Thai Traditional Herbal Medicine

Through the learning process, the knowledge of Thai herbs, local vegetables, and other plants with medicinal properties has been learned and passed on from generation to generation. Each kind of herbal plants can help ease and treat certain ailments, when its roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, through processing, are applied in a proper way.

However, the application of each herb for effectiveness must take into consideration the growing environment and season and the period for collecting it.

Some communities in Thailand have learned how to produce herbs from the old generation. Raw materials to be processed into herbal medicine are often available in this communities.

Somchai, a farmer from Northeast Thailand, said that he once suffered from an allergy and the ailment did not improve despite several methods of treatment. After he used herbal medicine made from the formula of his great grandfather continuously for a certain period, his sickness gradually eased and he soon got better. The healing properties of this herbal medicine have been told through verbal communication. Khun Somchai is now trying to sell this kind of herbal medicine, and gives us a look in his production process.

The production of his herbal moist pills is divided into five steps within a three-day period. In the first day, raw materials, namely garlic, black pepper, Aloe Vera, cassod leaves, and kaffir lime, are prepared. Medicinal and healing properties of garlic are lower cholestrol, help gastrointestinal ailments, and reduce mucus in the colon. Black pepper drives away gas in the abdomen and relieves indigestion. Aloe Vera relieves peptic ulcers and improves appetite. It also relieves asthma and drives away mucus in the body. Cassod leaves can be used as treatments for calculus in kidney and for insomnia. It also improves eyesight. Kaffir lime boosts energy and stimulate enzyme. In this step, the meat inside a kaffir lime is taken out and then a mixture of all these herbs is put into the kaffir lime. Later, the kaffir lime is steamed and crushed.

In the second day, the crushed herbs are made into moist pills and dried in an open air.

On the third day, the pills are put into an oven at a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius, before being packed into packages ready for sale.