Hypoxis Rooperi (African Potato)

African Potato, Hypoxis Rooperi, is native to South Africa and both Europeans and Africans have a long history of using the Hypoxis for its medicinal properties, in particular to boost the immune system

The Afrikaans speaking people, used to refer to the Hypoxis tea as the “witch’s brew”

This tea was successfully used as a remedy for a variety of ailments, some of which are well recorded.

African Potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) has a long history of use by traditional healers. Recently it has attracted the interest of the biomedical and ethnobotanical community because of its unusual chemical constituents and their efficacy in the treatment of immune system disorders, including HIV and cancers. Researchers have found that the plant sterols and sterolins, which are found in high concentrations in the African potato, increase the functioning of T-cells, which control and regulate the immune system. This increases the body’s natural resistance to disease and helps fight illnesses. Reduction in allergy symptoms has also been shown. In research undertaken by Professor Patrick Bouic, an immunologist at the University of Stellenbosch, clinical trials have shown that patients with HIV maintained their blood lymphocyte levels compared to a control group of patients over a 36 month period. After 27 months, the levels had not changed in the group taking sterols and sterolins, while the control group had all died. Professor Ruben Sher of HIV Care International has supported the use of the African potato plant as it has shown the ability to increase the amount of white blood cells in the body. He often supplements anti-viral drugs with African potato.

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