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conferenceseries
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Volume 6, Issue 6 (Suppl)
Med Aromat Plants
ISSN: 2167-0412 MAP, an open access journal
Herbals Summit 2017
October 18-20, 2017
October 18-20, 2017 Osaka, Japan
3
rd
Global Summit on
Herbals & Traditional Medicine
National database on indigenous traditional medicine: A valuable resource for research on medicinal
plants in Papua New Guinea
Prem Prakash Rai
Solomon Islands National University, Solomon Islands
T
he Traditional Medicine Database (TMD) was established in 2000 to document, preserve and encourage the use of
safe and effective traditional medicine practices and ethno-botanical tradition in Papua New Guinea (PNG). One of
the early challenges that restricted incorporation of traditional medicine in primary health care program was insufficient
documentation about medicinal plants usage as traditional medicine. This has now been addressed by carrying out systematic
documentation and maintaining a comprehensive inventory and record of information on local uses of medicinal plants and
traditional medicine practices and by collecting and storing information from the practitioners nationwide to ensure that local
knowledge is preserved, researched and properly promoted to community at large. The TMD is extensive, fully referenced and
provides historical use fields and published research information. Specifically, the electronic database contains taxonomical,
ethno-botanical, phytochemical and biological activity data including medicinal uses of herbs with methods of preparation,
administration, dosage, frequency, etc. An interesting feature is the plants image file containing pictures of plants taken in
their natural habitat. Over the years the TMD has emerged not only as the repository of indigenous knowledge in traditional
medicine but has become an important resource for scientific researches on host of medicinal plants. It has also proven to be
a useful tool for identifying safe and effective herbs. Many herbs such as
Alstonia scholaris
(severe fevers),
Evodia elleryana
(anti-TB, cough and fever), PNG lichen,
Parmotrema saccatilobum
(analgesic and anti-inflammatory),
Ageratum conyzoides
(diarrhea and dysentery),
Voacanga papuana
(antibacterial), anti-HIV herbs such as
Derris elliptica
and many others have been
investigated and traditional uses and claimed therapeutic properties substantiated. A well-developed TMD can be an excellent
resource in selection of herbs for scientific researches and to provide rationale for host of traditional medicines.
Biography
Prem Prakash Rai is currently the Dean of the School of Natural Resources & Applied Sciences at Solomon Islands National University. His specialty includes
pharmacognosy and quality control aspects of herbal medicine. He is an active Researcher and has published more than 98 papers and authored number of
technical books.
pprai.prem@gmail.comPrem Prakash Rai, Med Aromat Plants 2017, 6:6 (Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2167-0412-C1-014