JAMU (TRADITIONAL HERBAL MEDICINE) and TRADITIONAL COSMETICS

Source : http://www.joglosemar.co.id/jamu.html
JAMU

'Back to nature' is not merely a slogan in Java and Indonesia. The visible proof is the use of traditional herbal medicine of various type of 'medical plants', either from the leaves, the fruits, the roots, the flowers or the barks, etc.

These herbal medicine had been used since the ancient time up to now, it is largely consumed by people of different level; lower, middle and upper, in the villages and in the big cities.

The study of jamu had been conducted by Rumphius, a botanist as early as the year 1775 AD by publishing a book 'Herbaria Amboinesis'. A scientific research for jamu by the research center of herbal medicine in Bogor Botanical Garden, resulting a publication of a book 'Medical Book for Children and Adults', composed by E. Van Bent.

The first seminar about jamu has been held in Solo in 1940, followed by a Formation of Indonesia's Jamu Committee in 1944. In the 1966, a seminar on jamu was held again. In 1981, a book by title of 'The use of Medical Plants' was established to support the jamu industry in the country.

The method of using the jamu remains the same as the ancestors did. Some are consumed by drinking it and some are for outside application.

At present one could buy easily ready made jamu packed modernly in the form of powder, pills, capsules, drinking liquid and ointments. Of course there are still jamu shops, which sell only ingredients or prepare the jamu on spot as required by buyers. Some women are roaming the street to sell jamu, is a common view across the country.

The traditional methods of making jamu such as by boiling the prepared herbal ingredients (jamu godok) still prevail in Javanese society. The popular traditional tools of making jamu are still available in many Javanese houses such as; Lumpang (small iron Mortar), pipisan, parut (grater), kuali (clay pot), etc.

What kind of disease could jamu cure?
The reply is almost every disease, jamu could cure. There are various kinds of jamu to combat different kind of illness. In Principle there are two types of jamu; the first is jamu to maintain physical fitness and health, the locally popular are Galian Singset (to keep women body fit and slim) and Sehat Lelaki (to keep men body healthy). The second is jamu to cure various kinds of illness. Except the above, there are special jamu created with the purpose to maintain a loving family harmony. The popular products among other are Sari Rapet, which makes a women sexual organ in a good condition, as for the man the matched product is jamu Kuat Lekaki (strong man). The Javanese are also taking a great care to pregnant women during pre and postnatal period by producing the related jamu. There are also jamu for the babies.

The Herbs for Jamu
There are hundreds of herbs for jamu prescriptions, among other are:

Spices
Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)
Lempuyang (Zingiber Oronaticum)
Temu Lawak/ Wild Ginger (Curcuma Cautkeridza)
Kunyit/ Tumeric (Curcuma Domestica)
Kencur/ Greater Galingale (Kaemferi Galanga)
Lengkuas/ Ginger Plant (Elpina Galanga)
Bengle (Zingiber Bevifalium)

Leaves
Secang (Caesalpinia Sappan Hinn)
Sambang Dara (Rexco Ecaria Bicolar Hassk)
Brotowali (Tiospora Rumpii Boerl)
Adas (Foeniculum Vulgare Mill)

Fruits
Jeruk Nipis/ Calamondin (Citrae Aurantifalia Sivingle)
Ceplukan (Physalic Angulata Him)
Nyamplung (Calophylum Inaphyllu)

Barks
Kayu Manis/ Cinamon (Gijeyzahyza Glabra)

Flowers
Melati/ Yasmin (Jataninum Sunbac Ait)
Rumput Alang-alang (Gramineae)

It is worth to note that some jamu factories in Java are exporting its products. Besides the export of ready made jamu, 25 kinds of herbal plants and ingredients are also in the list of export to Europe, Australia, USA, Japan, etc.

No Side Effects
The people like to consume jamu due to :
Availability in many places
Comparatively cheap price
No side effects



TRADITIONAL COSMETICS

The Natural Beauty of Woman
A Javanese woman is very much concern for her physical appearance to be always slim, beautiful with an alluring bright smiling face.

