Anti-Tubercular Plants from Traditional Medicines of Laos

描述（由申请人提供）：老挝有数百年历史的棕榈叶手稿（PLM），包含从宗教实践到日常生活到医疗的信息，随着外部医疗影响的进入，这些手稿正在被废弃和忽视，并且正在受到昆虫和霉菌的破坏。与此同时，当代治疗师几代人之间口头传播的传统医学知识（TMK）的损失以及由于砍伐森林造成的植物物种损失的威胁越来越大。这项拟议的研究培训旨在保存和保护TMK，并通过科学验证证明传统药用植物的价值，为老挝未开发森林资源的重要组成部分提供支持。研究培训将侧重于结核病（TB）的治疗，结核病是目前肆虐亚洲大陆和整个全球人口的NIH优先疾病。该研究还将研究整个补救措施（通常包含多种植物）的有效性，而不是这些补救措施的单个成分（单一植物和单一植物的部分）。基本假设指出，由于结核病在PLM创建之前和创建期间存在于老挝，并且PLM中记录的植物治疗仍然用于治疗当今传统治疗师指示结核病的症状，因此这些治疗中使用的植物对结核病治疗有效的可能性很高。虽然这些治疗方法已经被使用了多代，应该可以确保它们在人类中的安全性和有效性，但这项研究将继续使用生物化学工具来研究这些相关性。在芝加哥的伊利诺斯大学，收集、鉴定和提取了现代治疗师和旧手稿所引用的全部传统疗法和植物，用于生物和化学研究。在UIC结核病研究所实验室进行的生物测定将提供补救措施有效性的证据，并作为其安全性的证据。在这个项目中合作的是老挝国家图书馆，它拥有数千个PLM并雇用翻译专家，以及传统医学研究中心（TMRC），老挝卫生部的一个研究单位，也有大量的医学PLM收藏，并与翻译和当代治疗师联系。实现这项研究培训的具体目标将有助于提供老挝传统疗法治疗结核病症状的安全性和有效性的证据，这反过来将促进其继续使用，并为老挝人民的卫生保健和福祉做出贡献。 公共卫生相关性：该研究培训将调查老挝传统药物治疗结核病的安全性和有效性。由于西药昂贵且难以获得，老挝的大多数人几个世纪以来一直强烈依赖传统医学。实现这项研究培训的具体目标将为老挝传统疗法治疗结核病症状的安全性和有效性提供证据，有助于依赖传统医学的人们的健康和福祉。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Centuries-old palm leaf manuscripts (PLM) in the Lao PDR, which contain information ranging from religious practices to daily life to medical treatments, are falling into disuse and neglect as outside medical influences move in, and are becoming subject to destruction by insects and mold. Coupled to this are the increasing threats of loss of traditional medicine knowledge (TMK), passed orally between generations of contemporary healers, and the loss of plant species due to deforestation. This proposed research-training aims to preserve and protect TMK and to demonstrate the value of traditionally used medicinal plants through scientific validation, providing support for an important component of Laos' undeveloped forest resources. The research training will focus on remedies for tuberculosis (TB), which is an NIH priority disease that is currently ravaging the Asian continent and the entire global population. The research will also look at the effectiveness of whole remedies (usually containing multiple plants) as opposed to the individual components of those remedies (single plants and parts of single plants). The underlying hypothesis states that because TB was present in Laos before and during the period when the PLM were created, and the botanical treatments recorded in the PLM are still used to treat symptoms indicating TB by traditional healers today, there is a high potential that the plants used in those treatments are effective for TB treatment. While the fact that these treatments have been used for multiple generations should assure their safety and effectiveness in humans, this research will go on to investigate these correlations using biochemical tools. Whole traditional remedies and plants cited by both modern healers and the old manuscripts are collected, identified and extracted for biological and chemical studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bioassays performed at the laboratories of the Institute of Tuberculosis Research at UIC will provide evidence of the effectiveness of the remedies and serve as evidence of their safety. Collaborating in this project are the National Library of Laos, which houses thousands of the PLM and employs translation experts, as well as the Traditional Medicine Research Center (TMRC), a research unit of the Ministry of Health of Laos, which also has an ample collection of the medical PLM, and contacts with translators and contemporary healers. Achievement of the specific aims of this research training will help provide evidence of the safety and effectiveness of traditional remedies to treat TB symptoms in Laos, which, in turn, will promote their continued use and contribute to the health care and well being of the people of Laos. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This research training will investigate the safety and effectiveness of traditional medicines of Laos to treat tuberculosis (TB). Because Western medicine is expensive and difficult to obtain for most people in Laos, there has been a strong reliance on traditional medicine for centuries. Achievement of the specific aims of this research training will provide evidence of the safety and effectiveness of traditional remedies of Laos to treat TB symptoms, contributing to the health care and well being of people relying on traditional medicine.