Medicinal Plants

Herbal medicine is the use of herbs or plants for their therapeutic or medicinal value. This practice is becoming popular nowadays due to the use of natural ingredients rather than synthetic ones. Though only a few people believe in its effectiveness, many researches have been conducted so that other people will start to trust its efficacy.

The research is all about the ten (10) herbal plants that the researchers have chosen with their corresponding treatment. These herbal plants were chosen based on its availability in the Philippine Market or in one’s home and backyard. These plants were chosen based on its therapeutic value in treating the common illness or disease experienced by a typical Filipino. These plants are the following: ginger, malunggay, lagundi, ampalaya, papaya, oregano, garlic, guava, sambong, and squash.

This study aims to reveal the plant’s therapeutic value. It aims to find out what part of a plant treats a specific illness so that this knowledge can be used by other people who experienced this disease. Background of the Study

Herbal medicine started during the olden days when people used leaves and plants for their sickness. The person who usually does that is termed as traditional healers or herbal doctors. These start of as a trial and error basis and the knowledge they had gained was passed on by words of mouth or a part of tradition from one generation to the other.

In the Philippines, the practice of herbal medicine in the province is very common. Long before, these herbal doctors didn’t have any specific knowledge on what these plants are for. They just try anything out and choose the plant that they think is more effective. Through generations of selective process, the herbs that were known to be effective were kept alive and the ineffective ones were soon forgotten. These herbs are also used now since it is less expensive compared to modern drugs.

The relevance of this to the researcher’s study is that Filipinos will have more knowledge on the selection of medicinal herbs to be used to treat their ailments and to input them on the plant’s effectiveness. It will also help the people understand some advantages and disadvantages of using this kind of practice. Setting of the Study

This study will be conducted at Centro Escolar University, Manila. CEU is a non-sectarian private university located at #143 Mendiola St., San Miguel, Manila. It was established on June 3, 1907 by Doňa Librada Avelino and Doňa Carmen de Luna for the instruction and training of the youth in all branches of the arts and sciences. With some benches, a single blackboard and a few books, the two educators steadfastly nurtured a dream of establishing a nationalistic center of learning for Filipino women. The first college which is Pharmacy opened in 1921. The College of Liberal Arts, Education and Dentistry followed one after the other. Three years later, the College of Optometry was established.

The university caters the instruction and training of the Filipino youth in studies that focus on the arts, humanities, sciences and allied medicine. CEU is also known for its Dentistry and Pharmacy graduates. All of the academic programs that the university offers are accredited levels 2, 3, and 4 by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the researchers will conduct most of their researches at the university library, which offers a vast collection of resource materials that is useful in obtaining relevant data for the study. The resources consist of print, non-print collection and electronic materials. Print materials are composed of volume of books supplemented with foreign and local periodical titles. Non-print materials include the CD-ROMS of books and periodicals and microfilms. Internet facilities are available for electronic resources and online subscriptions to professional journals. The university library is located on the first mezzanine and second floors of the Carmen De Luna Hall (CDL) and on the second floor of the Librada Avelino Hall (LAH). Theoretical Framework

Herbal medicine is an ancient technique which is still practiced today. Because it’s an old technique, various cultures are using it and there are numerous ways that they are believed to work. Some believed that the appearances of the plants gives an indication to what it can be used to treat; this physical resemblance between the plant and the body part to be cured is known as the “Doctrine of Signatures”. From the Middle Ages onward, they can classify it based on observations and by gathering scientific evidence. Because of all these classifications, 3 branches of herbal medicine are practiced: Western Herbal Medicine, Ayurvedic and Chinese Herbal Medicine.

This study will be guided by the Western Herbal Medicine which has its roots both in the indigenous practices of the British Isles and in the European and Greco- Roman traditions. Western herbalism is characterized by a person centered approach where the patient is the focused of the practitioner’s attention. The background to the patient’s conditions is assessed through a thorough case history of the patients. Its therapy is directed at the causes not just the presenting symptoms. The choice of the herbs will be based on that assessment and this treatment is usually backed up with an appropriate advice on lifestyle to create an ambience of trust and positivism in the therapeutic relationship. Conceptual Framework

Figure 1
The Conceptual Paradigm on Using the System Model

Figure 1 shows the process that will be done in this study. The research work of the researchers on ten (10) herbal plants will determine what specific illnesses the mentioned herbs will treat. Uing the system model, the input includes the ten (10) herbal plants to be researched, namely, Ginger, Lagundi, Ampalaya, Garlic, Guava, Manlunggay, Sambong, and Squash. Meanwhile, the process includes the assessment and ways to determine the answer to the main problem. Lastly, the output will be the proposed program to promote the use of herbal medicine.

