Professor Idowu Sule Akande of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG), has emphasized the importance of evidence-based integration of natural and synthetic therapies within tropical medicine.
This formed the core of the 11th Inaugural Lecture for the 2024/2025 academic session delivered by Professor Akande on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at the J. F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium of UNILAG.
Titled: Use, Misuse and Unuse of Nature’s Gifts of Medicinal Plants, Synthetic and Natural Products in Tropical Medicine, the Distinguished scholar in Biochemistry Toxicology, Tropical Medicine and Natural Products spoke extensively on the indispensability of medicinal plants and synthetic products to vital health, the pressing need for cautious use to avoid misuse and underutilization.
Prof Akande said despite being key to the discovery of drugs, medicinal plants and synthetic products are not properly harnessed, and are neglected income earners for institutions, governments and individuals.
While underscoring the role of biochemistry in understanding biological processes, its branches; and metabolism of xenobiotics (foreign compounds) through Phase I (oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis) and Phase II (conjugation) reactions, he highlighted poisonous plant compounds (e.g., alkaloids, cyanogenic glycosides) and their dual roles as toxins/therapeutics.
Using tables, the Professor of Biochemistry highlighted phytochemicals (carotenoids, polyphenols, saponins) and their health benefits (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer properties) and gave biblical references to herbs and their therapeutic/dangerous potential.
He shared his research findings on herbal remedies, such as the locally made herbal concoctions popularly known as agbo and it’s health implications (such as kidney damage), farayola herbal mixture (efficient in treating anemia, hypertension, and rashes but toxic when taken in high doses), and the antisickling properties of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides and Hibiscus sabdariffa in sickle cell disease management.
Prof Akande’s recommendations included: standardization of herbal remedies and regulations for vendors to ensure safety; promotion of interdisciplinary research on medicinal plants and synthetic products; public education on risks of environmental contaminants (e.g., BPA, dioxins); and strengthening of institutional support for tropical disease control and academic recognition.
Born on February 24, 1964 into the family of late Mr. and Mrs. Akande Aransi in Ijaiye Orile, Ibadan, Oyo state, Prof. Idowu Sule Akande obtained a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Ibadan in 1987; M.Sc. in Zoology in 1997 from Bayero University, Kano and PhD in Biochemistry in 2010 from University of Ibadan.
He officially joined the services of the University of Lagos in 2006, and became a Professor of Biochemistry in 2021.
He is married and blessed with children.
Report: Ndidi J. Odinikaeze
Photographs: Joshua Michael
