Paxherbals

Paxherbals, also known as Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories, is a Nigerian alternative-medicine product manufacturer based at Ewu Monastery in Edo State. The organization traces its beginnings to 1996, when founder Adodo Anselm established a small herbal operation at the monastery. Its early work combined the cultivation of medicinal plants with the preparation of remedies for common ailments, including malaria and cough. A small clinic developed alongside the garden and became known as Pax Herbal Center. The organization presents itself as a science-oriented alternative to informal or poorly documented herbal practice. Its stated purpose has been to reduce the stigma surrounding Traditional African medicine in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, where herbal practices have historically been associated in public discourse with witchcraft, sorcery, ritualism, paganism, or other forms of fetishism. To support that repositioning, Paxherbals developed laboratory and research capabilities intended to provide quality control, microbiological testing, and a more systematic basis for product development. By May 2006, the organization had established laboratories that included quality-control and microbiology facilities. These laboratories were commissioned by Lucky Igbinedion, then governor of Edo State. By 2008, the organization was described as one of Africa’s largest and best-equipped herbal research centers, although the available reference material does not provide independently comparable financial or production data. Paxherbals’ research model combines formally trained specialists—such as pharmacists, botanists, pharmacologists, microbiologists, laboratory scientists, and plant scientists—with holders of indigenous knowledge, including traditional birth attendants, bone setters, local taxonomists, village historians, and traditional chemists. The research and development function was headed by Professor Joseph Okogun. The organization also partnered with the Institute of African Studies in an effort to improve how Traditional African medicine is studied and taught in Nigeria. A university curriculum committee approved a framework that could support master’s and doctoral study in Traditional African medicine. According to the cited reference material, Paxherbals had reached 26 of Nigeria’s 36 states by 2017 through approximately 1,000 alternative-medicine product distributors. Thirty-three of its health products were reported as certified by Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. The organization has nevertheless operated within a difficult regulatory and research environment. One major obstacle identified in the source is the requirement that clinical trials for herbal products be conducted in partnership with government institutions, a process that had not been straightforward before collaborative efforts were recorded in 2016. No current ownership, financial, international-market, or corporate-group information is established by the supplied sources.

Paxherbals originated at Ewu Monastery in Edo State, Nigeria. Adodo Anselm founded the organization in 1996, initially establishing a small garden for medicinal plants. In 1997, the garden began supplying plant material for herbal preparations used against common ailments such as malaria and cough. Anselm also operated a small clinic serving nearby communities. The clinic was built with a loan reported in the source as approximately 30,000 to 40,000 Nigerian naira and initially consisted of three rooms. It became known as Pax Herbal Center and formed the clinical and practical foundation of the later organization. The organization’s development reflected an effort to distinguish documented herbal medicine from informal practices that had contributed to skepticism about African traditional remedies. Paxherbals sought to introduce laboratory testing, organized research, and quality-control procedures into the preparation of Traditional African medicine. By May 2006, it had built a laboratory complex containing, among other facilities, a quality-control laboratory and a microbiology laboratory. The complex was commissioned by Lucky Igbinedion, who was governor of Edo State from 1999 to 2007. A source describing the organization in 2008 characterized it as a particularly large, well-equipped, and modern herbal research center in Africa. Paxherbals’ research structure brought together academic and technical specialists with practitioners and custodians of indigenous knowledge. The formally trained group included pharmacists, botanists, pharmacologists, microbiologists, laboratory scientists, and plant scientists. The indigenous-knowledge group included traditional birth attendants, bone setters, local taxonomists, village historians, and traditional chemists. Professor Joseph Okogun was identified as the head of Scientific Research and Development. The organization also pursued an educational relationship with the Institute of African Studies. The partnership aimed to influence how herbal medicine was taught and researched in Nigeria. The source states that a university curriculum committee approved a new curriculum and that the university was open to admitting students for master’s and doctoral research in Traditional African medicine. Regulation and clinical validation remained significant challenges. The source identifies Nigeria’s requirement that clinical trials be conducted with government participation as a barrier to herbal-medicine research. It reports that meaningful collaborative efforts began to emerge by 2016, although it does not describe their outcomes in detail. By 2017, Paxherbals was reported to operate through 26 of Nigeria’s 36 states and to have around 1,000 distributors of alternative-medicine products. Thirty-three health products were reported as certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. The supplied material does not establish later expansion, current leadership, ownership, financial performance, or a confirmed official website.

• 2017

  Distribution and product-certification scale reported

  [1]Paxherbalsen.wikipedia.org

  Paxherbals was reported to have a presence in 26 Nigerian states, about 1,000 distributors, and 33 NAFDAC-certified health products.

• 2016

  Collaborative clinical-research efforts reported

  [1]Paxherbalsen.wikipedia.org

  The organization recorded collaborative efforts in response to the regulatory requirement for government-linked clinical trials.

• 2008

  Organization described as a major African herbal research center

  [1]Paxherbalsen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material described Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories as a large and well-equipped herbal research center.

• 2006

  Laboratory facilities commissioned

  [1]Paxherbalsen.wikipedia.org

  Paxherbals’ laboratory facilities, including quality-control and microbiology laboratories, were commissioned in May.

• 1997

  Herbal garden and clinic established

  [1]Paxherbalsen.wikipedia.org

  A medicinal-plant garden began supplying early remedies, while a small three-room clinic developed into Pax Herbal Center.

• 1996

  Paxherbals founded at Ewu Monastery

  [1]Paxherbalsen.wikipedia.org

  Adodo Anselm founded the organization at Ewu Monastery in Edo State, Nigeria.

A science-based Nigerian Traditional African medicine organization combining indigenous botanical knowledge with laboratory research, quality control, and regulated herbal-product manufacturing.

• Traditional African medicine · 1997

  Herbal remedies

  Paxherbals develops and manufactures herbal preparations based on medicinal plants and Traditional African medicine. Early preparations from its garden were used for common ailments including malaria and cough. The supplied sources do not provide a complete product catalogue, formulation details, or current availability.

• Regulated herbal health products

  NAFDAC-certified health products

  The organization was reported to have 33 health products certified by Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control as of the reference period. The names, therapeutic indications, certification dates, and current status of these products are not specified in the supplied material.

1. 1Paxherbalsen.wikipedia.org