Why Taking Concotions (AGBO) is Harmful

Hey Guys, Today we would be discussing on the harmful effects of Concotions, Popularly known as “AGBO”

Please read along,

Around major motor parks, bus terminals and markets in the country, various hawkers of herbal concoctions make brisk sales among the generality of the people. But, as Oluwabusayo Adekoya writes,

what are the risks associated with these drinks?

When it comes to choices we make on various issues of life, we do what we think is best and therefore live with its consequences whichever way it turns out. But, when it comes to one's health, a second thought needs be given as to whatever decision we make, after all, “health is wealth”.

It is alarming the rate at which the local concoction popularly known
as Agbo jedi jedi or Sepe is hawked on the streets of Nigeria and the wide spread consumption of Herbal bitters, especially at motor parks. The questions that readily come to mind are; do people take it as a cheap means to get high on liquor? Is it more effective than drugs prescribed at a standard hospital or do they consume it because it is a cheaper and faster way to get treated rather than to go to a hospital?

Speaking with Iya Ijesa, one of the herbal concoction (Agbo) sellers at

Oshodi Motor Park, she said! "Agbo is a very good natural remedy with no artificial chemicals added." When asked about the ingredients and the health benefits of her herbal mixture she said, “Agbo is a mixture of herbs and roots which are soaked in either alcohol or pap water. They are roots and herbs our forefathers depended on before the introduction of modern drugs and they lived longer and healthier than us. These herbal mixtures are used to cure ailments such as malaria, typhoid, pile (hemorrhoid)."

According to her, its health implications aren’t as bad as people who don’t patronize them make them seem to be because of its pure alcohol content. When asked why the same customers patronize her almost every day, after all people don’t go to the hospital everyday once they are cured of the ailment that brought them there in the first place. Is it that the concoction is not a permanent cure but last for some hours and needs to be taken again every day? She couldn’t give a distinctive answer but said “everybody has their reasons for consuming it, and it could be for pleasure or other purposes”  

Mr Segun Ogunrinde, a commercial bus driver who plies Abeoukuta-Lagos route, said his preference for Agbo over conventional drugs is that they are more effective and result-oriented. "I have been consuming Agbo for over 12 years that I have been driving and I have no reason to visit any hospital whatsoever over ill health. Agbo are herbs and roots handed down to us by our forefathers. Government should encourage their use because they are home-grown and their source can be ascertained," he said.

Other consumer’s testimonies on the concoction were almost the same as they were very explicit on the potency of the mixture which they believe should be given more prominence in order to provide a better care to the people.

Bosun, a civil servant testified to the effectiveness of Agbo and herbal bitters drink: "I use herbal bitters mostly because I experience body pains and weakness especially the stress of work and driving through traffic, and it also serves as an aphrodisiac which I must take every night because my wife might demand for sex and I don’t want to be caught off guard or less prepared. Although on days when I take Agbo, I ensure I have nothing planned out because I visit the toilet all day but feel very relieved afterwards."

Miss Cynthia Uwaje, who hawks these local concoctions corroborated the position of the consumers, even as she also solicits the support of government at all levels. She cited the case of pile which she said most doctors have little knowledge about, but has its solution in Agbo.

"Most times when you visit hospitals to lodge complaints for dysentery, some doctors don't know what prescription to give and in most cases it degenerates to pile which they might suggest you perform surgical operation as a remedy.

These surgical operations are not often successful as most patients die in the process. But you only need a little dose of Agbo to flush whatever is responsible for the illness in the first place without allowing it to degenerate to pile," Miss Cynthia stated.

A fruit seller at Ojuelegba Market, Mama Titi, said, “I take Agbo everyday to safeguard against any ailment because I cannot afford standard health care from the hospital”

But one of the major concerns medical experts give on Agbo consumption is that one cannot ascertain the dosage and expiration of the mixture. Both the hawkers and consumers differ on the required dosage for each ailment.Miss Cynthia said each mixture expires at the end of seven days, Iya Ijesha thinks three days should be the maximum as anything beyond that is no longer potent.

According to a medical doctor, Dr. Sakanmi Ibraheem of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the locally made herbal concoction such as Agbo, Sepe and the likes are not purified or refined nor do they carry information on the active ingredients or the amount of such ingredients in them. "The health benefits are scientifically questionable because there is not known scientific evidence or studies to validate their widely claimed therapeutic or curative effect, which is a direct opposite to the practice of conventional medicines, where drugs used have been extensively studied and are shown to be safe within their regulated dosage regime," Ibraheem said.

He said further: "Concerning herbal bitters, it is a herbal alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink. It is not a form of treatment of any medical condition. What has been claimed by their manufacturers is that it cleanses bowels, relives body pain, and it’s more popular for its aphrodisiac qualities. Most people who consume these drinks are now addicted to it that they are so afraid that if they don’t drink it daily, they will not be able to perform the act of intimacy when they need to. The danger is that in old age the long term effects may begin to rear its ugly head, and this is what happens when people allow society’s unnatural expectation to distort what nature allows as normal.

"What consumers of these herbal mixtures especially 'Agbo' are not aware of is the appropriate dosage. Some might take too little or too much and excess of it can cause the liver to shut down or causes multi systemic complications that affects the kidney and liver which are the powerhouses of the body. Also, it might cause blood psychosis and other mild complications which include gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, aphasic anemia and in rare cases, affects the bone marrow."

According to the medical doctor, some of these adverse effects are due to the toxic substances or unprocessed materials used in the production of the concoction. "I believe what most people refer to as 'jedi jedi' is Hemorrhoid which is also called pile but as opposed to general belief, they are not caused by the consumption of refined sugar or sweet substances. The exact causes are still yet unknown, however, there are certain predisposing factors to it, and such factors include the consumption of low fiber diet, chronic constipation and also conditions that increase the intra-abdominal pressure such as a presence of an intra-abdominal mass or pregnancy."

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have so far tried to eliminate the selling of some of these concoctions in the market, because a vast number of Nigerians suffer from ailments that develop from continuous abuse of these drugs without them knowing it came from the drugs meant to cure them. However, till date, the sales and consumption have continued have continued unabated.

There are a few audacious ones that claims to be operating under NAFDAC certification and have gone ahead to use labels indicating that the regulatory agency has authorised their activities. Despite the claims however, NAFDAC frowns at advertisements of these products in the mass media and has consistently warned that such advertisers must obtain clearance from the Agency before going to press.

In Concusion, However, from the doctor's expert views above, local herbal formulations do have issues of the  dosage, expiry date and absence of clear research to reveal the active ingredients of the concoctions. For all its acclaimed effectiveness as the consumers have alluded, these and the long term effects might be the real drawbacks