As a Javanese idiom says "Ngadi Sarira" to maintain the body to be always in perfect condition is of prime important. The way of life of a Javanese is greatly influenced by the royal culture. Not surprisingly that the art of "Keeping Beauty' is originated from the court palaces.

The Secret of a Princess Beauty
The Ladies of the Royal Families have a reputation to inherit the beauty of goddesses from paradise.

As told in the story of wayang (leather puppet) by the dalang (puppet master) , all parts of a princess body is always perfect and alluring: the beautiful black thick hair, a smooth skin, bright eyes, charming eye brows, eye lids and nose, bright reddish lips, white nicely teeth, wonderful built neck and shoulder, beautiful hands and arms, a waist like the one of a bee meanings slim and perfectly built.

The dalang with a clear deep voice, like in the poem reading adores the beauty of a princess with a thousands of words. It seems that all words of a complete dictionary are not enough to express of what a wonderful beauty a princess has.

The use of Traditional Jamu and Cosmetics
Nowadays, some secrets of this Karaton (Palaces) culture of "Ngadi Sarira" are known by many women from outside the Karaton walls. The Jamu is widely used to give an inner beauty, due to a good physical health.

Some of the products are consumed directly by eating it, for instance Kepel Fruit (a brown fruit of a chicken egg size), it's a natural deodorant. By eating it that would fragrant the odor of the body even the urine smells the fragrance of that fruit.

Jambu Mawar ( a kind of rose apple, mawar means a flower of rose) gives a fresh smell of breath. Some cosmetics are for outside application such as bedak dingin (cool powder) and lulur (scrubbing powder).

Beauty Care
Every woman is always proud of her hair – thick and shining, color and style. For natural shampooing, the ash of rice stalks work as a shampoo to clean the hair. After being washed by water, ingredients consist of
coconut milk, jeruk purut (a kind of citrus fruit smells like a lime ) and pandanus leaves are to be applied. It functions as a conditioner to clean the dandruff. The hair then washed by water again, to be dried while vaporizing with ratus fragrance.

Finally, a hair oil by the name of cemceman, made of coconut oil with pandanus , kenanga flower, jeruk purut etc. is applied.

Skin Care
For face caring, bedak dingin (cool powder) is applied. It's made from tendered rice with special ingredients, such as pandanus, kenanga flower etc.

For other parts of the body, lulur is applied, popularly known as mandi lulur (lulur bathing).

Lulur is also made from tendered rice, pandanus, some leaves of kemuning (with yellow color) and some medicinal roots. The lulur should stimulate the body to throw out the dead cells, replace it with new ones, stimulate blood circulation under the skin, smooth the skin and at the same time scents it.

Steaming the body
Steams of several boiled herbs are applied to ensure body freshness, including the woman organ. The steaming took about a ½ hour.

Producers
Besides the traditional cosmetics made by hand, in the country there are some big and well known manufactures of cosmetics, using modern machinery. These products are used widely across the country, even this cosmetics have been exported to many countries of the world.

(Suryo S. Negoro)

Tisane

Herbal tea

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tisane

A tisane, ptisan or herbal "tea" is any herbal infusion other than from the leaves of the tea bush (Camellia sinensis). The English word "tisane" originated from the Greek word πτισάνη (ptisanē), a drink made from pearl barley.

Tisanes can be made with fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots, generally by pouring boiling water over the plant parts and letting them steep for a few minutes. Seeds and roots can also be boiled on a stove. The tisane is then strained, sweetened if so desired, and served. Many companies produce herbal tea bags for such infusions. The term is most often used to refer to linden (lime leaf) tea.

Many blends of real tea are prepared by adding other plants to an actual tea (black, oolong, green, yellow or white tea); for example, the popular Earl Grey tea is black tea with bergamot. Such preparations are varieties of tea, not tisanes.

Varieties

Varieties of herbal tea include:

• Anise tea, made from either the seeds or the leaves.
  
• Roasted barley, known in Japanese as mugicha and Korean as bori cha. The roasted flavor can be reminiscent of coffee (without coffee's bitterness and caffeine). It is often drunk cold in the summer.
  
• Bissap, consumed in the Sahel.
  
• Boldo, used in South America to calm upset stomachs.
  
