1.
DOCTORAL CANDIDATE TO PRESENT RESEARCH AT UK
CONFERENCE
Mr Blessing Mkhwanazi and Ms Sinenkosi Dube who will attend an endocrinology conference in the United
Kingdom.
Mr Blessing Mkhwanazi, a doctoral candidate in the Discipline of Human Physiology, will deliver a
presentation featuring his on-going research into the use of medicinal plants as an alternative to
synthetic drugs for treating diabetes during a Society for Endocrinology’s meeting in Harrgate in
the United Kingdom in March.
This meeting is one of the world’s major international endocrine conferences disseminating up-
to-date, cutting edge scientific research and clinical practice. It is also a prime educational tool
for those either already in the speciality or aspiring to become specialists in the medical field of
endocrinology - the study of hormones.
Mkhwanazi will be joined by Ms Sinenkosi Dube, a Masters candidate in the Discipline, who was
awarded a free place at the conference by the Society.
The conference will discuss “the best” of basic science, translational research, clinical
investigation and clinical practice in endocrinology.
In his study, Mkhwanazi says local traditional healers have been treating diabetic patients for
decades and continue to do so because Western medicine is not easily accessible to poorer
populations, especially living in the rural areas.
He explains that medicinal plants used by traditional healers have many properties which need
validation in order to ensure that all dosages given to patients are safe and do not cause
hormonal imbalances which could result in further diabetes-related complications. The other
objectives of the study are to isolate bioactive compounds of herbal extracts and to study the
effects on renal function and the cardiovascular system.

2. Mkhwanazi says that synthetic drugs do lower blood sugar levels for diabetic individuals but he
hopes to find even more effective solutions during his research.
He hopes to learn new techniques at the conference which will enhance his research while
Dube says she is looking forward to learning about what international experts have achieved
though research.