Traditional and Alternative Medicine : Research and Policy Perspectives

Contents: Foreword/M.S. Swaminathan. Preface/Tuley De Silva, Theeshan Bahorun, Manoranjan Sahu and Le Mai Huong. Introduction/Arun P. Kulshreshtha. I. Review Papers: 1. Herbal medicines: From research to the production line/Emmanuel A. Orgah. 2. Factors influencing secondary metabolism and therapeutic efficacy of medicinal plants/P. Pushpangadan and Varughese George. 3. Medicinal plants/traditional medicine and IPR Protection/P. Pushpangadan and Varughese George. 4. Regulation of herbal healthcare products/Tuley De Silva. 5. Traditional medicine in the developing and developed countries and expected trends in future/Tuley De Silva. II. Phytochemistry: 6. New and interesting compounds from some medicinal plants of Bangladesh/Choudhury M. Hasan. 7. Xanthone derivatives from Cratoxylon cochinchinense Blume/Ha Viet Son, Hoang Thanh Huong and Nguyen Huu Khoi. 8. Flavonoids from Belamcanda sinensis/Le Minh Ha, Nguyen Van Hoan and Tran Cam Son. 9. Peroxygenases: new extra-cellular mushroom enzymes which oxygenate aromatic compounds/Rene Ullrich, Dau Hung Anh, Matthias, Kinne, Martin Kluge, Christian Dolge, Mandy Starke, Christiana Liers, Katrina Scheibner, Do Hue Nghi, Le Mai Huong and Martin Hofrichter. 10. A new Flavan from the stems of Dracaena Cambodiana/Tran Thu Huong, Nguyen Hai Dang, Phan Van Kiem and Chau Van Minh. 11. Genetic diversity of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees of Brunei Darussalam determined by RAPD and PCR-RFLP Analyses/Kui Hong Chua, C.G. Li, C.L. Xue Charlie and E.C.K. Pang. 12. Improvement of the method for simultaneous determination of Indirubin and Indigo by UV-Visible spectrophotometry/Bui Huu Tai and Nguyen Manh Cuong. 13. Study on chemical constituents of Ophiopogon confertifolius/Nguyen Thi Vinh Hue, Nguyen Duy Thuan, Nguyen Trong Thong, Chau Van Minh and Phan Van Kiem. 14. Isostephaoxocanine: a new dihydroisoquinoline Alkaloid from the roots of Stephania brachyandra Diels./Nguyen Quoc Huy, Pham Thanh Ky, Tran Van On, Chau Van Minh and Phan Van Kiem. 15. Gleditschiaside B and C: Two new carbohydrate esters of Cinnamic Acid from the leaves of Gleditschia australis Hemsl/Nguyen Thi Hong Van, Phan Van Kiem, Chau Van Minh and Alessandra Braca. 16. A new Triterpene from Baeckea frutescens L. (Myrtaceae)/Tran Hong Quang, Phan Van Kiem and Chau Van Minh. 17. Study on the chemical constituents of Polygonum hydropiper L./Tran Thi Quynh Hoa, Nguyen Xuan Nhiem, Hoang Thanh Huong, Ha Viet Hai, Phan Van Kiem and Chau Van Minh. 18. Chemical constituents from Clerodendrum inerme L./Tran Thi Minh, Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh, Vu Dao Thang and Tran Van Sung. 19. Isolation and characterization of Triterpenes and a Phenolic Glycoside from Celastrus hindsii Benth/Trinh Thi Thuy, Tran Van Sung, Nguyen Huy Cuong and Pham Thi Ninh. 20. Chemical studies on five Vietnamese Fissistigma Species (Annonaceae)/Tran Van Sung, Trinh Phuong Lien, Trinh Thi Thuy, Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh, Nguyen Hong Van and Tran Duc Quan. 21. The synthesis of a novel Bibenzopyran relied on electro-oxidation of Malloapelta B by Cyclic Voltammetry/Phan Thi Binh, Bui Hai Ninh, Chau Van Minh, Nguyen Hoai Nam, Le Mai Huong and Phan Van Kiem. 22. A new Dammarane-Type Triterpene Saponin from Eriochloa ramosa (Retz) Hack (Poaceae)/Le Thi Kim Loan, Nguyen Xuan Nhiem, Chau Van Minh and Phan Van Kiem. 23. Indole Alkaloids from Kopsia pitardii Merr. (Apocynaceae)/Do Thi Thu Huong, Nguyen Ngoc Hanh, Nguyen Quyet Chien and Nguyen Van Hung. 24. Review of Lupane Triterpenoids from Acanthopanax species and their pharmacological activities/Nguyen Xuan Nhiem, Nguyen Huu Tung, Eun Mi Choi and Young Ho Kim. III. Clinical and bioactivity studies: 25. Traditional and modern applications of Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. and Azadirachta indica A Juss--vital trees of South India/C. Rajasekaran, E. Meignanam, N. Premkumar, T. Kalaivani, R. Siva and V. Vijayakumar. 26. Antifungal constituents from the stems of Dracaena cambodiana/Nguyen Hai Dang, Phan Van Kiem, Chau Van Minh and Tran Thu Huong. 27. Cytotoxic activity assessment of traditional anticancer plants belong to some species of Selaginella of Vietnam/Le Minh Ha and Le Mai Huong. 