Herbal treatments offer hopes for modern ills

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The study and application of medicinal properties in parts of certain plants has been undertaken since the ancient times in various parts of the world.

However, this practice has gradually decreased following significant improvements and breakthroughs in modern medicine over the past few decades. This has led to growing skepticism among the public and modern health practitioners regarding the effectiveness of herbal-based medicines to cure diseases.

Concerns aired by those who oppose the use of herbal treatments mainly stem from a failure to clearly express the composition, usage and dosage, preparation techniques, warnings and hygiene for safe usage of such treatments.

Despite this blow, many people still believe in the healing properties of herbal treatments, concocted with centuries-old techniques. Traditional society preserves the knowledge to relieve their health problems, from coughs, boils, burn wounds to more serious diseases like cancer and hepatitis.

Setiawan Dalimartha, a medicinal plants expert, said that some 400 out of 1,400 plants with medicinal properties have been scientifically proven to be safe and are widely used by people in certain countries.

The types of plants vary widely, including vegetables, fruit plants, decorative plants or trees, like coleus scutellarioides and bungur trees (lagerstroemia speciosa) and other flowering plants like tembelekan (prickly lantana) and tapak dara (catharanthus roseus).

Some plants like kemuning (orange jasmine), murbei (mulberry) and senggugu (clerodendron serratum) possess healing properties in every part of the plants, while other plants have them in one or more parts, like tea leaves and akar daruju (the root of acanthus ilicifolius).

"Compared to chemical-based modern medication, the medicinal properties of plants can be absorbed by the body without being accumulated in the organs, making them safer to consume compared to the modern alternatives," Setiawan said during an interview at his clinic in Daan Mogot area, West Jakarta.

Herbal-based traditional medications are slow acting but have constructive and beneficial effects for overall health, he said, while chemical-based modern medications react quickly but may have destructive effects.

"Thanks to modern research on the properties and usage of medicinal plants, the use of medicinal plants has expanded, not only to maintain general health and cure simple diseases, but also to treat chronic and degenerative diseases like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, rheumatism and cancer," he said, while also indicating the beneficial combination of modern and traditional medicines.

Setiawan, who has written 15 books on herbal-based treatments, explained that, according to Chinese traditional herbal therapy, it is important to combine several herbs with different functions. This means that, in addition to the main herbs, supportive herbs are added to intensify the medicinal effect of the main herbs, some herbs to lessen the negative effects of the main herbs and some others to help transport the properties to organs.

"This four-tiered combination can induce the optimal healing effect," he said.

Just like modern drugs, he added, the healing properties of the plants can only be obtained by fulfilling certain requirements that include choosing the right plants (because there are plants that look similar but do not possess healing properties), the right dosage, adopting the right preparation techniques and the use of proper equipment.

Setiawan, who is also a member of the Jakarta chapter of the Center for Development and Applications of Traditional Medications (Sentra P3T) pointed out that failure to fulfill the requirements would lessen the beneficial effects of the plants.

"Many people are skeptical of herbal treatments. This is because they fail to formulate them properly," he said, while also referring to many fake herbalists who have played a role in damaging the image of herbal treatments by making unjust healing claims of their herbal products.

When it comes to commercialized jamu (Indonesian traditional herbal medicine) products, Setiawan advised people to go for products from major companies. "These companies would ensure proper handling of the raw ingredients they use while still in the plantation field, the processing and the storing of the final products," he said.

It is also advisable to buy jamu products in moderate quantities and store them in a clean, dry place to ensure that the product maintains a powdery appearance and the aroma of dried herbs.

"If the jamu has become lumpy with a strange aroma, discard it. It may have been contaminated with a fungus and could be hazardous to your health," he warned.