This traditional Samoan medicine plant could give ibuprofen a run for its money

Story Transcript

When Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni first started investigating the benefits of a plant used in traditional Samoan medicine, she was skeptical anything would come of it.

She knew that her people had used matalafi for hundreds of years to treat aches, pains, swelling, fevers and more. And she also knew that modern pharmaceuticals have benefited greatly from the contributions of traditional Chinese and Indian medicines.

"But those medicines were, in my opinion, a lot older than Samoan traditional medicine," Molimau-Samasoni, manager of the plants and post-harvest technologies division at the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa, told As It Happens.

"So I was a little bit skeptical, myself, about our traditional medicine. But I think in the end of my research, I had to eat my own words and admit that there is great potential in Samoan traditional medicine."

Leaves from matalafi — also known as the Psychotria insularum plant — proved to be as effective at reducing inflammation as ibuprofen, a common over-the-counter anti-inflammatory, Molimau-Samasoni and her colleagues found. 

What's more, the researchers theorize the plant may also prove beneficial for a wide range of other conditions, including Parkinson's and cancer, though further research is needed to confirm that.

The findings have been published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Working with traditional healers

Molimau-Samasoni says her research was spearheaded by the Samoan government, which had noticed an uptick in recent years of scientists coming from overseas to study their traditional medicines and bill themselves as experts in the field.

"Our government wanted to see Samoan scientists leading these researches into Samoan traditional medicine, and that was where my research project and I came in," she said.

"I think it is hugely important that Indigenous people are strongly involved in research that goes on with their traditional knowledge and with their traditional medicine."

To study matalafi, Molimau-Samasoni first teamed up with local practitioners of traditional medicine to harvest the plant in a sustainable way.

"I got mixed reactions from traditional healers. I had traditional healers who were not supportive of my research, who did not want their bread and butter to be put under the microscope in a sense," she said.

"But I also had traditional healers who were very progressive in the way that they thought. They wanted to have science prove that the traditional medicine is working. So those traditional healers were more supportive and forthcoming, and they were even keen to share their traditional knowledge with me, and they even gave me support in terms of looking and finding the plants that I needed."

The researchers tested the plant's anti-inflammatory effects on lab-grown immune cells, and found it just as potent as ibuprofen at reducing swelling.

They also discovered that matalafi has the ability to reduce excess iron in cells. That means it could have potential as a treatment in a wide array of diseases that produce iron imbalances, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and some cancers.

It could also potentially be used to treat people who experience iron overload during blood transfusions, Molimau-Samasoni said. 

"Our research so far has only investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of matalafi, but from that research, we've made educated extrapolations of our data," Molimau-Samasoni said. "There's more research to be done still."

Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Kate Cornick.