When a Chinese doctor meets an African herbalist

2018-04-20 "universal" magazine, ludo treasure jin zheng

Chinese medicine doctor pan lianxue took out three moxibustion strips, one moxibustion in the elbow of a Kenyan man and the other two on the shoulders of two volunteers. Some 20 kenyans crowded around her, watching and listening intently, while others recorded video on their mobile phones.

It was a scene at a workshop on natural products and food security in the central Kenyan city of nakuru. Pan lianxue is showing the effectiveness of moxibustion in traditional Chinese medicine, and the bystanders are mostly local herbalists.

John nyaga, a retired government security official from nbu county, central Kenya. Two months ago, he felt that his elbow was sore and sore, and that it didn't work. After 15 minutes of moxibustion, his pain was reduced. "In Kenya, people usually plant mugwort in the courtyard," said nyaga. "it's amazing how the moxibustion of Chinese medicine actually has the effect of treating joint pain."

"Mugwort is very common in Kenya, where mugwort may have been growing for decades, and it's very good, and it's very nice to have a full car on the car, but the locals don't know how to use it." "Said pan.

Pan, who has been practicing medicine in Nairobi for more than 20 years, has found that local herbs are abundant, so he has the idea of promoting traditional Chinese medicine in Kenya.

Kenya has a long tradition of using herbs. In many areas, villagers have a headache and will seek medical advice from the village herbalists. But in the British colonial period, herbalists were treated as "witch doctors". "They drove us away and banned us from practicing medicine." "Said Moses cogo, an herbalist.

Like China, Kenyan herbalists pass through family generations. Cogo's mother and grandmother are famous herbalists.

With the development of The Times, there are fewer and fewer herbalists in Kenya. But we saw many herbalists in bright Marseilles. Traditional customs are better preserved than other tribes, and many of the maasai are still active as herbalists.

Benard mamati, a former teacher of music, from the west of Kenya, learned the skills of identifying and using medicinal plants from his grandfather. Today, he has not only cultivated many herbs, but also compiled a list of the medicinal properties of various herbs.

Mamati has participated in the seminar for the third time. He excitedly took us outside and pointed to a plant and said, "look, this is the last time a Chinese doctor taught me. Some plants we have here, but only you know what it can cure. We looked in his direction -- a purslane.

Pan Lianxue said, although this plant a lot of more phyletic, but needs to be carefully screened, "for example, through the winter summer heating and honeysuckle have medicinal properties, and Kenya, four spring-like, honeysuckle can't into medicine."

At the meeting, local herbalists showed the herbs they brought, most of which were ground to powder. Kogo and mamati tell us what kinds of herbs can cure diseases, and how they should be dispensed, all from generations of experience.

There are many different ways for the Kenyan herbalists to use herbal remedies. In addition to the use of water, there are some medicines that can be turned into a paste or made into a cigarette smoking. "I'll put it in a capsule when it's very bitter, so it's easier for the patient to take it." Mamadti said that herbal medicine is a bit of a treasure.

Liu gaoqiong, an agricultural expert at nanjing agricultural university, has been in Kenya for more than 20 years. , he says, the Kenya herbalist together like this BBS has been held for more than ten years, herbal designers are very conservative, at first refused to reveal their "secret", now they are slowly beginning to communicate.

According to liu gaoqiong, some of the herbs in Kenya are "amazing". He had coughs since childhood, and the traditional Chinese medicine has not been cured. Last year, on this BBS, a Kenyan herbologist gave him some medicine and told him to take it in the morning and evening, but after more than a month, the cough had improved greatly.

Mr. Pan is also bullish on Kenyan herbs, but is concerned about the lack of norms and standards. "There are a lot of good herbs in Kenya, such as the local herb to treat malaria. But the herbs here are not like the medicinal herbs of traditional Chinese medicine. There is no prescription, there is no dose concept, sometimes the patient's disease is cured, and the other organs fail.

Compared with western medicine, herbs are natural, cheap and affordable, and they are a valuable resource that can't be ignored, kogo said. He was impressed by pan's moxibustion demonstration. "China's treatment of Chinese herbal medicine is more advanced than ours, and we are still in a very rough stage. We hope that the two countries will strengthen cooperation in medical technology and make herbal medicine more available to more people.