Discourse on Ethnomedicinal Plants in Ancient Malay Medical Manuscript for Gastrointestinal Diseases

WARDAH MUSTAFA DIN, ROS MAHWATI AHMAD ZAKARIA, PUTEH NORAIHAN RAHMAN

Abstract


Since ancient times, people have been using plants not only for a source of food, but also for a source of medicine. In the Malay culture, many ethnomedicinal plants are being used for various medicinal properties. This knowledge is recorded in many ancient Malay manuscripts that acknowledge many different local names of plants and its traditional uses and practices. This study will be discussing one of the ancient Malay manuscript named “Hikayat Nurul-lisan Menjawab Masalah” whereby the original work was written in Jawi alphabets. Fortunately, Harun Mat Piah in his book, “Kitab Tib Ilmu Perubatan Melayu” had transliterated the work to Latin alphabets and organised it to a better structure which makes the content readily accessible and easily interpreted for Malay researchers. The purpose of this study is to analyse and tabulate ethnomedicinal plants documented in the transliterated manuscript which mentioned gastrointestinal benefits. To attain the research objectives, qualitative thematic analysis will be employed on the manuscript in order to classify different themes in the text systematically. Among illnesses frequently mentioned in the manuscript are gastrointestinal related, such as digestion, bloating, diarrhea and others. The study highlights that there are 36 number of plants mentioned in the manuscript which relates to gastrointestinal diseases. There are many different practice of use, whereby some are with detailed explanation, and others very general. Some plants are mentioned as being used for the well-being of the digestive system. This study is imperative for comprehensively structuring the traditional knowledge obtained in the manuscript for easy reference and access to other researchers locally and internationally. Besides to enrich our traditional knowledge on ethnomedicinal plants, this research will indirectly serve to preserve one of an important Malay cultural heritage.

Keywords: Ethnomedicinal plants; Thematic analysis; Malay ancient manuscript; Malaysia medicinal plants; Gastrointestinal


Full Text:

PDF

References


Mamat. A. 2017. Manuskrip Melayu Dalam Bidang Pendidikan Islam: Suatu Kajian Awal Di Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. Jurnal Islam Dan Masyarakat Kontemporari. https://doi.org/10.37231/jimk.2017.15.1.221.

Boyer, J., & R.H. Liu. 2004. Apple phytochemicals and their health benefits. Nutrition journal, 3, 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-3-5.

Calderon, A.R., J.A. Munoz., D. Moreno., & M. Celis. 2019. Describing and diffusing the ethnobotanical knowledge of Bogota D.C (Colombia) through an online tool focused on common names of plants. Acta Botanica Brasilica 33 (2): 303-314. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-33062018abb0337.

Charles M., E. Aprea, F. Gasperi., 2019. Factors Influencing Sweet Taste in Apple. In: Mérillon JM., Ramawat K. (eds) Bioactive Molecules in Food. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78030-6_80.

Di Meglio, R.R., 2016. Arab Trade with Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula from the 8th to the 16th Century (pp. 105-136). University of Pennsylvania Press.

Heinrich, M., H. Rimpler., N.A. Barrera. 1992. Indigenous Phytotherapy of Gastrointestinal Disorders in A Lowland Mixe Community (Oaxaca, Mexico): Ethnopharmacologic evaluation.

Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 36 (1992), pp. 63-80

Hummer, K.E. and J. Janick. 2009. Rosaceae: taxonomy, economic importance, genomics. In Genetics and genomics of Rosaceae (pp. 1-17). Springer, New York, NY.

Hussain, E.M., Z. Ahmad, T.I.M.T.M. Ali, N.Y.M. Nasir, and N. Hasyim. 2019, August. Old Advices/Tips and Healthcare Practice as a Malay Local Knowledge Based On Manuscript Mss3140 Kitab Tibb. In Proceeding of the International Conference on Literature (Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 86-95).

Jarić, S., M. Mitrović, L. Djurdjević, O. Kostić, G. Gajić, D. Pavlović, and P. Pavlović. 2011. Phytotherapy in medieval Serbian medicine according to the pharmacological manuscripts of the Chilandar Medical Codex (15–16th centuries). Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 137(1), pp.601-619.

Mat Sidek, R. 2011. Corak Pemikiran Perubatan Penulis Manuskrip dalam MSS1292 Kitab Tibb. In Prosiding Nadwah Ulama Nusantara (NUN) IV: Ulama Pemacu Transformasi Negara, pp. 410-413).

Mohd Affendi, M.S. 2020. Jaringan Ke’ilmuwan Tabib Melayu Satu Pemetaan Awwal Berdasarkan Beberapa Manuskrip Perubatan Melayu. in Mohd Affendi. M. S. (editor). 2020. Manuskrip Perubatan Melayu Warisan Kebitaraan Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Akademi Jawi. 1-14.

Petrovska B.B. 2012. Historical review of medicinal plants' usage. Pharmacognosy reviews, 6(11), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-7847.95849.

Piah, H.M. 2015. Ilmu perubatan Melayu tradisional dari naskhah-naskhah lama. International Journal of the Malay World and Civilisation (Iman), 3(3), pp.3-17.

Piah, H.M. 2019. Kitab Tib: Ilmu perubatan melayu. Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia, 274-313.

Rajasree, R.S., P.I. Sibi, F. Francis, and H. William. 2016. Phytochemicals of Cucurbitaceae family—A review. International Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemical Research, 8(1), pp.113-123.

Roediger, W.E.W. 1990. The starved colon—diminished mucosal nutrition, diminished absorption, and colitis. Diseases of the colon & rectum, 33(10), 858-862.

Shakeri, A., M.H. Hashempur, M. Mojibian, F. Aliasl, S. Bioos, & F. Nejatbakhsh. 2018. A comparative study of ranitidine and quince (Cydonia oblonga mill) sauce on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in pregnancy: a randomised, open-label, active-controlled clinical trial. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 38(7), 899-905.

Siti Marina, M.M. 2020. A Short Perspective on the Dissemination of Malay Medical Knowledge in the Light of Al-Tibb: Healing Traditions in Islamic Medical Manuscripts Exhibition. in Mohd Affendi. M. S. (editor). 2020. Manuskrip Perubatan Melayu Warisan Kebitaraan Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Akademi Jawi. 77 – 101.

Somani, S.J., K.P. Modi, A.S. Majumdar, B.N. Sadarani. 2015. Phytochemicals and Their Potential Usefulness in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Phytotherapy Research, 29(3), 339–350. https://doi:10.1002/ptr.5271.

Toth, M., W. Christens-Barry, M. Heintzelman, C. Stewart, D. Calabro, M. Moreton, and C. Stewart. 2020, April. Integrating Advanced Imaging of Ancient Manuscripts. In Archiving Conference (Vol. 2020, No. 1, pp. 33-38). Society for Imaging Science and Technology.

Vázquez-Fresno, R., A.R.R. Rosana, T. Sajed. 2019. Herbs and Spices- Biomarkers of Intake Based on Human Intervention Studies – A Systematic Review. Genes Nutr 14, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12263-019-0636-8.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Contact:

Editor-in-Chief

MALIM Jurnal Pengajian Umum Asia Tenggara

Pusat Pengajian Citra Universiti

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

43600 UK­M Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan

MALAYSIA

E-mail: jmalim@ukm.edu.my

© Copyright Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia