More and more people turning to traditional medicines

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, Contributor, Jakarta

While many rely heavily on modern medicines for many reasons, the number of people consuming alternative drugs, including the traditional herbal-based medicines, continues to rise in line with the growing trend of "back to nature" lifestyle.

Consumers take the herbal-based medicines, inherited from their ancestors, for therapeutic or health maintenance purposes.

Since the worst-ever economic crisis hit Indonesia five years ago, the prices of modern medicines have substantially increased, leading many low-income bracket people to turn to alternative drugs. Commonly, parents with good knowledge of traditional medicines can prepare the medicines by themselves, without asking advise from a physician.

Daryono, a teacher at an elementary school, for instance, said that he prepared the concoctions himself, especially for light illnesses like diarrhea or a stomach ache. "The knowledge on the traditional medicines is gained from word of mouth. I got the knowledge from my parents. And my parents got the knowledge from my grandparents," he said.

When his five-year old daughter suffered from diarrhea, he asked her to drink one tea-spoon of squeezed kunyit (turmeric) once daily. "The turmeric should be first rasped and extracted," he said.

Also, when his daughter lost her appetite to eat, instead of buying Vitamin B Complex or another kind of liquid vitamin for children, he asked her to drink one teaspoon of traditional medicine which he prepared. "The formula comprises a slice of what is locally known as temu lawak (wild ginger), brown sugar and tamarind," he said.

Many with little knowledge on the traditional medicines, get advise from a physician who also provides the material of the medicines.

Warsono, 60, for instance, suffered from a serious stroke and could not move his arms. As a bus driver and a father of six children, he cannot afford to go to a hospital and buy modern medicine. Therefore, he went the traditional route and a physician gave him the medicines based on the prescription he prepared.

"He asked me to drink boiled water of kepel leaves, mixed with brown sugar and temu lawak. I just obeyed what the physician ordered. I drank the water three times a day and thank God, one month later, I fully recovered from the effects of the stroke," he said.

Traditional herbal-based medicines can be easily found in kiosks at markets, as well as at the corner drugstores. The sight of women carrying a basket with bottles of liquid traditional herbs on their back walking from door to door in villages is common.

With the sharp hike in pharmaceutical medicine prices, more kiosks or drugstores sell plants with medicinal properties in powder, capsule or liquid form. Many others have also tried to plant the plants with medicinal properties in their gardens. Among the sought-after plants include sambiloto (green chiretta), daun dewa (gynura pseudo-china), kumis kucing (orthosiphon spicatus) and temu lawak (wild ginger).

Producers provide alternative medicines in the form of powder, fresh plants, dried plants, and capsules. According to W.P Winarto, who runs the Karyasari herb-based medicine clinic in Bogor, West Java, the number of consumers seeking alternative medicines that he provides continues to increase, especially daun dewa, sambiloto and temu lawak. Daun dewa herbal medicines are said to be used for preventing strokes and heart attacks. It can also help children with cramps.

Sambiloto is used by many for healing hypertension, coughing, diabetes and can also serve as an antibiotic. Temu lawak is said to cure stomach aches and hepatitis in addition to increasing one's appetite.

Winarto claimed that the side effects from modern chemical- based medicines were mostly drowsiness and irregular heartbeat and that was why many chose herbal medicine.

Another producer said that alternative medicines, including traditional herbal medicines also had side effects but that they were not as pronounced as those produced by modern medicines.

Citing an example, he said that celery leaves can be used to help heal hypertension. "But when the patient consumes too much and he never exposes himself to the sun, he will suffer from itching," said one traditional healer, who declined to be named.

But somehow, whatever the result, the alternative medicines could gain wider acceptance amongst Indonesian consumers because it is in their heritage.