Traditional Medicine Stations: A
Design to Study and Popularize Lao Traditional Medicines
Charlotte Gyllenhaal*, Boun Hoong Southavong**, Mary Riley*,
Kongmany Sydara**, Somsanith Bouamanivong**, Amey Libman*, Djaja Djendoel
Soejarto*
*Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical
Sciences (PCRPS), College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S.
Wood St., Chicago, IL 60612
**Traditional Medicine Research Center, Ministry of Health, Vientiane, Lao
People's Democratic Republic
Abstract
Recognizing the important role of traditional medicine in Laos, the Ministry of
Health established the Traditional Medicine Research Center (TMRC), the only
institute of its kind in Laos. TMRC is charged with the responsibility of
conducting adaptive research on medicinal plants and Traditional Lao Medicine.
The Ministry of Health through TMRC established a network of 10 provincial
Traditional Medicine Stations (TMSs) across Laos. TMSs consist of one or more
buildings with a staff of three to five, whose Heads include university
graduates, a Faculty of Pharmacy graduate, or graduate of secondary medical
technical schools. Other staff members include senior traditional healers and
Buddhist monks at some stations. TMRC staff together with TMS personnel carry
out research to inventory and document traditional medicinal uses of plants,
review potential toxic effects of plants used in traditional medicinal
preparations, formulate herbal medicinal preparations, and educate healers and
local communities on sustainable uses of medicinal plants. Details of research
by TMRC and TMSs will be presented. This project was funded by NIH Grant
1-U01-TW010-50, with support from NIH, NSF, and USDA FAS.