Quality control vital to promote indigenous medicine

By Naalir Jamaldeen

The recently concluded International conference on Unani, Ayurvedic, Siddha and Traditional medicine was a milestone in the indigenous medical history of Sri Lanka. Twenty Ayurvedic students received the opportunity to follow a three months short Clinical Training connected to an MD course in Ayurveda at Benares Hindu University in Varanasi. They left the country recently. Shortly after the conference local Ayurvedic Students were given this opportunity. Dr. M.W.S.J. Kumari, Acting Director of the Institute of Indigenous Medicine (IIM), University of Colombo, Rajagiriya said in an interview with the Sunday Observer.

Dr. M.W.S.J. Kumari

Q: What are the benefits the indigenous medical sector gained after the international conference on Unani, Ayurveda, Siddha and Traditional medicine?

A: After nearly 80 years, 20 Sinhala stream students have applied for a Unani Degree program this year. Foreign universities and pharmaceutical companies which participated in the international conference agreed to extend their cooperation to train our undergraduates. We have already signed three MOUs with the Hamdard University, the Aligarh University and the University of Hyderabad in India.

Hamdard Pharmaceuticals Corporation has given the sponsorship for the conference. They have pledged to sponsor future conferences. Other pharmaceutical companies in Sri Lanka are also ready to extend their cooperation to the IIM for its future events.

Q: There are indigenous medical practitioners who have no formal education can you outline how they practise?

A: I can't fully agree with this statement.

When Buddhism came to Sri Lanka, 18 types of trade came to Sri Lanka which included traditional medicine too. The term Gurugola refers to the student-teacher relationship. If a teacher has a good student he would take the system to the next generation. Sometimes it will die a natural death if the student did not learn the system properly. A true traditional medical practitioner will produce another indigenous medical practitioner or doctor.

Q: What is the role of IIM in this regard?

A: The ILM is a higher education institute where undergraduate and post graduate programs are held.

We give the knowledge of traditional medicine to our students by bringing traditional doctors who are specialists in various sections including Fracture specialists, burn injuries, boils and even insanity. These medical practitioners have also been given a chance to practice at the Ayurvedic National Hospital. We will permit students to work for three months with traditional doctors. They must do research with them.

Q: Can you explain the events IIM is involved in ?

A: Workshops for Indigenous medical practitioners and students have been held. Earlier we held national and international symposiums. There is no confusion between Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha.

We plan to hold two symposium on traditional medicine titled Deshiya Sinhala Wedakama in May or June and Unani Medical Symposia in September. This year also we plan to hold an international conference by October or November.

Q: Are there sufficient ingredients for Ayurvedic, Unani, Traditional and Siddha in Sri Lanka?

A:There is a shortage of ingredients for Unani Medicine, some ingredients are not available in Sri Lanka. Important Unani medicines are imported from India, Pakistan and Arab countries.

Non availability of herbal plants is a major problem. Planting of herbal plants is being promoted in schools across the country.

We imported Rs. 3 million worth of Unani drugs from Hamdard Pharmaceuticals in India recently. We produce certain kinds of Unani drugs in the hospital level. Some of the private sectors drug manufacturers also produce Ayurvedic and Unani medicines medicines using the raw materials available in Sri Lanka.

There is no credibility in the raw materials which are imported. So we undergo immense difficulties in producing quality Ayurveda and Unani drugs.

Imported ingredients might be adulterated or may even be the wrong raw materials. A quality control laboratory or an Authority is important to overcome the issues like this.

Q: Can you explain the present state of the Indigenous Medical sector in Sri Lanka?

A: The indigenous medical system is yet to be absorbed to National Health Policy (NHP). As such a situation remains in the indigenous medical sector, when certificates are issued to insurance companies or other legal bodies the credibility is comparatively low.

We are qualified to treat patients. The Ayurvedic System is an accepted medical system but we don't have legislative power. In certain places the Ayurvedic medical system is not treated on par with western medicine. This trend has started to change gradually.

The Sri Lanka Ayurveda Department has control over us when producing medicines or in other activities.

Q: Can you outline the method of obtaining certain kinds of medicines?

A: We use some kinds of narcotics for some medicines. For instance, we use cannabis ( ganja) as an important raw material. We use it according to our text, reconstituting and killing the toxins. Now we have to get permission from the Modern Medical System for this raw material.

The Indigenous medical system has to abide by the Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act. We use alchemy that means "Rasashastra" a special mechanism in the Ayurvedic medical system. We use minerals like arsenic, sulfite, mercury and nitrites. According to the philosophy of indigenous medicine,these are types of medicine. There are many restrictions in getting these medicines.

Q: There is an allegation that some practice indigenous medical system without proper knowledge, do you agree with this allegation?

A: This is difficult to answer. The indigenous medical system is traditional, those who possesses enough knowledge of Ayurvedic medicine can practice it. After obtaining academic qualification if he did not practice it there won't be any use from it.

Indigenous medical system of this country comes with the heritage.

If you see, our grandfathers, grandmothers they were traditional doctors. They knew the medicines and what was the suitable for a certain disease specially burn injuries and skin diseases and first aid. You can find traditional medical practitioners in distant villages who practice it with the knowledge gained from nature. They are also traditional doctors. So we can't blame them. Sometimes they may have the knowledge. The problem arise only when the patient is misdiagnosed.

These kinds of medicine don't have side effects. Each and every plant can be used as medicine. What animals partake when they are ill are the natural also medicine.

We can't blame the system. What Ayurvedic doctors said more than five thousand years ago are still practised.

The freedom is there to modify the drug and do research.

An Ayurvedic medical practitioner should register at the Ayurvedic Medical Council. We can find solutions for cancer with our medicines only. We have the potential to cure some diseases. We are trying to find medicine to cure most diseases.