Page 167 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

Storage is one of the most important elements in today’s high-tech jamu factories. (photo courtesy of
martina berto.)

THE SUM OF THE PARTS

American scientists recently conducted some interesting herbal experiments whereby they extracted
five compounds from a number of herbs normally used in a specific jamu and fed them separately to
animals.
When the progress of this group was compared with that of other animals which had been fed
a mixture containing all the compounds, results clearly showed that when taken individually none of
the compounds had any effect. However, the health of animals eating the combination of five
compounds improved dramatically over the testing period.
Similar tests were carried out with a control group of people, who took a placebo, and a
second group, who were prescribed jamu. Reaction proved positive in the group taking jamu. Whilst
useful, such tests are unfortunately not sufficient to give this jamu its scientific credentials.

Market Sales
On a grassroots level, jamu sells very well. Some of the smaller outlets—kiosks
or market stalls—sell the pre-packed, powdered version of jamu formulæ, while
others mix the contents with water and add a few extras like fresh kampung eggs
or pure wild honey, and as many again sell their own home-made jamu.