‘Jamu’ jamboree: Herbal medicines on display at the BPOM’s office in Jakarta. More than 9,600 local plants have some medicinal value and are used by millions of Indonesians to craft jamu (traditional remedies) for ailments such as hypertension, diabetes and hemorrhoids. JP/Nurhayati In a display of commitment to the development of traditional medication, the government has planned to spend Rp 2.5 billion (US$272,500) for the clinical test of four newly-found herbal medicines.

The Health Ministry’s traditional, alternative and complimentary health service director, Abidinsyah Siregar, said practices of traditional medication had rapidly developed over the last few years.

Unfortunately, most of the traditional medicines people consumed had not been clinically proven, he said.

“We need to do clinical tests on traditional or herbal medicines before accepting them as part of our existing healthcare services. Through such tests, we can develop standardized procedures on safe, responsible and effective use of traditional medicine,” Abidinsyah told journalists.

The four new herbal medicines to be tested in the randomized clinical trial (RCT) include herbal treatments for hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes.

“I hope the clinical trial will get underway by the end of this year,” said Abidinsyah.

According to the Health Ministry, as of 2011, Indonesia had only six phytopharmica herbal medicines — remedies that had been clinically proven as effective medicines through clinical trials.

The data also showed that 38 herbal medicines fell into the “standardized herbal medicine” category or were in the pre-clinical trial phase, experimenting on animals only.

“Nevertheless, we can integrate not only phytopharmical herbal medicines but also standardized herbal medicine into existing health care services,” said Abidinsyah.

Meanwhile, three alternative healthcare treatments, namely acupressure, acupuncture and hyperbaric chambers, which have long been used by Indonesian people, were proven to be safe and effective after a series of clinical tests.

Speaking separately, Lucie Widowati, the secretary of the Jamu Scientification National Commission at the Health Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes), said several patients took part in the randomized clinical trial to determine the efficacy of the four new herbal medicines.

“We conducted clinical observations on those four herbal medicines last year. But doctors have not given their approval as they considered the observation methods insufficient to make firm conclusions on the efficacy of the medicines,” she told The Jakarta Post.

This year’s randomized clinical trial used stronger methods, resulting in higher operation costs, she added.

Results of the clinical trials will be published by the end of this year.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 80 percent of population in Africa and Asia, including Indonesia, depend on traditional medicines, especially herbal medicines. Traditional medicines can be used to treat various infectious and chronic diseases. Artemisinin, a newly-developed anti-malaria drug, is derived from a Chinese herb called Qinghaosu, which Chinese people have used to combat malaria for more than 2,000 years.

“More than 100 countries have developed regulations on herbal medicines since counterfeit, poor quality and adulterated herbal products in the market may cause serious health damage,” said Abidinsyah.

In 2008, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared jamu (traditional herbal remedies) the brand of Indonesian herbal medicines.

Of the total 30,000 species of plants in Indonesia, 9,600 species have effective applications as medicine; however, only few of them have been used as herbal medicines.

To boost the development of herbal medicines, the government plans to integrate nonconventional healthcare, including herbal medicines, into existing healthcare services.

The Health Ministry’s nutrition and maternal and child health director general, Slamet Riyadi Yuwono, said it was hard to develop herbal medicines in the country because only a few people take medicine.

“Only around 3 to 5 percent of the total population take medicines, while the remaining 95 percent consume vitamins or supplements to maintain their stamina,” he said.

The 2009 Indonesia Health Profile showed herbal medicines could cure 26 health problems, including serious health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, liver disorders, arthritis, hemorrhoids, and were even useful for the treatment of cancer.

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