• Cannabis, used in the preparation of Bhang.
  
• Catnip tea is used as a relaxant, sedative, and to calm.
  
• Cerasse, a Jamaican bitter herb [1]
  
• Chamomile tea is used as a sedative. In Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter's mother gives him chamomile tea.
  
• Chrysanthemum tea, made from dried flowers, is popular with Chinese Dim sum.
  
• Citrus peel, including bergamot, lemon and orange peel.
  
• Roasted corn, known in Korea as oksusu cha (옥수수차)
  
• Echinacea tea, often consumed to prevent or alleviate the cold or flu symptoms.
  
• Essiac tea, a blended herbal tea.
  
• Fennel
  
• Gentian
  
• Ginger root
  
• Ginseng
  
• Greek Mountain Tea (Tsai tou Vounou- Tea of the Mountain), a very popular tea in Greece and other areas of the Mediterranean region. Made from a variety of the Sideritis syriaca plant which grows in warm climates above 3000 feet. The tea (or more properly Tisane) has a reputation as a cure-all, but is specifically used against colds. Records of its use date back 2000 years.
  
• Hibiscus (often blended with rose hip), a popular tea alternative in the Middle East and is drunk hot or cold. Hibiscus tea is also consumed in Okinawa, where the natives associate Hibiscus tea with longevity.(See Bissap)
  
• Honeybush is related to rooibos and grows in a similar area of South Africa, but tastes slightly sweeter.
  
• Horehound
  
• Jiaogulan
  
• Kava root, from the South Pacific, is popular for its effects in promoting talkativeness and relaxation.
  
• Labrador tea, made from the shrub by the same name, found in the northern part of North America.
  
• Lapacho (also known as Taheebo) is the inner-lining of the bark (or cambium) of the Red or Purple Lapacho Tree which grows in the Brazilian jungles. It is boiled to make an infusion with many and varied health benefits.
  
• Lemon grass
  
• Licorice root
  
• Lime blossom, dried flowers of lime tree (Tilia in Latin).
  
• Lotus flower, from the stamens of Nelumbo nucifera.
  
• Mate (or yerba mate) is a shrub grown mainly Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil from which a caffeinated, tea-like brew is prepared.
  
• Mate de coca (sometimes called "coca tea"), made from coca leaves. Authentic mate de coca contains very small amounts of cocaine and similar alkaloids. In some countries where coca is illegal, products marketed as "coca tea" are supposed to be decocainized, i.e., the pharmacologically active components have been removed.
  
• Mint, especially peppermint (also mixed with green tea to make mint tea)
  
• European mistletoe (Viscum Album), (steep in cold water for 2-6 hours)
  
• Neem leaf
  
• Nettle leaf
  
• Red raspberry leaf
  
• Toasted rice, known as sungnyung in Korea (숭늉)
  
• Rooibos (Red Bush) is a reddish plant used to make an infusion and grown in South Africa. In the US it is sometimes called red tea. It has many of the antioxidant benefits of green tea, but because it does not come from tea leaves, it has no theine.
  
• Rose hip (often blended with hibiscus)
  
• Rosemary
  
• Sage
  
• Sassafras
  
• Skullcap
  
• Staghorn Sumac
  
• Stevia can be used to make herbal tea, or as a sweetener in other tisanes.
  
• Thyme
  
• Tulsi
  
• Uncaria tomentosa, commonly known as Cats Claw
  
• Valerian
  
• Vervain
  
• Vetiver
  
• Roasted wheat is used in Postum, a coffee substitute.
  
• Wong Logat a medicinal tea with several herbs
  
• Woodruff
  
• Yarrow
  
• Yuen Kut Lam Kam Wo Tea Composed of thirty Chinese herbs, made in Hong Kong.
  
• Tan Ngan Lo Medicated Tea a herbal concoction formulated by a Chinese immigrant from mainland China in the early 20th century, made in Malaysia.
  

Medicinal concerns

Herbal teas are often consumed for their physical or medicinal effects, especially for their stimulant, relaxant or sedative properties. The medicinal effects of certain herbs is discussed under herbalism. The medicinal benefits of specific herbs are often anecdotal or controversial, and in the United States and elsewhere, makers of herbal teas are not allowed to make unsubstantiated claims about the medicinal effects of their products.

