine 2019. WHO Press. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/978924151536
World Health Organization. (2023, August 9). Traditional medicine. WHO Fact Sheet. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/traditional-medicine
World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. (2013). Traditional medicine strategy 2002–2005: Progress report. WHO AFRO.
Authors retain copyright of their published work and grant the International Journal of Social Science Research and Review (IJSSRR) the right of first publication.
Articles published in IJSSRR are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
Authors are permitted to share, archive, and distribute the published version of their work, provided that proper acknowledgement of the original publication in IJSSRR is given.
