Traditional Thai Medicine

This chapter discusses a major public celebration held at a Traditional Thai Medicine school in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in the summer of 2012. 1 Organized in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the institution, the event was an especially elaborate version of the annual ceremony for " honoring the teachers " (wai khru), through which healers renew their connection with their living teachers, Buddhist figures of authority, and spiritual guides. This paper provides a description of the setting and layout of the celebration, as well as of the specific rituals, Buddhist and otherwise, that were undertaken that morning. While I am primarily concerned with understanding the event's logic and significance for the participants and organizers, I also analyze its social function. Examining the ceremony through both emic and etic perspectives leads to an understanding of how Buddhist rituals work to unite a dis-parate group of healers behind the leadership of the current director of the school, and how a notion of lineage is built and maintained among members of this community.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Thai Traditional Medicine (TTM) is available in many modern hospitals in Thailand. However, there have been difficulties in integrating TTM, particularly the practices of the use of herbal medicines, into modern healthcare services. Kabchoeng Hospital is one hospital that has been able to overcome these difficulties. Thus, this study aimed to document the successful utilization of herbal medicine at Kabchoeng Hospital. The documentation focused on both the knowledge of medicinal plants and the success factors that facilitated the utilization of herbal medicine in the context of a modern hospital in Thailand.
Materials and methods: Kabchoeng Hospital was intentionally selected for this case study. Participatory observation was used for the data collection. There were six groups of key informants: three applied Thai Traditional Medicine practitioners (ATTMPs), a pharmacist, two physicians, two folk healers, the head of an herbal cultivation and collection group, and 190 patients. The plant specimens were collected and iden- tified based on the botanical literature and a comparison with authentic specimens; these identifications were assisted by microscopic and thin layer chromatography (TLC) techniques.
Results: Eighty-nine medicinal plants were used for the herbal preparations. The ATTMPs used these plants to prepare 29 standard herbal preparations and occasional extemporaneous preparations. Moreover, in this hospital, seven herbal preparations were purchased from herbal medicine manufacturers. In total, 36 preparations were used for 10 groups of symptoms, such as the treatment of respiratory system disorders, musculo-skeletal system disorders, and digestive system disorders. Four success factors that facilitated the utilization of herbal medicine at Kabchoeng Hospital were determined. These factors included a proper understanding of the uses of herbal medicines, the successful integration of the modern and TTM healthcare teams, the support of an herbal cultivation and collection group, and the acceptance of the local people.
Conclusions: The practices that support the use of herbal medicine at Kabchoeng Hospital illustrated the successful application of TTM and also represented a model for the integration of TTM, and particularly the use of herbal medicine, into modern hospitals. This integration will be beneficial for sustainable healthcare systems in Thailand and in other countries where modern medicine is the mainstream medical system.

Traditional Knowledge (TK) is a central component for the daily life of millions of people in developing countries, including India where access to “modern” health care services and medicine is limited due to economic and cultural constraints. Some TK is codified, that is, formalized in some way (eg Ayurveda) however, a great part of it is non-codified, such as, “folk”, “tribal” or “indigenous” medicine which is based on traditional beliefs, norms and practices accumulated during centuries old experiences of trial and error, and passed to successive generations through oral tradition. The protection under Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of traditional and indigenous knowledge has received growing attention since the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992. However, the concept of Protection in case of TK is understood and interpreted in different ways by different groups; hence there exist two schools of thought-as per one belief protection essentially means to exclude the unauthorized use by third parties; whereas others regard protection as a tool to preserve traditional knowledge from uses that may erode it or negatively affect the life or culture of the communities who are in possession of such knowledge and have developed / applied it.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Traditional Indian Medicine are the earliest known Medical systems of the world. Both have contributed to the overall wellbeing and have pioneered to newer horizons in providing Holistic Health care. This review paper is a small attempt to document the similarities of herbs which are common to both Traditional systems and also to find out their inevitable roles in managing Non- Communicable Diseases. Both India and China are known as the “Emporium of Medicinal plants” due to availability of thousands of herbs which has got several unique properties. We are using herbal drugs in day to day practice as home remedies, health foods, Over-The –Counter (OTC as self medication) and as prescribed drugs in the Traditional Medicine sector. This strategy supports an integrated approach to herbal remedies for all sorts of diseases including some deadly lifestyle disorders including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity, respiratory disorders, diabetes e...