While most herbal teas are safe for regular consumption, some herbs have toxic or allergenic effects. Among the greatest causes of concern are:

• Comfrey, which contains alkaloids that can cause permanent liver damage with chronic use.
  
• Lobelia, which contains toxins similar in effect to nicotine.
  
• Pineapple weed, which is sometimes sold as chamomile, is closely related to ragweed and can cause violent allergic reactions in hay fever sufferers, up to and including anaphylactic shock and death.
  

Herbal teas can also have different effects in different people, and this is further compounded by the problem of potential misidentification. The deadly foxglove, for example, can be mistaken for the much more benign (but still relatively hepatotoxic) comfrey.

The UK currently does not require natural products such as herbs to have any evidence concerning their efficacy, but does treat them technically as food stuff and require that they are safe for consumption.

My Cup of Tea: Herbal Tea Varieties

Source : http://www.customizeyourmug.com/herbal-tea.html

An enticing infusion of herbs, spices, florals and fruits, herbal tea is best know for its medicinal effects. Though very little scientific evidence exists of its actual efficacy, herbal tea is still highly regarded as a preventative treatment for certain ailments. Tea is also a natural source of amino acids and some antioxidants.

In the past, herbal tea was made by directly boiling combination leaves, flowers and spices until the desired flavor is attained. Now it's as easy as steeping the bag into your favorite coffee mug or tea cup. By definition, herbal tea (also called tisane) is derived from anything other than the Camellia sinensis plant (tea bush).

Here is a list of herbs used for most herbal tea concoctions and their health benefits.

Chrysanthemum herbal tea – Made from the dried Chrysanthemum flowers, it is believed to be the preventive treatment for liver damage. It also helps reduce fevers.

Catnip tea – This herb is known for its calming effects.

Chamomile – This tea made from chamomile flowers is consumed for it's relaxing effects. It is also said to soothe the stomach and induce sleep.

Ginger tea – Cold and flu symptoms may be alleviated with ginger herbal tea. It is also effective in treating menstrual conditions such as cramps and nausea in some women.

Ginseng – The ginseng root is believed to be effective in treating diabetes and sexual dysfunction in men. This herbal tea is known for its energizing effect.

Lemon grass – A popular herbal tea for its calming properties.

Licorice root – This herbal tea is believed to aid in digestion, relieve cough and sore throat and ease menstrual pains.

Mint tea – Taken for its relaxing effects, it can also ease headaches and digestive problems.

Rose hips and hibiscus – These herbs have complementing flavors and are often brewed together. It is known for easing headaches

Rosemary – Rosemary leaves are known for relieving cold symptoms and headaches. This herbal tea is also believed to stimulate liver activity and improve blood circulation.

Sage – Herbal tea made from sage leaves have a calming effect and are touted as an effective way to improve digestion. It is also popular for alleviating coughs and congestion.

Thyme – Popular for its antiseptic properties, thyme is used in herbal tea preparation for sore throats and coughs as well as to improve general immune system functions.

Taking the Traditional Cure

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/weekender/3center.asp

Although “alternative” may be a misnomer for traditional health treatments that have been around for centuries, they are sometimes the final alternative for people affected by life-threatening illness. Advocates swear by their benefits, but the debate rages on about their effectiveness and safety. Bhimanto Suwastoyo reports.

When modern conventional medical science gives up on treating certain cases, many of the patients seek out the lifeline of traditional healing options.

Whichever treatment they choose, a common rallying point binds them: Hope.

The yearning for recovery is what drives many to nonconventional medical to fight or alleviate the suffering from their disease.

The attraction of traditional healing is usually fueled by word-of-mouth stories about the recovery of others, and the cheaper cost of treatment compared to conventional medicine.

"Most of my patients come to me once medical treatment they sought elsewhere had failed," said WP Winarto, who from the mid-1990s has pioneered a series of herbal clinics where medical diagnosis and checkups are provided along with herbal medicine.

Although many patients are already in the advanced stages of their illness, he added that if the patients persevered with his prescriptions then their sought-after cure was possible.

