Aspects of Traditional Medicine in Nepal

185 Pages·2009·17.65 MB·English

by  Suresh Awale

AAssppeeccttss ooff TTrraaddiittiioonnaall MMeeddiicciinnee
iinn NNeeppaall
MMOOHHAANN BBIIKKRRAAMM GGEEWWAALLII
EEDDIITTEEDD BBYY SSUURREESSHH AAWWAALLEE
IInnssttiittuuttee ooff NNaattuurraall MMeeddiicciinnee,, UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff TTooyyaammaa
Aspects of
Traditional Medicine
in Nepal

Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama
I http://sureshawale.blogspot.com/
II
AAssppeeccttss ooff
TTrraaddiittiioonnaall MMeeddiicciinnee
iinn NNeeppaall

By
Mohan Bikram Gewali, PhD
Visiting Professor
Institute of Natural Medicine
University of Toyama
and
Professor, Central Department of Chemistry
Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, NEPAL

Edited by
Suresh Awale, PhD
Assistant Professor
Institute of Natural Medicine
University of Toyama
2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, JAPAN

III http://sureshawale.blogspot.com/
Aspects of Traditional Medicine in Nepal

Copyright © 2008 Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama

Permission is granted to reproduce any part of this publication and distribute freely for
informational, academic and non-commercial use, provided that the original source is cited.
Any other use of this book including modification and republication for commercial purpose,
are strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the Institute of Natural Medicine,
University of Toyama.

Cover photograph by: Kishore Maharjan
Phorograph description: Thanka painting of 108 Meditating Medicine Buddha
Source: Everest Thanka Treasures
Thamel Chok, Kathmandu, Nepal

Published by:
Institute of Natural Medicine
University of Toyama
2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, JAPAN
IV
Contents
Preface
VII
CHAPTER 1 Traditional Medical System 1
1.1 Scholarly Medical System 2
1.1.1 Ayurveda 2
1.1.2 Homeopathy 8
1.1.3 Tibetan Medicine 9
1.1.4 Unani System 11
1.2 Folk Medicine 12
1.3 Shamanistic Medicine 22

CHAPTER 2 Medicinal Plants 27
2.1 How Many Medicinal plants? 30
2.2 Why Medicinal Plants? 31
2.3 Medicinal Plants of National Priority 32
2.4 Biodiversity 33
2.5 Conservation of the Medicinal Plants 34
2.5.1 Conservation Strategies 35
2.5.2 Benefits of Medicinal Plant Cultivation 36
2.5.3 Grass Root Level Conservation of the Medicinal Plant
Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge 37
2.5.4 In-situ Conservation of Threatened and Endemic plants 4 0
2.5.5 Cultivation of Medicinal Plants in Nepal 41
2.5.6 Harvesting Process 41
2.5.7 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 42
2.5.8 Medicinal Plant Trade and CITES 44
2.5.9 The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification 47
2.6 Nepal Government Commitments for Medicinal plants 4 7
2.6.1 Collection and Export of the Plants 48
2.6.2 Regulation of Herbal Products 49
2.6.3 Policy Issues 49
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Contents

2.7 Medicinal Plant Trade 50
2.7.1 Medicinal Plant Market Chain 53
2.7.2 Worldwide Trade 56
2.7.3 Medicinal Plant Trade in Nepal 57
2.8 Bioprospecting 59
2.8.1 Traditional Knowledge 62
2.8.2 Intellectual Right Protection 63
2.9 Nighantu ( Medicinal Plant Book) 64
2.10 Research, Development and Promotional Activities 65

CHAPTER 3 Folk Medicines of Manang District 71

CHAPTER 4 Traditional Medicine: Issues and Suggestions 153
4.1 Traditional Medicine Issues 153
4.1.1 Standardization 153
4.1.2 Safety 154
4.1.3 Efficacy 156
4.1.4 Biodiversity 157
4.1.5 Recognition 157
4.1.6 Regulation 158
4.1.7 Traditional Medicine in Coming Years 159
4.2 Suggestions for the Sustainable Development of Medicinal Plant
Resources and Traditional Medicines 159

