2002 Bio-Search

It’s back to basics, folks. We city folks are used to taking medication that’s manufactured by multinationals (which is one of the reasons why medicines are costly). But the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations states that about 80 percent of the world population still depends on medicinal plants for its health care. In fact, in Asia, which has the richest biodiversity in the world, herbs and medicinal plants are used as alternative medicine because they may be the only source of medicinal drugs for people who cannot afford expensive pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Eliseo T. Banaynal, deputy director general of the Philippine Institute for Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) of the Department of Health says there are about 8,000 to 12,000 medicinal plant species found all over the country. However, only 10 have been studied in depth by the Department of Science and Technology in cooperation with the University of the Philippines. Former Health Secretary and now Senator Juan Flavier earlier identified 80 medicinal plants.

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In the Philippines, unprocessed herbal medicine is used in the form of decoctions, poultices, liniments, tinctures and washes. Flowers, roots, seeds, stems, and leaves are the main ingredients used by the herbolarios. The 10 medicinal plants that are being developed into herbal medicine are lagundi (Vitex negundo), sambong (blumea balsamifera), Tsaang gubat (Ehretia Microphylla Lam), akapulco (Cassia alata L.), niyog-niyogan (Quisaqualis indica), bayabas (Psiditum guajava L.) Yerba Buena (Mentha cordifolia Opiz ex Fresen), bawang (Allium sativum), ampalaya (Mornordica charantia) and ulasimang-bato (Peperomia pelucida).

The applications for the above plants are for cough and asthma, as a diuretic and for kidney stone dissolution, as an intestinal anti-motility agent, as anti-fungal, anti-helminthic, antiseptic, for fever and body pains, to lower cholesterol levels and blood sugar count and uric acid.

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Happily, PITAHC aims to improve and facilitate the research and development program of the Philippine herbal industry. Also, the Department of Science and Technology is providing the scientific groundwork for the development of herbal medicine in the country. As of now, four herbal pharmaceutical plants have been established by DOH-PITAHC in Cotabato City, Tacloban City, Davao and Cagayan de Oro and a plant in Tuguegarao is owned by a private firm.

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These products can be viewed and purchased at the 2002 Bio-Search Trade Fair at the Philippine Trade Training Center on Roxas Boulevard from June 20-23.

The fair, the fifth being sponsored by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotions agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, shows off organic, herbal and natural products in cooperation with other government agencies. The promotions activity has been fueled by market observations regarding the impressive growth charted by the organic, herbal, and natural industries. International herbal sales are currently pegged at $28 billion. CITEM is at the forefront of promoting these products through participation in international trade fairs.

In line with CITEM’s thrust to develop emerging industries, it implemented a special consultancy program to create novel product concepts out of Philippine medicinal plants with socio-economic importance. At the heart of this short to medium-term program is a technical expert who has developed prototype samples. These are being showcased at the Bio-Search 2000.

The herbal expert is Dr. Dietmar Rummel, a German national who has been in the Philippines for a decade now, and who has registered 20 cosmeceutical products with the Philippine Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD). He will unveil at the Bio-Search 2002 11 phyto-personal care and 12 phyto-pharmaceutical products, and will conduct the CITEM herbal productlicensing program daily in Conference Room A of PTTC from 1:30 to 5:30 daily during the entire trade show.

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Nine Philippine medicinal plants that were harnessed by Dr. Rummel are balanoi (Ocimum basilicum), bawang (allium sativum), dalandan (Citrum aurantium), luya (Zingiber officinalis), luyang dilaw (Curcuma longa), neem (Melia Azadirach), pipino (Cucumis sativus), takip kuhol (Centella asiatica), and tsaang gubat (Carmona retusa).

The takip-kuhol will be the centerpiece medicinal plant for the trade fair. The entire plant can be used medicinally and eaten raw. This weed is effective against a host of illnesses, from stress and depression, sterility, bad reflexes and nervous fits. Dr. Rummel has created formulations with takip kuhol that will check a host of illnesses.

Aside from the exhibits and showcases, of natural, herbal, and organic products and services, Bio-Search 2002 offers informative seminars, fora, and educational sessions designed for sharing and enriching one’s knowledge for happy, healthy living.

Among the fair activities are a teach-in on setting up a medicinal herb garden (June 22, 2-3 p.m.), and cooking demos (daily, from 1 to 2 p.m.). Col. Robert Clemeña, president of the Herb Society of the Philippines (HSOP), will be handling both teach-in and cooking demos.

Bert is optimistic about the future of organic agriculture. One of the activities of HSOP is geared towards developing a certification system to ensure organically-grown products. One organization it sustains is FACTS, which grows culinary herbs in Silang, Cavite, and whose products are sold at Stall No. 67 at the Eco-Pavilion of the Bio-Search trade fair.