28. Chemical and biological studies of seed of Vietnamese Citrus Plant/Doan Lan Phuong, Pham Quoc Long and B. Matthaus. 29. Study on Antipolyarthritic Activity of Rhizoma cibotii/Dien Vu Van, Tram Nguyen Thi and Duong Nguyen Thuy. 30. Study on chemical composition and some bio-activities of Herba piperis Lolot/Dien Vu Van and Hung Le Quoc. 31. Study on antioxidant activities and principles of Vietnamese bitter tea Ilex kudingcha/Phuong Thien Thuong, Nguyen Hai Dang, Tran Minh Ngoc, Tran Manh Hung, Nguyen Duy Thuan and Won Keun Oh. 32. Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase-1B inhibitory constituents from Erythrina spp/Long Cui, Zacharias Tanee Fomum, Phuong Thien Thuong and Won Keun Oh. 33. Management of difficult Fistula in Ano by Ksharasutra (Chemical Seton)/Manoranjan Sahu. 34. Studies on breast cancer in relation to Prakriti (Constitution)/Mridula Singh and G.C. Prasad. 35. Studies on Hepato-protective action of Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica and Emblica officinalis (Triphala)/O.P. Singh, N. Sujatha, P.K. Rai, N.P. Rai and S.K. Singh. 36. Status of AYUSH and Need for standardization of medicinal plants/A. Saraswathy. 37. The research of bioactive components from different plants: Case of Rwanda/Kabera N. Justin and Nyetera Polycarpe. 38. Identification of interaction of mosquito Larvicidal compounds from Lantana viburnoides ssp. viburnoides var. kisi by using Subtraction Bioassay/Ester Innocent, Nicholas K. Gikonyo, M.J. Moshi, Mayunga H.H. Nkunya, Joseph C. Cosam and Ahmed Hassanali. 39. Chemoprofiling and bioefficacy evaluation of herbal drugs and formulations pre-treated by Gamma radiation for microbial decontamination/Bishan Datt Gupta. 40. In vitro antioxidative activity of some medicinal plants/Nguyen Ngoc Hong, Ho Thi Cam Hoai, Ho Huynh Thuy Duong and Tran Hung. 41. Bioactivities of a Vietnamese medicinal plant Vang Se (Jasminum subtriplinerve Blume.)/Dai Hue Ngan, Ho Thi Cam Hoai, Le Mai Huong, Poul Erik Hansen and Ole Vang. 42. Use of Acetylcholinesterase activity for the quantitative determination of Organophosphate pesticides/Le Minh Tri, Nguyen Quoc Khang and Ngo Thi Thuy Phuong. 43. A contribution to medico-ethnobotany of Kalahandi district, Orissa on ear and mouth disease/Nalini Sadangi, Rabindra N. Padhy and Rajani K. Sahu. 44. Traditional veterinary herbal practices of Kalahandi District, Orissa, India/N. Sadangi, R.N. Padhy and R.K. Sahu. IV. Country Reports: 45. Country status report on traditional medicine research and development in Nigeria/Emmanuel Orgah. 46. Most widely traded plant drugs of Turkey/K. Husnu Can BASER. 47. Socio-economic development and traditional medicinal knowledge protection in Relwa, Dediapada and Nani Singloti villages/Lancelot D'Cruz. 48. An introduction to the studies of medicinal plants and traditional medicine in the Lao People's Democratic Republic/Bounhong Southavong, Kongmany Sydara and Somsanith Bouamanivong. 49. Herbal Prophylactics in Mauritius: status of traditional use and research/Theeshan Bahorun. 50. Research on some indigenous medicinal plants of Myanmar/Soe Soe Win. 51. Status of medicinal plants and prospects of their cultivation in Dang/Chiranjivi Regmi. 52. The role of indigenous knowledge systems in bioprospecting and product development in South Africa: a policy, research, development and innovation perspective/Hlupheka Chabalala. 53. Indonesia country report on herbal medicinal plants and traditional herbs remedies/Adriana Marthiany Lubis. 54. Some frontline medicinal plants of Kashmir Himalaya used in Unani Medicine: present status and role/Tariq Ahmad Butt and M.K. Siddiqui. 55. Perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and practice of traditional medicines among Bruneians: a pilot study/Nurolaini Pg Haji Muhd Kifli, Zaw Wint and Linda Lim. 56. Herbal remedies and utilization of medicinal resources in Bhutan/Phurpa Wangchuk. 57. A preliminary study on the lowering of Cholesterol levels by a combination of black seed and garlic/M.H.A. Tissera, K.M.M. Kadudunkorala and K. Withanarachchi. 58. The brief history and development of traditional medical science in Mongolia/A. Altantsetseg and Ch. Chimedragchaa.

