A Research Protocol Draft for the Department of

Pharmacology

Subsection B1
Ethnopharmacological Studies 2
Introduction
Modern medicine vs Traditional medicine
 modern medicine improved health care, high
cost and unavailability of modern medicine led
to continued dependence on MPs.
“Albularyos” and their use of MPs are still
widely practiced in rural areas of the country.
DOH endorses “Sampung Halamang Program”
Still no systematic research strategy in
identification, characterization and evaluation
of MPs used by “albularyos”.

Ethnopharmacological Studies 3
Significance of the Study
Importance of the topic
Problem: Poverty; No access to health
care.
 Need alternative sources of medication.
Increased income for farmers and
significant contribution to the national
economy
Increased awareness and attention on
MPs
Results of the research
Characterization and evaluation of our
biodiversity
Serve as baseline or database for further
studies
Ethnopharmacological Studies 4
used by DOH to evaluate health
General Objective
 To document the different
medicinal plants prescribed by folk
herbalist and its relationships to the
Sampung Halamang Gamot
endorsed by the Department of
Health

Ethnopharmacological Studies 5
Specific Objectives

1. To determine the most common medicinal

plants being prescribed for common disease
indications

2. To determine the parts, formulations and

prepartions of medicinal plants being
prescribed for common disease indications.

3. To identify the plants used by folk herbalists

for common disease indications.
Ethnopharmacological Studies 6
 Specific Objectives

4. To determine the Informant Consensus Factor (ICF)

and Fidelity Level (FL) in relation to medicinal plant
use.

5. To determine which medicinal plants being used by

the folk herbalists belong to the “Sampung
Halamang Gamot.”

6. To determine the conformity of the folk herbalist

for the use of the “Sampung Halamang Gamot” to
its endorsed indications.
Ethnopharmacological Studies 7
Ethnopharmacological Studies 8
Scope and Limitation
 Informants of the study
 “Albularyos” that prescribe medicinal plants as
means to cure diseases
 “Albularyos” necessitate credibility.
 Location of the study
 Pulilan, Bulacan.
 Indications of focus
 Fever, cough, bronchitis, ringworm, diabetes, gout,
kidney stone, diarrhea, sore throat, diuretic,
irregular menstruation, toothache, abdominal pain,
arthritis, skin disease, wounds and burns.

Ethnopharmacological Studies 9
 Medicinal Plants
 natural herbs from plants for the treatment or
prevention of diseases, disorders and the promotion
of good health

 Folk Herbalist
 person especially in rural areas who used medicinal
plants and other alternative materials and
procedures to heal
 any kind of alternative medical practitioner referred
by health care worker who is a resident of Pulilan
,Bulacan
 knowledgeable about medicinal plants and
prescribes and/or makes use of plants or plant parts
in his treatmentEthnopharmacological
regimen. Studies 10
 They will be regarded as respondents in the course
 Sampung Halamang Gamot (SHG)
Akapulko (Cassia alata)
Ampalaya (Momordica charantia)
Bawang (Allium sativum)
Bayabas (Psidium guajava)
Lagundi (Vitex negundo)
Niyog-niyogan (Quisqualis indica L)
Sambong (Blumea balsamifera L.)
Tsaang Gubat or Wild Tea (Ehretia microphylla Lam.)
Pansit-pansitan Ulasimang Bato (Peperomia pellucida)
Yerba Buena (Mentha spicata)

 Common Disease Indications

 fever, cough, bronchitis, ringworm, diabetes, gout,
kidney stone, diarrhea, sore throat, diuretic,
irregular menstruation, toothache, abdominal pain,
arthritis, skin disease, wounds and burns.

Ethnopharmacological Studies 11
Ethnopharmacological Studies 12
- Tested the curative effects of herbal
medicines

- Handed from generations to generations

- Moral support and psychological comfort

from patients

- High social status and are well respected

Ethnopharmacological Studies 13
Modern drugs
- cheaper
- decline of herbal medicines popularity

1992 - Administrative Order No.12

- Traditional Medicine Program
- Senator Juan Flavier
- Promotion of Traditional Medicine

RA 8423
Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA)

Ethnopharmacological Studies 14
Philippine Institute of Traditional
and Alternative Health Care
(PITAHC)

“Traditional and alternative health care in the

hands of the people”
- A Government owned and controlled
corporation (GOCC)
- To deliver the traditional alternative health
care.

