324 recipes being considered for listing as National Essential Medicines

The director-general of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Somruek Chungsaman, said on Thursday that the department was screening Thai traditional medicine recipes from various sources nationwide.

These sources included stone inscriptions in temples and old documents in the National Library, as well as recipes invented by locals, royal family members and educational institutions, he said.

Thailand currently has 54,979 traditional medicine recipes, of which 38,776 had been recorded in the Herbal Medicinal Products Information System, he said.

Somruek explained that The National Drug Information has approved 324 Thai traditional medicines recipes to be included in Thai traditional medicine learning courses, for treating skin diseases, diarrhoea, asthma, cough, women’s diseases, as well as supplements.

These creations will be screened for treatment efficiency before being registered as National Essential Medicines to allow hospitals to use them as alternatives to modern medicines, he said. The standards for Thai traditional medicine should be prepared, he added.

Nanthasak Chotchanadechawong, at the department’s office for protection and promotion of Thai traditional medicine and local wisdom, said the recipes should pass the criteria for listing as National Essential Medicines.

The criteria include: using herbs available in Thailand and avoiding parts of preserved animals under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The use of  hazardous substances should not exceed the limit set by the Public Health Ministry and Thai Food and Drug Administration, he explained.