Traditional Medicine in Asia - South-East Asia Regional Office

318 Pages·2002·2.84 MB·English

Traditional Medicine
in Asia
Edited by
Ranjit Roy Chaudhury
Uton Muchtar Rafei
World Health Organization
Regional Office for South-East Asia
New Delhi
Traditional Medicine in Asia
SEARO Regional Publications No. 39
ISBN 92 9022 2247
© World Health Organization 2001
This document is not issued to the general public, and all rights are reserved by the World Health
Organization. The document may not be reviewed, abstracted, quoted, reproduced or translated,
in whole or in part, without the written permission of WHO. No part of this document may be
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means - electronic, mechanical or
other without the prior written permission of WHO.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the decisions or stated policy of the World Health Organization; however they focus on issues that
have been recognized by the Organization and Member States as being of high priority.
Photographs on cover page (clockwise)
(cid:122) Acupuncture is widely used in hospitals of western medicine (courtesy Prof. Chen Qui-Ting)
(cid:122) Yoga posture
(cid:122) A herbalist, preparing fresh herbal medicines
(cid:122) Crocus sativus - source of saffron
Layout and Design by
New Concept Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, India
ii
Contents
Preface
All countries in the South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organization (WHO)
have a heritage of traditional systems of medicine. There are large numbers of
traditional medicine practitioners who provide help and service to the ill and the
needy. Some of these practitioners are qualified doctors who have taken a five-year
course in the system of medicine they practise; there are others who have learnt
their system of medicine and the use of the different plants from their forbears,
while there are still others who offer their services after working with practitioners
and learning from them.
It is important that this unique knowledge, often found in ancient texts, be utilized
by countries to the maximum extent possible without endangering the environment
and destroying the very plants which are the source of the medicine. Unfortunately,
this too is happening. There are many ways in which the practitioners of these
systems and the products and plants they use could be more effectively utilized for
the benefit of the countries and their people. Greater use could be made of these
medicinal plants at the primary health care level so that all persons could have recourse
to herbal medicine–particularly those living in areas without any allopathic health
care coverage. Further research directed at a few of the chronic diseases against
which more drugs are needed, such as diabetes, bronchial asthma and arthritis,
could lead to the discovery of new drugs for these conditions. Regulated and selective
export of some of these medicinal plants being eagerly sought after in other parts of
the world could considerably enhance the foreign exchange earnings of countries
with this biodiversity. Careful planning is needed so that such a programme could be
launched without detriment to the environment and without reducing the availability
of the medicinal plants in the countries. The very large numbers of trained and
semi-trained practitioners of the traditional systems of medicine could become more
involved in the national health care systems of the countries. Such involvement can
come about only as a result of some regulation of the systems being followed, the
products used for health care and the practitioners of such systems.
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Traditional Medicine in Asia
It is important also to take steps to ensure that unethical and unjustified
exploitation of these plants, which have been used for centuries, is prevented–
particularly the patenting in western countries of these remedies. At the same time,
it is necessary to protect the discoveries being made in the countries of the Region
by scientists and research workers who are carrying out research and discovering
and documenting the effectiveness of the plants used.
The WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia has published this book in order
to present to the governments, policy-makers, clinical investigators, regulatory
authorities, doctors, practitioners of traditional systems of medicine and the public,
the state of the art in these wide and many-faceted fields. It is felt that the information
in this publication, presented by some of the most eminent international authorities,
would help not only in our understanding of these systems of medicine but also in
making better use of them.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section describes broadly
several of the systems of traditional medicine in the countries of the Region. The
second discusses policy issues such as harmonization of traditional and modern
medicine, the role of traditional systems of medicine in national health care, a
framework for cost-benefit analysis of traditional and conventional medicines, and
the development of training programmes. The third section discusses technical issues
such as legislation and regulation, standardization, pre-clinical toxicology and clinical
evaluation, including ethical considerations and protection of traditional systems of
medicines and research, drug development and manufacture of herbal drugs. Finally,
the last part of the third section contains a brief description of the current status of
traditional medicine in each of the 10 countries of the Region.