Ethnopharmacological Studies 15
Alternative Healthcare - used in the
prevention, diagnosis and elimination of
physical or mental disorder

Traditional Medicine
 Recognized by the people
 interrelations based on culture, history,
heritage and consciousness

Ethnopharmacological Studies 16
According to the DOH, the health sector falls
short due to:

- inappropriate health delivery system

- inadequate health regulatory mechanisms
- poor health care financing

Ethnopharmacological Studies 17
 Herbal Plants Indications
Akapulko (Cassia alata) ringworms and skin fungal infections, expectorant
for bronchitis and dyspnea, mouthwash in
stomatitis, diuretic, purgative, anti-pyretic, laxative
Ampalaya (Momordica charantia) Diabetes Mellitus, rheumatism, gout, hypertension,
anti-pyretic, disinfectant, anti-diarrhea, enhances
immunes system, and remedy for cough
Bawang (Allium sativum) Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cough and cold, sore
throat, toothache
Bayabas (Psidium guajava) Antiseptic, mouth wash, anti-pyretic, anti-
rheumatism
Lagundi (Vitex negundo) Asthma, cough, colds, removal of worms and boils

Niyog-niyogan (Quisqualis indica L.) Elimination of intestinal worms

Sambong (Blumea balsamifera) Urinary stones, dysentery, sore throat

Tsaang Gubat (Ehretia microphylla Lam.) Intestinal motility

Ulasimang Bato (Peperomia pellucida) Arthritis, gout, pimples, headache, abdominal pain

Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii) Analgesic, indigestion

Ethnopharmacological Studies 18
scientific study that correlates ethnic groups,
their health practices, and how it relates to their
physical habits and methodology in creating and
using medicines

incorporates the social science of ethnology and

the medical science of pharmacology.

it explores medicinal plants in indigenous

cultures.

 methods of collection, extraction, preparation –

allowed safe usage of the substance and its safety
record Ethnopharmacological Studies 19
- Documentation of indigenous medical
knowledge

- Scientific study of indigenous medicines

- Search for pharmacologically unique

principles from existing indigenous
remedies.

Ethnopharmacological Studies 20
- interviewing healers

- interpreting traditional terminologies

into their modern counterparts

- examining patients consuming herbal

remedies

- identifying the disease for which an

herbal remedy is used
Ethnopharmacological Studies 21
- Interpretation of signs and symptoms

- Clinical studies on herbs and their

interaction with modern medicines

- Advising pharmacologists

- Strengthen traditional system of medicine

in a community

Ethnopharmacological Studies 22
Collection of information from local population
concerning the use of regional medicinal
plants, identified the most important species
used and calculate the Informant consensus
factor (ICF). The collection of data relied on a
qualitative interview (Aburjai et al)

Ethnopharmacological Studies 23
- 92 traditional medicine
practitioners/healers were interviewed
to collect information on the use of
herbal treatments

- Information was also collected on the

method of preparation, dose and
duration along with the botanical
names, family and local names of the
medicinal plants (Hedge et al).
Ethnopharmacological Studies 24
- Performed door-to-door visits in order to identify
the local people with specialized knowledge on
the use of the medicinal plants.

- By using the snowball method, the names of

other specialists were obtained.

- Calculated the Informant consensus factor (ICF)

for the data analysis.

- The rural dwellers of the community helped in

collection of the information.
Ethnopharmacological Studies 25
People who have knowledge on
traditional medicine.

Individual Interviews

Open and semi-structured questions

More than one interview session took

place

Ethnopharmacological Studies 26
Local representatives help in identifying
folk herbalists (Gazzaneo).

The local people guide in locating the folk

herbalists (Akerreta).

The chosen folk herbalists have no

scientific knowledge on the medicinal
plants (Akerreta).

The interviewees are born or live most of

27
their lives in the studied region (Akerreta).
Ethnopharmacological Studies
According to WHO, traditional medicine is still
being used by 80% of the world population as
part of their health care, especially those in
developing countries.

Many African countries including Tanzania,

depend on traditional healers who provide
primary health care by taking care of people
living with emerging diseases such as
HIV/AIDS (Kisangau).

