Page 3 "The Book" - Creole Medicine

Those who compounded 'Creole Medicines' in past eras, did not have available to them, the kind of equipment which allowed them to gain the knowledge of the chemical composition of the plant material used for the preparation of the medicine. They were , however, the recipient of information and guidelines which had been passed on through generations of such use, and would have been able to ascertain how much, or what part, of a plant should be used to effect a cure and without releasing toxic, or even potentially deadly chemicals into the body of the patient.  They also knew that there was no such thing as a 'cure all' and Creole Medicine was subdivided and each group identified for specific purposes.  

Most ingredients are from natural available sources, i.e., backyards, neighborhood wasteland or adjacent forests. Some are however traditional 'drugstore' purchases which can be described as 'generic' products. It is however absolutely important to properly identify a potential plant ingredient, as there are 'lookalikes' which could be detrimental if used by mistake.  Some plants are known by more than one name, while some names are given to more than one plant.

The current effort by academically qualified persons to create more widespread knowledge of the identity including botanical names of indigenous plants and localized plants is commendable and is hoped that mass media agencies will increase support of such efforts and that more of the younger generation will embark on serious study as potential botanists, chemists and scientific researchers of these available plant material.

......to be continued