Commonly used metal and crystalline salts in South African traditional medicine

Traditional medicines in the form of plants, animals and/or minerals are used by millions of South Africans. There is currently no data regarding the commonly used mineral elements thus the potential benefits or hazards of such products remain unclear.

Metal and crystalline salts were purchased from a rural market (Nongoma, Zululand, South Africa). Information regarding the colloquial name, price and weight was recorded. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used to quantatively determine the unknown salts.

Six widely available salts were analyzed. Ndonya, as it is colloquially known, refers to two products which look identical to the untrained eye-one is dyed table salt and the other is hexavalent chromium. A further product used medicinally, although not widely available, was identified as iron chromite ore.

The array of substances documented, ranging from benign to carcinogenic, stresses the importance of documenting components used in traditional medicine and confirms the necessity to regulate South Africa traditional medicine. Healthcare workers should be aware of the complexities of using such metal salt.