People turn to Chinese herbs in fear of SARS

People turn to Chinese herbs in fear of SARS

Apriadi Gunawan, Contributor, Medan

As Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) haunts the world with
no cure yet in sight, fear grips people everywhere.

In Medan, apart from equipping themselves with masks, some
have even found themselves turning to traditional medicine to
fight off the virus.

A traditional Chinese medicine seller, Halim, currently enjoys
brisk business as people flock to buy his concoctions. In the
past week alone, he claims to have sold an average of 200 packets
per day of his concoction, known as liang tea.

"I was simply curious to find out how effective this
concoction is in preventing infection by the SARS virus," said a
housewife of Thai origin, who bought five packets.

Married to a Chinese-Indonesian from Medan, the woman said she
was very concerned about the spread of SARS and had decided to
give the concoction, prepared by Sinshe (traditional Chinese
doctor) Halim, a try.

Some even arrived at Halim's shop with their own
"prescription" of traditional concoctions prepared by traditional
Chinese doctors from Singapore and China. Some had received the
prescription from relatives living in the two countries.

SARS has killed more than 90 people as it has hopscotched
around the world, cropping up in places as disparate as Hanoi and
Ontario after an apparent debut in southern China.

Halim claimed that, essentially, concoctions that he prepared
and those by foreign doctors were not that different from each
other.

"These concoctions (the ones he had prepared and those from
foreign doctors) are to cure flu, breathing problems and coughs,"
said Halim, who has practiced Chinese medicine for 25 years.

He said his concoction comprised eight varieties of dried
leaf, flower and root. But it contained no tea leaves, despite
its name.

Halim said the eight materials in the concoction were Kam Cau,
Kim Gin Hua, Ce Su Yek, Pan Lan Ken, Niu Phang Ce, Cih Yek It Ce
Hua, Poh Ho and Pheng Theng. Except for Pheng Theng, or sugar,
the other materials were imported from China.

Each of these eight materials has its own efficacy. Kam Cau,
for example, is a kind of sweet grass that can remove toxins and
combine the effectiveness of the functions of the other
ingredients. Kim Gin Hua, the bud of a white flower, is good for
lung infections, coughing, dysentery and a variety of ulcers. It
also makes it easier for the body to rid itself of phlegm. Anoth
er material, Pan Leng Ken is a sort of anti-flu virus leaf.

In the production process, all of the seven materials -- apart
from Pheng Theng, added later for taste, are specially prepared,
in the correct quantities. The seven ingredients are then left in
water for 20 minutes before being boiled for about 15 minutes.
The sugar is added according to taste.

"Let the ingredients boil and then cool off before you filter
the water and the remaining ingredients. You don't have to throw
away the remaining ingredients after using them once, as you can
boil them again for a second time," Halim said.

Clinical tests aside, Halim claimed the Chinese had years of
experience in traditional medicine. "In Indonesia, although this
concoction has been on sale since the 1950s, it has not yet been
clinically tested," said the man, who claimed that he had learned
Chinese medicine from his parents and studied the subject in
China for three years.

Head of the food and drug inspection center of North Sumatra
Sukiman Said Umar said the traditional concoction had not yet
been clinically tested and urged it be medically proven before it
be claimed as effective against SARS, as so far, not a single
cure had been identified for the condition.

"If the claims were true -- that this concoction is effective
in preventing SARS or even curing it -- that would be a sign of
great progress, as even the World Health Organization has yet to
find a cure," Sukiman said.