We are grateful to the contributors for not only accepting readily our invitation
to contribute to this book but also for adhering to the time frame. We are also
indebted to Dr Palitha Abeykoon of the Regional Office for his help in planning the
book, and to Mr S. Khanna, Administrative Assistant at the Delhi Society for the
Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs, for his contribution at all stages in the preparation
of this book.
Professor Uton Muchtar Rafei, Professor Ranjit Roy Chaudhury,
Regional Director, Emeritus Scientist,
World Health Organization National Institute of Immunology,
South-East Asia Region New Delhi
New Delhi
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Contents
Contents
SYSTEMS
Ayurveda 3
Dr. P.N.V. Kurup
An overview of traditional Chinese medicine 17
Dr. Hongguang Dong
Dr. Xiaorui Zhang
Unani medicine 31
Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah
Traditional system of medicine in Indonesia 47
Dr. Lestari Handayani
Dr. Haryadi Suparto
Dr. Agus Suprapto
Koryo system of medicine in DPR Korea 69
Dr. Choe Thae Sop
Chinese Acupuncture-Moxibustion 75
Prof. Deng Liangyue
Fundamentals of Yoga 93
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
and Dr. Rishi Vivekananda Saraswati
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Traditional Medicine in Asia
POLICY ISSUES
Harmonization of traditional and modern medicine 115
Prof. Zhu-fan Xie
Role of traditional systems of medicine in national health care systems 135
Mrs. Shailaja Chandra
A framework for cost-benefit analysis of traditional medicine 159
and conventional medicine
Dr. G. Bodeker
Development of training programmes for traditional medicine 183
Dr. Palitha Abeykoon
Dr. O. Akerele
TECHNICAL ISSUES
Legislation and regulation of traditional systems of medicine– 195
systems, practitioners and herbal products
Dr. D.C. Jayasuriya
Dr. Shanti Jayasuriya
Standardization, pre-clinical toxicology and clinical evaluation of 209
medicinal plants, including ethical considerations
Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury
Dr. Mandakini Roy Chaudhury
Protection of traditional systems of medicine, patenting and promotion 227
of medicinal plants
Prof. Carlos M. Correa
Research, drug development and manufacture of herbal drugs 247
Dr. B.B. Gaitonde
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Contents
CURRENT STATUS - COUNTRY SITUATION
Traditional medicine in the WHO South-East Asia Region 273
Dr. Kin Shein
Traditional medicine in Bangladesh 275
Dr. Md. Aftabuddin Khan &
Dr. S.K. Chowdhury
Traditional medicine system in Bhutan 279
Drungtsho Dr. Pema Dorji
Koryo medicine of Korea 281
Dr. Choe Thae Sop
Indian system of medicine and homoeopathy 283
Mr. L.V. Prasad
Native traditional medicine in Indonesia 287
Dr. Ketut Ritiasa &
Dr. Niniek Sudiani
Dhivehibeys in Maldives 289
Dr. Abdulla Waheed
Indigenous medicine in Myanmar 291
Dr. U. Kyaw Myint Tun
Traditional medicine in Nepal 295
Dr. Rishi Ram Koirala
Indigenous system of medicine in Sri Lanka 299
Dr. Lal Rupasinghe
Thai traditional medicine as a holistic medicine 301
Dr. Pennapa Subcharoen
List of contributors 307
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Systems
Ayurveda
Dr. P.N.V. Kurup
An overview of traditional Chinese medicine
Dr. Hongguang Dong
Dr. Xiaorui Zhang
Unani medicine
Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah
Traditional system of medicine in Indonesia
Dr. Lestari Handayani
Dr. Haryadi Suparto
Dr. Agus Suprapto
Koryo system of medicine in DPR Korea
Dr. Choe Thae Sop
Chinese Acupuncture-Moxibustion
Prof. Deng Liangyue
Fundamentals of Yoga
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
and Dr. Rishi Vivekananda Saraswati
Traditional Medicine in Asia
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