Plant Index
General Index

VI
Preface
The world is culturally endowed with various forms of traditional healing practices.
Immediately the names of the Ayurveda of the Indian subcontinent, the Traditional Chinese
Medicine of China, the Kampo of Japan, the Tibetan Medicine, the Unani and others come to
mind. Such traditional medical system is time tested and contains rich medical wisdom of
immense importance. They need to be explained to both specialists and general readers as well.
The book is an attempt to describe some of the basic elements of the traditional medicine
and medicinal plant resources of Nepal. Care has been taken to present the material in simple
and readable English. It is intended for the general readers, students and anybody who is
interested in Nepali traditional medicine and medicinal plant resources. Admittedly, the third
chapter of the book appears to be little technical, but it has also been made as understandable as
possible. Constructive criticism and comments are most welcome from the readers. Such
feedbacks are sure to make the second edition more informative and readable.
This book is one of the outcomes of my tenure as a visiting professor at the Institute of
Natural Medicine, University of Toyama during November 2007 to March 2009. I am obliged to
the Professor Committee of Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama for offering me
this Visiting Professorship. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Prof. Tokuso Saito,
(President, University of Toyama), Prof. Ikuo Saiki (Director, Institute of Natural Medicine) and
Prof. Shigetoshi Kadota (Division of Natural Products Chemistry, Institute of Natural Medicine)
for taking the necessary steps for realizing this invitation. I have high admiration of Assistant
Professor Dr. Suresh Awale who took well care of me during my stay in Toyama. Furthermore,
Dr. Awale took pain to edit this book and made it more attractive. It gives me great pleasure to
write that Institute of Natural Medicine generously published the book. I would also like to
acknowledge the following person for their assistance in different ways: Mr. Bhupendra Bahadur
Karki, Kathmandu; Dr. Kamdev Jha, Kathmandu; Mr. Subarna Vaidya, Kathmandu; Mr. Som
Prasad Nepal (Sambhu), Kathmandu; Prof. Pramod Kumar Jha, Kathmandu; Prof. Ram Prasad
Chaudhary, Kathmandu; Lecturer Bharat Babu Shrestha, Kathmandu; Mr. Kuber Jung Malla,
Kathmandu; Dr. Surya K. Kalauni, Kathmandu and Associate Professor Akihito Takano, Machida.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the higher officials of Tribhuvan University for granting
me leave.
Finally, I owe a lot to Geeta, Grishma and Utsav for their constant love & support and
their permission for me to be away from them for one year.

Photograph Acknowledgement
The following organization/persons/web site are gratefully acknowledged for the photographs
used in the book. Society for the Conservation and Development of Himalayan Medicinal
Resources, Japan (for photographs of Asparagus filicinus, Berberis aristata, Cannabis sativa, Clematis
tibetana, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Hippophae salicifolia, Maharanga bicolor, Rhododendron lepidotum, Rosa
macrophylla, Rosa sericea, Rubus foliolosus and Rumex nepalensis), Mr. Kuber Jung Malla (for
photographs of Nardostachys grandiflora, Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora, Paris polyphylla and Stellera
chamaejasme), Dr. Surya K. Kaluani (for photographs of Ayurvedic Hospital, Ayurvedic Drug
Store and Kunphen Tibetan Medical Center), Dr. Kanti Shrestha (for photographs of Abies
spectabilis and Taxus wallichiana), Mr. Bharat Babu Shrestha (for photograph of Aconitum
naviculare) and Wikipedia (for photographs of Androsace strigillosa, Anisodus luridus, Azadirachta
indica, Betula utilis, Bistorta affinis, Carum carvi, Cordyceps sinensis, Curcuma longa, Euphorbia
longifolia, Galium boreale, Hyoscyamus niger, Juglans regia, Juniperus communis, Juniperus squamata,
Malva verticillata, Mentha longifolia, Morchella conica, Onopordum acanthium, Origanum vulgare,
Pinus wallichiana and Verbascum thapsus).

M. B. Gewali

VII http://sureshawale.blogspot.com/

Chapter 1: Traditional Medical System
Chapter 1

Traditional Medical System

In a World Health Organization (WHO) document, the traditional medicine is
described in the following way: “the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices
based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether
explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention,
diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness” (1). With this
description, it becomes apparent that the traditional medicine has wide spectrum. On one
hand, it encompasses highly developed and sophisticated traditional medical systems
such as the Ayurveda, the traditional Chinese medicine, the Japanese Kampo, the Tibetan
medicine, the Unani and others; on the other extreme it may just plainly cover a mother’s
household knowledge of curing children’s ailments such as cold and cough. In between,
several other traditional systems such as folk medicine, ethnomedicine, community
medicine and others fall. In some countries mostly in the western countries, several other
names such as complementary, alternative, or non-conventional are also used instead of
traditional medicine. People have classified the traditional medicine in different ways.
Perhaps classifying the traditional medicine into Scholarly medical system, Folk
medicine and Shamanistic medicine seems to be the most reasonable (2).
Scholarly medical systems are based on sound theories and principles. Behind
such medical systems, there exists long, efficient and successful therapeutic history. The
practitioners are produced by rigorous education and training programs. Occasional
improvement and refinement on the theoretical as well as clinical aspects based on sound
research and evidences are seen to have taken place in course of the development of such
medical systems. Health care is provided on their own hospitals and dispensaries. The
Ayurveda, the traditional Chinese medicine, the Japanese Kampo, the Unani, the Tibetan
medicine all belong to this class.
Folk medicine refers to the society’s indigenous medical wisdom that is handed
down generation to generation usually through oral tradition. Through the process of
countless hits and trials of finding the remedies since time immemorial, the folk medicine
process is deemed to have been perfected. The folk medicine may have been generated
from the contribution from a particular ethnic group or from a specific locality or may
have coevolved with age-old culture. Worldwide, folk medicine practices are widespread
especially on the traditional societies.
Shamanistic medicine is a spiritual form of medicine where a person’s illness is
believed to be caused by the spirit possession. The shaman in a trance state will
communicate with spirit healers and seek remedy of the sickness. The shamanism is still
practiced with gusto in different parts of the world.
Following the above classification, in the next section, concise account of the
traditional medical practices found in Nepal will be described.
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