"Modern medicine is now generally viewed as impersonal, high-cost medicine. The amount of time we accord our patients allows us to get to know them much better and enables us to tailor treatment and medicine to their specific needs," he said.

Sarah Kriswanti, a therapist who uses herbal tonics accompanied by diet therapy to treat cancers and other serious diseases, said that almost all of the people visiting her small home in Bandung, West Java, "came here as a last option, after ruining themselves with medical treatment elsewhere".

She said she invariably tried to secure the medical records of her patients to complement the results of her own interviews and observations of them.

"Nobody is alike, and a remedy may be good for one person but not for another. Every patient is different," she said.

While more rational, scientifically healing methods abound, no less attractive to many are those healing methods claiming fast relief or recovery despite the obvious lack of scientific credibility.

The Ministry of Health recognizes different categories of traditional healers -- healers using nonconventional medical means and methods.

They range from therapy based on skills -- such as acupressure, acupuncture, chiropractic services and various massage forms -- to those using natural potions to heal; religious approaches of prayer and meditation, and even extend to downright supernatural intervention.

But so far only acupuncture is legally recognized after a decree from the health ministry in 1996 allowed its use in medical services, said Tomi Harjatno, a University of Indonesia lecturer in anatomy who also heads the Indonesian Association of Acupuncture Practitioners.

Unlike other forms of nonconventional healing who only need to register their practice with the authorities, acupuncturists have to seek a license to practice.

About half of the association’s 2,000 members are medical doctors, he said, while about 40 percent of the rest are university graduates in various other sciences,

The health, education and manpower ministries have already prepared standard guidelines for acupuncture services, as well as competence requirements for practitioners.

"Acupuncture is a science that has been gradually receiving wider recognition and acceptance in the world, including in Indonesia," Harjatno said, adding that its rapid development had now prompted specialization, including in the fields of cosmetics and hair care, anesthesiology and ear disorder treatments.

Acupuncture has also become the basic science for other healing methods, such as acupressure.

Benny, who has been practicing acupressure for decades out of his home in Central Jakarta, said he picked his customers.

"Although I could [treat them], I do not accept patients with internal disorders. I only treat problems related to muscles and nerves, an area where I think acupressure works best," he said.

The perennial question is whether traditional healing methods produce results: Do they cure?

It’s hard to give a definite answer, especially because of the lack of standards governing traditional healing practices and methods, a lack of credible studies on them, as well as the heterogeneous nature of the methods.

Yuda Purana, a medical doctor now practicing holistic medicine, said in a 2003 paper on alternative medicine that some ineffective traditional healing approaches sometimes appeared effective due to several extenuating factors. These include the known fact that diseases can sometimes cure themselves naturally, that diseases have remission cycles, the existence of the placebo effect and of psychosomatic ailments imagined by many patients who feel unwell but are diagnosed as healthy.

Mardiana Lilita felt a temporary sensation of wellness after taking herbal medicine to combat kidney problems.

"I felt much better after some time and it gave me hope. But it was only for a brief period. The problem was that my kidney problem remained," said Lilita said, who discontinued the traditional medicine after six months and returned to her doctor.

But for Sangap Sidauruk, a successful lawyer and boxing executive, traditional medicine produced real results and complemented modern medicine.

"All I knew was that I should not lose hope, that I could overcome this disease," Sidauruk said of his reaction when diagnosed with lymphoma in 2001.

He studied all the available literature on cancer treatment, including from the internet, and decided chemotherapy was among the most effective ways to kill the malignancy.

"But in order to able to withstand chemotherapy, I had to fortify myself and that was where traditional medicine, including Chinese medicine, came in.”

For six months, he took traditional medicine regularly to prepare for the discomfort of chemo sessions.

"All I can say is that I was able to undergo the chemotherapy with much less pain and discomfort. My doctors even expressed surprise that I could still endure the sessions without losing my hair or going through the usual abdominal pain.”

After two years of combining traditional healing -- herbal medicines and urine therapy -- and conventional medical practices, he was pronounced medically cured.

