สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

«“√ “√ √“™∫— ≥±‘ µ¬ ∂“π ªï ∑’Ë Û ©∫— ∫∑’Ë Ù µ.§.-∏.§. ÚıÙ¯ 959 Arika Virapongse, Chayan Picheansoonthon the world as people search and ex- periment with complimentary me- dicine. 7,8 In the light of these events, declarations have been made by internationally acknowledged or- ganizations, such as the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the World Health Organization (WHO), to develop and strengthen scientific rational for studying traditional, indigenous systems of medicine. 9,10 In urban areas, research of traditional medicine can be applied towards developing alter- native healthcare that is ethnically and culturally sensitive and compli- mentary to Western medicine. In rural areas, traditional medicine can be upgraded and developed as an available and sustainable resource; unique knowledge and natural re- sources can be conserved for future generations. Traditional medicine is a com- plex medical system that is based on a community’s culture, religion, beliefs, and natural environment. To overcome the challenges of documenting and analyzing these principles and practices, multi- disciplinary skills are required from a range of fields, for example, botany, pharmacy, linguistics and anthro- pology. This paper utilizes both classic and recent case studies to illustrate some common objectives and methods used to research traditional medicine. Analytical aspects are not detailed, as this has been described in a previous article. 11 Types of research Most studies on traditional medicine aim to describe health practices and remedies; they also provide tests for hypothesis or search for bioactive plant medicines (bioprospecting). These objectives are reached via such avenues as field work, laboratory research, and literature surveys. Descriptive studies are conducted mostly on the field within selected communities and may be pioneer studies which describe the traditional medicine for the first time. Literature surveys of these results, and often in concert with field research, can be used to test hypothesis and direct, advance, and apply studies of traditional medicine. Descriptive and hypo- thesis-testing studies often provide data on medicinal plants, which can be chemically analyzed in biopro- specting research. The following sections will use case studies to illustrate each area of research. Common methods used in descrip- tive studies are described in detail. Descriptive studies A descriptive field study offers a comprehensive survey of a com- munity’s traditional medicine. Most descriptive research focuses on two aspects--medicinal plants and health care practices---primarily through the use of ethnobotany and anthropology methods. While all studies include both elements to varying degrees, many earlier studies on traditional medicine lean heavily towards one component. Ethnobotany methods, such as interview techniques and herbarium collection, are well suited for collec- ting data on traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. An example of a basic ethnobotany study was conducted by Anderson 12,13 who documented medicinal plant use among hill tribe groups in northern Thailand. Anthropology methods are appropriate for studying health practices. The long study periods and subtle techniques for collecting data are necessary to develop rap- ports with community members and comprehend and analyze compli- cated theories, ideas, and principles of traditional medicine. Conklin 14 completed a classic ethnographic account of plant use by an indige- nous group in the Philippines using anthropology methods. Some com- monly documented variables of medicinal plant use and health practices are included in Table 1. Many current descriptive stu- dies experiment with combining techniques to test and search for effective and complimentary me- thods. The following sections will describe techniques for selecting such variables as study site, infor- mants and methods of research.