Filipino Flora and Folklore

Traditional Medicine

The sum of knowledge, skill, and practices based on theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness

Ethnobotany

Relies on indigenously-informed plant identification, foraging, and cultivation in use as food, medicine, and shelter

Babaylans

Second in command to the datus, regional chieftains, in pre-colonial Philippines whose role came through spiritual possession and were generally female

warriors, healers, record keepers, priestesses, and sages

Babaylans functioned as…

Albularyos

Contemporary to Babaylans and are general practitioners of cupping, herbal concoctions, bone alignments, etc. primarily in rural areas

herbolario

Albularyos was adapted from the Spanish term…

Flora de Filipinas

A landmark botanical altas illustrating Filipino medicinal plants in detail along with their uses; also included folklore insights

Tungkod pari

Cordyline fruticosa— plant of war whose roots were harvested for diarrhea treatment

drive away evil spirits or for ritualistic use

In folklore, Tungkod pari was planted by Ifugao peoples near rice plantations to…

Duhat

Syzygium jambolanum, java plum; leaves can be smoked as a tobacco alternative and wounds can be cleaned with a bark reduction

Engkanto (elves), Pugots, Mandurugos (shapeshifting vampires)

In folklore, Duhat trees are hiding places of _____ and ____ and plums were part of offereings to _____ so that they would not harm a family

glycemic index, blood sugar levels

Due to its low _____, duhat consumption helps convert carbohydrates to energy and regulates ____

Tuli

A male rite of passage typically done by a manunuli for boys around 8-12 years old where a dorsal slit circumcision is performed

bayabas, Psidium guajava

During tuli, boys are told to chew _____ (_____, guava) leaves during the procedure and the chewed mixture is applied afterwards to stop bleeding

bayabas leaf tea

Women are recommended to wash or steam their vagina with _____ after birth to heal episiotomy incisions and stitches faster

Quercetin

Spasmolytic and antioxidant found in guava leaves

Rutin

Antioxidant found in guava leaves with high free radical scavenging activity

polyphenols, chelate extracellular iron, interfere with metabolism and disrupt membranes and inhibit cell wall synthesis, ergosterol, aqueous

Guava leaves have _____ that have been shown to inhibit various micro-organisms. Tannins can _____, pass through bacterial cell walls, and _______. Phenols have been shown to interfere with _____ as well, a component of fungal cell walls— some studies show that ____ extracts are more effective than methanol or acetone extracts

quorum sensing-dependent biofilm growth

Guava leaf extract has been shown to disrupt _____

Triterpenes, proinflammatory cytokines like IL-6, anti-inflammatory cytokines like IL-10

____ in bayabas leaf facilitate wound closing by inhibiting ______ and upregulating _____

NIRPROMP

Established in 1974 as a collaboration between the University of the Philippines Manila and the Department of Science and Technology government branch

discover new and substitute drugs, develop drugs in varying dosages to establish an autonomous Filipino pharmaceutical industry, and generate a new source of revenue via cash crops

The goals of the NIRPROMP are:

Yerba buena, tsaang gubat, niyog-niyogan, bayabas, ulasimang bato, bawang, lagundi, sambong, akapulko, and ampalaya

The 10 plants chosen to be focussed on by the NIRPROMP are:

Vitex negundo

Lagundi— contains 4 bioactive compounds that work well synergistically but weakly alone

chrysoplenol-D, casticin, luteolin, and isoorientin

Leaf extract of lagundi contain:

flavonoid, muscle relaxant, anti-histamines, leukotriene, respiratory illness

Chrysoplenol-D is a ______ that works as a ____. Casticin, luteolin, and isoorientin function as ______. They are ____ inhibitors that can be used to treat _____

Lagundinin

Recently discovered iridoid deterrant involved in plant defence

mucolytic, bronchodilator, polymers and fibrins, dissolve sticky mucus in the lungs, bronchodilation, phosphodiesterase, calcium channels, mast cell stabilization, anti-eosinophilic

Lagundi is a _____ and ____— flavonoids bind to _____ to _____ and _____ occurs via inhibition of _____ and _____ by flavonoids and tannins. Extracts also show _____ and _____ activity

Information Transfer Act

Technology developed with government funds must be completely transferred to establishments like universities to evolve the work into useful products and services

4, 22

Filipinos pay ___x more for generic drugs and up to ___ more for branded products compared to international reference prices

Biopiracy

Exploitation of indigenous resources for commercialization without due acknowledgement of source materials

Momordica charantia

Ampalaya, bitter gourd— patented by New Jersey pharmaceutical company tp treat diabetes without acknowledgement of its use by indigenous Filipino peoples

encourage traditional medicine for widespread market use

In 1997, the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) was established to…

focus on gaining prior informed consent from parties and establishing mutually agreed terms to ensure equitable access and benefit to genetic resources

The Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) act was founded in 2021 to…