Herbal medicines from nature (Department of Health-Approved)
The Philippine drug industry is foreign-dominated with 70
percent of the industry being controlled by transnational corporations (TNCs),
25 percent owned by Marcos cronies and the remaining: 5 percent by local
industry. The compounded cost to importation of raw materials, as well as with
the active advertising cost of drugs, contributes to the soaring price of
drugstore medicine.
People are spending so much money on commercially-prepared
medicine for pain relief, cough and cold preparations, for fever, skin treatment
and other popular medications. Yet, all these have their equivalents in herbal
medicine or medicinal 'plants. Herbal medicines are' much safer and cheaper
alternative to drugstore medicine.
The government's Department of Health, with its proposed
Traditional Medicine Service Unit, will be the one actively promoting
clinically-proven herbal medicines The list and their uses include the
following:

Table

Table (continued)

Table
5. Ulasimang bato (Peperomia pellucida) -- for
anti-inflammatory:
· Eat the leaves as
salad or boil 2 handful of leaves in 2 glasses of water for 15 minutes; cool,
drain and divide the decoction in 3 parts and drink each part after
meals.

Ulasimang bato (root)

Ulasimang bato (leaf)
Some general tips in the preparation and use of herbal
medicines:
1. Use clay pot/enamel-layered pot/iron pot in
preparing herbal medicine; never use aluminum pot because aluminum causes
deterioration of the active components of the herbs.
2. Never apply pesticides nor commercial fertilizers in
cultivating herbal/medicinal plants.
3. Take the necessary precaution in buying and using/processing
medicinal plants especially in decoctions for its safety. (The possibility of
contamination is highly considered.)
4. Single preparations are much better than multiple ones; other
herbal medicines have shown little effects if prepared in multiple.
5. Not all known: medicinal plants are beneficial; others have
doubtful or harmful effects, e.g.; makabuhay can possibly cause sterility;
garlic, if taken raw, can possibly cause cancer.
6. If herbal medicine and its components are being used as food,
then it is almost always safe for its medicinal value, e.g., malunggay leaves
are good for skin infection and head lice; ginger is good for arthritic pain;
guava leaves are good for wounds and as oral antiseptic.
Sources:
Maramba, et al. Manwal sa Paggamit ng Halamang
Gamot. 2nd Edition, NSTA. 1981.
Personal Communication with Dr. Romeo Quijano, Pharmacologist,
UP College of Medicine, Manila.
Health Alert. Special Issue, 116-117.
Ideas
for action:
A Technology Information Kit, November 23 - 28,
1992