Ethnopharmacological Studies 28
Ethnopharmacological Studies 29
 3 criteria of triangulation

Endorsement from Barangay Confirmation from folk Interview by

Health Care Office herbalists researchers

BHCO refers traditional medical Researchers divide themselves

practitioners/folk herbalists in the area to 5 groups, each group
interviewing 2 to 3 folk
herbalists

Health Care Officers (HCO) and Self assessment of folk herbalists

Barangay Health Workers (BHW) Following a standard
using rubric sheet facilitated by
verifies authenticity of referred folk questionnaire folk herbalists
researchers would be asked to provide
herbalists
information on indications,
parts of the plant used,
preparation and route of
HCOs and BHWs fills up rubric sheet to administration.
quantitatively assess the recommended
folk herbalists
Researchers will also fill up a
rubric sheet

Score of each folk herbalist from the 3 criteria will be averaged. A

score of < 75 would indicate unreliability, whereas a score of > 75
indicates reliability and gives credibility to the folk herbalist.
Ethnopharmacological Studies 30
Cross Sectional Study
Outline:
Description of Respondents
Description of Study Area
Triangulation
Data Collection Tool
Data Analysis

Ethnopharmacological Studies 31
Residents of Pulilan, Bulacan
Knowledgeable of medicinal plants
Endorsed by he HCO and BHWs

Ethnopharmacological Studies 32
Pulilan, Bulacan
19 Barangays
Industrially-competitive
No public hospital
Medical clinics, Private tertiary hospital,
folk herbalists
47 km away from Manila

Ethnopharmacological Studies 33
 Data Collection
 Triangulation Proper
1. Endorsement from the Barangay
HCO
2. Confirmation from the folk
herbalists
3. An interview will be conducted by
the researchers

Ethnopharmacological Studies 34
Verbal endorsement
Rubric Sheet

Ethnopharmacological Studies 35
Ethnopharmacological Studies 36
Ethnopharmacological Studies 37
Ethnopharmacological Studies 38
Rubric Sheet

Ethnopharmacological Studies 39
 Researchers– 5 subgroups
 Subgroup– 2-3 folk herbalists
 Questionnaire
a) Indications
b) part of the plant used
c) preparation
d) route of administration
 Rubric Sheet

Ethnopharmacological Studies 40
Ethnopharmacological Studies 41
Ethnopharmacological Studies 42
Ethnopharmacological Studies 43
Ethnopharmacological Studies 44
Ethnopharmacological Studies 45
Collection of Plant Samples
Documentation
 Proper handling
 Photograph

Ethnopharmacological Studies 46
Ethnopharmacological Studies 47
• Indications will be grouped into 10-20
categories
• Based on the indications of the Sampung
Halamang Gamot
• Informant Consensus Factor (ICF)
• Fidelity Level (FL)
• comparison between the herbal plants used
by the folk herbalists and those included in
the Sampung Halamang Gamot

Ethnopharmacological Studies 48
• Informant Consensus Factor (ICF)
– will be used to identify agreements of the informants
on the reported cures for the groups ailments

ICF = (nur – nt) / (nur – 1)

where nur = number of use citations in each category
nt = number of species used

Teklehaymanot, T. et. al. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by people in Zegie Peninsula,
Northwestern Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2007,3:12.
Akerreta, S. et. al. First comprehensive contribution to medical ethnobotany of Western Pyrenees. Journal of
Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2007,3:26.
Gazzaneo, L.R.S. et. al. Knowledge and use of medicinal plants by local specialists in a region of Atlantic
Forest in the state of Pernambuco (Northeastern Brazil.) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 200,1:9.
4
Kisangau, D.P. et. al. Use of traditional medicines in the management of HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in
Tanzania: a case in the Bukoba rural district. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2007,3:29.
Ethnopharmacological Studies 49
• Fidelity Level (FL)
– percentage of informants claiming the use of a certain
plant for the same major purpose

FL(%) = (Np / N) x 100

where Np = number of informants that claim a use of a plant species

to treat a particular disease

N = number of informants that use the plants as a medicine to

treat any given disease

Teklehaymanot, T. et. al. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by

people in Zegie Peninsula, Northwestern Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and
Ethnomedicine 2007,3:12. Ethnopharmacological Studies 50
 Table A. Medicinal Plants
Species Local Name Use Parts used Preparation Dosage and Administration

Table B. Frequency of plant parts used for the preparation

of remedies
Plant parts used Number of Medicinal Plant species Percentage

able C. Percentage forms of preparing herbal remedies

Method of preparation Percentage

Ethnopharmacological Studies 52
Ethnopharmacological Studies 53
Ethnopharmacological Studies 54
Ethnopharmacological Studies 55
Ethnopharmacological Studies 56
GAS ALLOWANCE 10000

TOLL ALLOWANCE 500

Ethnopharmacological Studies 57
BONDPAPER 500

PHOTOCOPY 100

Ethnopharmacological Studies 58
TOKENS 6000

MISCELLANEOUS 1000

Ethnopharmacological Studies 59
TRANSPORTATION 10500

SUPPLIES 600

OTHERS 7000

TOTAL 18100

Ethnopharmacological Studies 60
Ethnopharmacological Studies 61
Ethnopharmacological Studies 62