"Herbs and traditional medicines are being extensively used for healthcare in almost all the countries. Ancient religious texts are replete with references on the use of natural products with medicinal properties. Because of local beliefs and cost considerations, herbal medicines remain a popular mode of treatment in the developing countries. Even in the industrialised society, rising cost of prescription drugs and ensuing side effects of the treatment, make it highly attractive to use the traditional medicine particularly for minor ailments.

Modern system of medicine is based on sound experimental data, toxicity studies and human clinical studies, however, pharmacopoeia on herbal products is usually not available. Precisely, herbal industry lacks good manufacturing practices as standards of the medicinal plant products are not well regulated and the quality of finished herbal products is often not up to the mark. For this reason, many medicinal plants are either getting scarce or are on the verge of extinction resulting into genetic erosion due to a huge public demand and extraction of massive amount of modern drugs from these plants. If this trend continues, the human race will lose some of the most important sources of future drugs, which will be lost by the mankind forever.

The focus of this book prominently encompasses the importance of traditional medicine in our modern health systems and discusses the potential applications of phyto-chemicals to assist bio-molecular mechanisms, and hence offer realistic and therapeutic possibilities. It includes review papers on production strategies, projection trends, regulatory status and IPR issues and reports on the characterization and isolation of useful medicinal plant phyto-chemicals, clinical and bioactivity studies comprising antifungal, anticancer, antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, hepato-protective and acetyl cholinesterase assays. Finally, a series of comprehensive country reports provide an evaluation of the use of traditional health care systems and related research output in many developing countries.

This book is chiefly based on the discussions and presentations during the International Workshop on 'Herbal Medicinal Plants and Traditional Herb Remedies', 20-21 September 2007, Hanoi, Vietnam. It is likely to contribute to an understanding of the status of research, policies, and regulatory status of medicinal plants and their products in developing countries, and the information presented herein would hopefully serve as a valuable material for the scientists and professionals engaged in this subject area." (jacket)