Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing. Susan-Jane Beers

      Cancer is a fast-growing disease in Indonesia with over 190,000 new patients recorded each year. Twenty-eight year old Risma Abednego was told she had cancer, a fist-sized tumour in her womb, and her only chance was an operation—one she rejected. She was encouraged to seek out Bapak Soetijono Darsosentono, a traditional healer in Yogyakarta, who specialized in curing cancer.

      He gave her traditional medicine consisting of dried benalu (Loranthes sp.) and tapak dara (rosy or Madagascar periwinkle; Catharanthus roseus) leaves. He told her to clean the leaves, boil them and drink the water. She was to repeat the process with betel nut leaves. Smoking, drinking, and the consumption of preserved, instant, spicy and sour foods, as well as lamb and seafood, were all banned. For nine months, Risma consumed large amounts of soya in the form of tempe or tofu, before returning to her doctor for a check-up. He noticed a great improvement. Eighteen months later he pronounced her completely cured.

      Patients treated by Bapak Soetijono Darsosentono are urged to continue taking the medicine every day for five years. Risma developed cancer over 10 years ago but still drinks the healing brew as an insurance policy and everyone in the house follows her healthy diet. Not surprisingly, she has become an enthusiastic supporter of traditional medicine.

      This ruling requires that commercial producers reduce complicated formulæ for every curing jamu to five essential ingredients in order to simplify testing. It also requires producers to standardize the active substance in each ingredient. However, a lack of information as to how traditional herbs were originally prepared hinders clarification. The government directive also states that clinical trials for both medical drugs and traditional medicine must be conducted to the same criteria; these are costly at the best of times, all the more so for jamu products which have a comparatively low retail price.

      As a concession to this expense, the government has announced that clinical trials may be carried out at Sentra P3T (the Research Centre for the Development and Application of Traditional Treatments) which has the authority to legally authenticate any claims proven during official tests. Although fees for trials here are less expensive than medical drug clinical trials, the cost of this service is still considered beyond most budgets. Results from clinical trials that have been undertaken highlight another important factor of jamu: its versatility. Any one ingredient can be a base ingredient for a formula that addresses a wide range of complaints.

      Doctors at Sentra P3T have conducted a number of preliminary clinical trials on selected remedies. The list includes garlic (bawang putih; Allium sativum) for hypertension; caricature plant (handeuleum; graptophyllum pictum) for haemorrhoids; guava leaves (jambu biji; psidium guajava) for diarrhoea; round turmeric (temu lawak; curcuma xanthorrhiza) for chronic hepatitis and osteoarthritis; cashew nut fruit (kacang mede; Anacardium occidentale) to reduce pain in acute toothache; and pare fruit or bitter gourd (momordica charantia) to treat diabetes mellitus.

      The Research Centre for Traditional Medicine in Yogyakarta has also completed the first phase of a study to evaluate the effect of cashew nut leaves in treating rheumatoid arthritis and hypertension. Similar work is being carried out on turmeric (kunir; curcuma domestica) and its potential to cure ulcers, and to confirm whether the juice of bitter gourd can help diabetes sufferers. In addition, the research programme is studying dosages, especially as regards Westerners, who may need smaller quantities than people who have taken herbal medicines from birth.

      In the early 1990s, the Toray Foundation in Bandung carried out a scientific study to find out whether the very popular product, Pegal Linu (see page 10) had any positive effect on the health of becak (trishaw) drivers whose complaints included aches, pains, rheumatics and fatigue. Pegal Linu is composed of, amongst other things, turmeric, ginger, galangal and pepper. The investigating team concluded that it made a substantial difference to the drivers, as it restored energy and reduced muscular pain significantly.

      Assuming scientists manage, despite all the obstacles, to complete their experiments and publish their findings, they are more than likely to face a barrage of abuse from the various jamu companies who protest that competitors will steal the formulæ if results list chemical components. Yet, notwithstanding all these difficulties, the government continues with its testing programmes, owing to an increasing awareness of the export potential of the country’s myriad jamu products.

      The Professional Viewpoint

      For Indonesians, Western medicine is a recent and expensive phenomenon. Not only are allopathic drugs and ointments well beyond the pocket of the average Indonesian, but they are not a tempting alternative to jamu which has been used successfully for generations.

      Although there are detractors who consider herbal medicine ineffective, jamu is gaining ground. There is no doubt that jamu mixtures are full of active, natural ingredients such as vitamins A, C and E, all of which contribute to overall well-being. Indeed many of the barks, leaves, roots, stems, flowers, seeds and minerals used come straight from the country’s tropical rainforests, where there is no pollution or pesticides and hence are at their purest and most potent.