BY REINIR PADUA
GOVERNMENT scientists are looking at the
possibility of developing herbal medicine for malaria from "makahiya
(scientific name: Mimosa pudica)."
Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive director of the
Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the
Department of Science and Technology, said the agency’s research
on makahiya was prompted by reports that minority groups in the
country boil the roots and leaves of the plant and drink the
broth as a cure for malaria.
He said a government survey in the 1970s
showed some tribes in the Cordillera and the Visayas were using
makahiya as medicine.
Montoya said the agency is determining which
part of the plant has the chemical and active ingredient that
can be used as cure for malaria.
Malaria is among the prevalent diseases in
the country. As of the latest government tally, only 20 of the
81 provinces in the country do not have reported cases of
malaria, Montoya said.
But a concern is that there have been reports
of malaria cases resistant to medication, like in Palawan, he
said.
Montoya said government allocates around P7
million annually for the development of herbal medicines.
Several medicines have been developed from
herbs, including lagundi tablet and pediatric syrup for cough
and asthma; sambong tablet for urolithiasis (the process of
forming stones in the kidney, bladder, and/or urethra); akapulko
lotion for fungal infection; yerba buena tablet for pain relief
and ampalaya tablet for diabetes.
Montoya said other possible herbal medicines are those from
saluyot for constipation and guyabano and guava for
tuberculosis.