Statement of the Problem
This research aims to enumerate the ten local medicinal plants commonly used to treat various illnesses. It intends to elaborate how these plants mitigate and treat those ailments and to determine the advantages and disadvantages brought about by using these medicinal plants.

This study aims to answer the following questions:
1. What are the ten medicinal plants commonly used in the Philippines? 2. What are the diseases that can be treated by the said medicinal plants in the study? 3. How do these medicinal plants help in treating and mitigating physiologic or pathologic conditions? 4. Is it advisable to use herbal medicine rather than commercial ones? 5. What is the importance of Herbalism in Healthcare system today? 6. What are the factors associated in using plant medicines for healthcare needs in the study? Assumptions of the Study

The research study is anchored on the assumption that the data gathered by the researchers regarding the ten medicinal plants (Ampalaya, Ginger, Garlic, Guava, Lagundi, Malunggay, Oregano, Papaya, Sambong and Squash) are proven and was tested by a professionally capable researcher. The study also assumes that the resource materials were relevant and reliable. Moreover, the gathered data were assumed to be properly compiled and integrated together to form a reliable and true research study. At the end of the study the researchers assume that there is enough scientific studies to justify the blooming market of medicinal plants in the Philippines and that the Filipinos are very dynamic and are looking forward for new innovations regarding herbalism. Significance of the Study

Regardless of the technological advancement brought about by the modern era, poverty is still one of the most debilitating problems among third world countries. In such economic state, access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, security, and education have been difficult to achieve especially with health care. This compelled the Department of Health of the Philippines to reappraise traditional medicinal therapy and endorse the use of the ten herbal medicines clinically proven to have therapeutic value in the relief and treatment of various ailments in place of expensive pharmaceutical preparations, known as the “Sampung Halamang Gamot Program.”

Furthermore, medicinal plants take in hand not only the need to use medicine as a component of health services but also to the need for increased awareness of the benefits of the herbal medicines.

Such advantageous effects, however, are still unavailable at the present time. Currently, the distribution and variety of medicinal plants is not well documented that productive research and development in the field cannot set off.

Thus, the results of this research is fundamental for the current description and evaluation of the researchers biodiversity as well as for the future researchers that will need the database collected as basis for their future study on local medicinal plants. And lastly, documentation of the researchers local medicinal plants will increase awareness and attention on the medicinal plants; eventually leading to a dependable information on the traditional use of medicinal plants and serve as a bridge between traditional and modern medicine.

Lastly, the research will give the group an opportunity to perform a community-based qualitative and quantitative study. It will provide knowledge, experience and know-how to explore the field of ethno-pharmacology in the Philippines.

Scope, Delimitation, and Limitation of the Study
This study will be concerned with the ten medicinal plants chosen by the researchers that are used to treat common sickness of a typical Filipino. These ten medicinal plants are as follows: Ampalaya, Garlic, Ginger, Guava, Lagundi, Malunggay, Oregano, Papaya, Sambong and Squash. This study focuses on the therapeutic category of each plants/parts of the plant and procedures on how to avail its therapeutic value. It will not consider the adverse reactions that might occur in the body using the mentioned medicinal plants. Definition of Terms

The following items are defined according to the context in which they will
be used in the study for a clearer understanding of what they mean.
Ailment. It is a bodily disorder or chronic.
Bitter melon (ampalaya). It is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, which is among the most bitter of all fruits. This is a plant of tropics.

Disease. It is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism.
Garlic. It is a bulbous plant. It grows up to 0.5 m (2 ft.) in height. It produces hermaphrodite flowers.
Ginger. It is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber Officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine or spice.
Guavas. It is a plant in the myrtle family genus which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. Guavas are now cultivated and naturalized through the tropics and subtropics countries.

Healthcare system. It is the organization of people, institutions, and resources to deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.
Herbalism. It is the study and use of medicinal properties of plants.
Herbs. It refers to a plant used for flavoring, food, medicine or perfume.
Illness. It is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered as an another word for disease.
Lagundi. It is an erect, branched tree or shrub that grows to as much as 5 m high. Lagundi has a single thick, woody stem like a trunk and is usually seen in swamps of the Philippines.
Moringa oleifera. It is a tree which is rather slender with drooping branches to grow to approximately 10 m high.
Oregano. It is a perennial herb growing from 20-30 cm tall, with opposite leaves 1-4 cm long. The flowers are purple, 3-4 mm long, produced in erect spikes. Papaya. It is a large, tree-like plant with single stem growing 5-10 m tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk.
Sambong. It is used as a herbal medicine and it is a shrub that grows in the mild tropical countries. Sambong leaves are used to treat kidney stones, wounds, colds, spasms, and etc.
Squash. It is any various tendril-bearing plants of the genus Cucurbita, having fleshy edible fruit with a leathery rind and unisexual flowers.