Page 46 - EBOOK_Jamu: The Ancient Indonesian Art of Herbal Healing

were valid or not. At present, the centres employ two methods of testing. The

first deals with the bioactive screening of crude and fractioned extracts. The
second, which is called the chemical approach, includes step-by-step
experiments that extract, separate, isolate and purify ingredients; the process is
technically described as structural elucidation, theoretical deduction of
bioactivity and pharmacological testing. It is believed that such trials will bring
scientific credibility to a subject that has—up to now— been cloaked in mystery.
Jamu was given further credibility in the late 1980s when an investigative
centre opened in Yogyakarta, home of traditional medicine. In answer to popular
requests for research and analysis of jamu, Professor Dr Koesnadi
Hardjasoemantri, then Director of Gadjah Mada University, set up the Research
Centre for Traditional Medicine at the university. The Centre’s task is to evaluate

traditional medicine, produce experimental batches, train jamu technical staff
and develop raw materials. In addition, it now includes massage and acupuncture
in its brief. The Centre has also adopted an educational role and operates courses
on jamu making in villages throughout Central Java to help small producers
improve hygiene and quality.

A Fair Trial
Clinical trials have been implemented in Indonesia, but it is a complex,
Herculean task. Not only can a jamu formula consist of 40 or more ingredients,
but each may contain a dozen or more chemical components. In addition to the
active ingredients, there are secondary, inactive items, used to render the
medicine palatable or to mask unpleasant odours. And, as Professor Sutarjadi,
founder of Post-Graduate Studies at the University of Airlangga in Surabaya,
points out, ingredients from different parts of Java will probably have different
properties as soil, climate and altitude differ radically from one area to another.

In terms of manpower and economic resources, the task of analysing and
qualifying jamu ingredients and formulæ is colossal. Detractors argue that the
industry should not be burdened with such extra requirements when most
Indonesians have accepted jamu at face value for centuries. To simplify research,
the Indonesian Ministry of Health introduced a new ruling in the late 1990s
under the heading ‘Phytopharmaca’, which loosely translates as ‘Active Plant
Ingredients’.

IBU RISMA AND THE ROSY PERIWINKLE