Background Traditional medicine is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the sum of knowledge, skills, and practices based on theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to various cultures that are used to maintain health as well as to prevent, diagnose, improve, or treat physical and mental illnesses.1 The technique comprises plant, animal, and mineral-based medicines, massage, spiritual treatments, and …
by Express News Service AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday once again showcased his diplomatic prowess in his home state Gujarat, with World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth joining him in person for the foundation-laying ceremony for the WHO Global Center for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar while the …
Dr. Jane
November 24, 2021
Beijing is committed to developing the industry alongside its flagship Belt and Road initiative, according to a new report. Beijing-sponsored expansion of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in many African countries risks the illegal wildlife trade and threatens the future of some of the world’s most endangered species, a new report warns. The growth of the TCM market, coupled with the …
Dr. Jane
November 2, 2021
Significance Medicinal plants with extensive ethnobotanical histories, particularly those from Asia, have contributed to the approval of natural compounds as pharmaceutical drugs. In contrast, Samoan traditional medicine is relatively understudied. Working with traditional healers via an ethical, data sovereignty–driven collaboration led by indigenous Samoan researchers, we elucidate the chemical biology of the poorly understood but often-used Samoan traditional medicine “matalafi,” …
Dr. Jane
October 16, 2021
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been talk of numerous dubious panaceas for COVID-19. President Trump has launched the malaria treatment hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus, despite the World Health Organization saying clinical studies show it doesn’t prevent disease or death. And earlier this year, U.S. television pastor Jim Bakker was asked to pay compensation for …
Every month, the Hong Kong school teacher Kala Wan simmered a bundle of herbs, gelatine made from donkey skin and velvety deer antlers for 75 minutes until she has a dark, cloudy soup. She pinches her nose and swallows it quickly. “Donkey skin and velvet antler gelatin can nourish the blood and strengthen my health,” said the 27-year-old, adding that …
Dr. Jane
September 26, 2021
The writings on medicine are extensive and deal with the plants used and the traditional techniques that were practiced before colonization. Photo: Getty Images NEWS Most of the scriptures in the Ancestral Voices Collection relate to history or social practices. Of the 342 writings currently uploaded to the collection, 26 relate to medicine or the treatment of mental, emotional and …
On average, three African rhinos1 were poached at peak levels every day in 2015 to meet consumer demand for their horn, many of them heading to East and Southeast Asia. Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), all international trade in rhinoceros horn has been illegal since 1977; However, countries like Vietnam …
Two dugongs were stranded on an island in eastern Indonesia earlier this week, but only one survived and returned to the sea. Since conservation authorities were unable to visit the site due to COVID-19 restrictions, some locals reportedly cut up the body of the dead dugong and distributed the pieces for use in traditional medicine. Dugongs are a protected species …
A well-known ritual begins at my home around 6 p.m. My Burmese cats, Claude and Truffle, grope downstairs to dinner, pace the kitchen, and when they get impatient to be fed they start screaming. When I put her food down, I have to keep a close eye on Claude because he doesn’t just eat his own. He will put truffles …
