Siberut's medicinal plants face extinction<\/p>\n
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Contributor\/Padang<\/p>\n
Forty-eight-year-old Taroi Satoinang and three other men make
\ntheir way along a forest path near Muntei village on South
\nSiberut island.<\/p>\n
Wearing a traditional costume -- a crown of reddish leaves and
\nflowers, necklace and a beaded red bracelet -- Taroi leads the
\nmen in a chant.<\/p>\n
Taroi is a traditional healer, or kerei. He is on his way into
\nthe forest to find medicinal plants for his patients.<\/p>\n
On Siberut, in the Mentawai Islands regency, West Sumatra, a
\nkerei depends on his herbal concoctions and magic powers when
\ntreating sick people. Although the island has a modern community
\nhealth center, about 80 percent of the island's population of
\n25,000 people still rely on kerei for their medical treatment.<\/p>\n
Kerei, are still popular because they are knowledgeable about
\nmedicinal plants and can treat various kinds of ailments, ranging
\nfrom headaches, influenza to malaria and wounds caused by snake
\nbites and gashes. They also have special herbal concoctions that
\ncan be used as contraceptives.<\/p>\n
Research conducted by the Center for the Study of Medicinal
\nPlants of Andalas University in Padang has shown that while many
\nkerei may believe what they are doing is magic, they are also
\nusing plants with properties recognized by modern medicine.<\/p>\n
In cooperation with the Siberut National Park authority, the
\ncenter conducted pharmacological research in Rokdok, a hamlet in
\nSouth Siberut on the outskirts of the park in October 2002.<\/p>\n
With the help of several kerei and other locals, the
\nresearchers collected 209 species of medicinal plants, which
\nkerei usually use to treat sick people. As many as 154 species
\nhave been identified, belonging to 53 plant families.<\/p>\n
\"Interestingly, kerei have knowledge of the medical efficacy
\nof about 85 percent or 176 species of these medicinal plants,\"
\ncenter head Dr. Amri Bakhtiar, a pharmacologist, said.<\/p>\n
Amri said studies had shown the Mentawai people's traditional
\nknowledge of medicinal plants was better than many other tribes
\nin Sumatra.<\/p>\n
After finding out how the locals made use of medicinal plants
\n-- ethnobotatic research -- the center took the plants to the
\nlaboratory to identify the chemicals found in them, in what is
\ncalled phytochemical research.<\/p>\n
So far, this research had only identified the general
\ncategories of the chemical substances and more studies would be
\nconducted to identify the plants' chemical compounds, Amri said.<\/p>\n
The 209 species of plants the team had collected were usually
\nused to combat about 30 ailments. The most frequently used plants
\nare rubiaceae (20 species), zingiberaceae (19 species) and
\neuphorbiaceae (14 species). The most common illnesses that kerei
\ndeal with are colic, kidney stones and a number of female
\nailments -- period pain, menopause and illnesses connected with
\npregnancy.<\/p>\n
While some of these species are used individually, most are
\nused to prepare herbal concoctions. The team also conducted tests
\nof 56 species and found 28 species were active and that seven of
\nthese were highly active.<\/p>\n
Medicinal plants with outstanding antimicrobial and
\npharmacological qualities would be preserved and subjected to
\nfurther studies. Many could be developed into new forms of modern
\ndrugs, he said.<\/p>\n
However, there is still a lot more to discover about the
\nplants on Siberut. Of the 209 different plant types the team had
\ncollected not all have yet been classified and many are only
\ngrouped in general plant families or genus. Some plants could be
\ncompletely new species, Amri said.<\/p>\n
One plant, the sigoik-goik has drawn great interest because of
\nits unique features. Similar looking to a cassiavera plant, the
\nstem is used to give fragrance to a drink. \"I believe this plant
\nmust be preserved and cultivated,\" Amri said.<\/p>\n
Rokdok is only one of 62 hamlets on Siberut Island. In most of
\nthese hamlets the locals rely on kerei for their medical
\ntreatment.<\/p>\n
There is still relatively little known about how kerei from
\ndifferent areas use these plants. The fact that kerei
\ntraditionally consider it taboo to reveal the formula of their
\nconcoctions to non-kerei does not make the research any easier.<\/p>\n
Then there is the problem of the disappearing habitat for
\nkerei and their medicinal plants. Kerei only make use of the
\nplants collected from forest areas close to their hamlets. They
\ndo not cultivate these plants, so any destruction of forests
\nmeans the loss of their medicines.<\/p>\n
For a kerei, the forest is the pulse of life. \"The
\ndisappearance of forest areas because of logging means our
\ndeath,\" says Taroi, who hates the forestry operations on Siberut.<\/p>\n
Amri said he had asked the forestry ministry and the Mentawai
\nadministration to view Siberut island as an important biological
\ntreasure. They had issued forestry concessions anyway, he said.<\/p>\n
\"There are still a lot of things we need to learn about
\nSiberut forests. We must also learn how medicinal plant species
\nare distributed across Mentawai. Full-scale exploitation of these
\nforests must be prevented,\" he said.<\/p>",
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