But the glut of newspaper advertisements, with so-called healers claiming to be able to cure every kind of ailments through prayer or a single miraculous potion -- and sometimes without even meeting the patient in person – attests to the irrationality that emerges amid the desperation of facing a health crisis.

The extent of the claims usually reflects the healer’s background; the more scientific their base, the more frank they are in their statements.

"To be honest, it is impossible to completely eradicate cancerous cells,” said Kriswanti, who has devoted more than half of her 60 years to herbal medicine. “What we can do is to stunt their growth, curb the pain they cause, fortify the general constitution of the patient and in general stop the malignant cells from posing a threat to someone's health.

"I don’t cure cancer, but I prevent it from relapsing into the painful stages.”

Her patients come from near and far, drawn by the recommendations of others. A glance at her registry shows a preponderance of cancer cases, among them a middle aged Indian woman currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and a man from Colorado who returned home two months ago with a supply of herbal preparations after undergoing three months of treatment for prostate cancer.

"But the best illustration [of the effectiveness] of my medicine is the case of my late mother who died two years ago. Doctors gave her three months to live because of cervical cancer. Herbal medicine gave her 18 years of a relatively pain-free life," Kriswanti said.

One of her patients is Warsiah, a 62-year-old retired nurse who traveled hundreds of kilometers from her home in Jember, East Java, to treat her advanced breast cancer.

She had vaguely remembered friends telling her about Kriswanti, who dispenses her herbal medicine from an unmarked house in the Gegerkalong suburb.

"I had nothing to lose and I was quite desperate," Warsiah said, remembering the first time she set eyes on the house, its garden overflowing with numerous types of plants.

After seven months of taking bitter herbal potions twice a day, and following a diet plan that included a fruit supplement, the pain is a thing of the past.

"I continue to have medical checkups every three months, and the doctors said that the cancer cells are still there but now dormant. I don't suffer from pain anymore and I feel much healthier," she said, adding that travels every two months to Bandung for a fresh supply of medicine.

"It is not an easy life, and you have to be serious once you opt for this. You have to regularly take your potions, and live a much healthier life, with exercise and by sticking to a healthy diet as well,” Kriswanti said,

"It is hard work."

Wiratno acknowledged the attraction of traditional healing, apart from being much more individually focused than impersonal modern treatment, also lay in its financial and practical considerations.

"For many, it makes sense that our body, an organic entity, is treated with organic medicine rather than synthetic ones. For other people, just as numerous, traditional healing means much less cost and a therapy that can be easily done at home, further cutting down the expense of treatment and medicine," he said.

The retired former central bank executive began to help others with herbal medicine after he used it to rid himself of nagging back pain. On the advice of a friend, he had consumed an herbal tonic.

"Although knowledge of herbal medicine remains mostly empirical, I thought that there must be something to it because it has been around since ancient times," he said.

His herbal clinic has now outgrown its South Jakarta base and expanded to 18 clinics across Java and Bali over 10 years. He now focuses on preparing the various herbal remedies.

"Doctors are now doing the job of dealing with the patients," he said of his clinics.

But traditional medicine is not without its own dangers: A healthy dose for some can be poison for others.

"Like everything else we consume, moderation is the rule. The consumption of natural ingredients such as herbal medicine, if it is not in line with the proper dosage or taken in excess, can also lead to serious side effects, and can become even more dangerous if their use is combined with synthetic chemical drugs," said Andria Agusta, a researcher on herbal medicine at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences' biological research and development department.

Andria said that a thorough understanding of herbal materials and their interactions with the active components of synthetic remedies was needed for effective use of traditional medicine.

Martha Ervina, from Widya Mandala Catholic University's Center for Traditional Medicine Research, said that both academics and the government were working to establish quality standards for traditional medicine, and studying the active components of plants. She warned that such a copious task would require years, if not decades, to accomplish.

So far, the government has ruled that traditional medicine may contain five different plants at most and has also set quality parameters for natural medicine. These include determining the limits for metal and microorganism contamination and that they must be free from pathogenic bacteria, she said.

Even as the public awaits binding and comprehensive legislation governing natural health practices, the desperate will continue to head to the practitioners for what ails them. Whatever the risk, it’s still better than the alternative.