In developing countries, bacterial infections are widespread,
especially in informal settlements, due to poor sanitation
and unhygienic conditions. Furthermore, diseases such
as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, result in high mortality
rates (Rasoanairo and Ratsimamanga-Urverg, 1993). Diarrhoea
is a prominent clinical feature of childhood malnu-trition and is largely due to gastrointestinal infections and
infestations by bacteria (Gracey, 1985; Sleigh and Timbury,
1998). In many of these developing countries, and in South
Africa, traditional medicine is widely used to treat many of
these common ailments. The treatments, in most cases, are
administered by traditional healers and generally consist of
crude plant material and extracts.