Doctor of traditional Chinese medicine meets African herbalist

The 2018-05-05 People's Daily online

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

It was a scene from a recent 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 former government security official, is 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" and banned from practicing medicine.

Like China, Kenyan herbalists pass through family generations. The mother and grandmother of Moses cogo, an herbalist, are famous herbalists. Benard mamati, from the west of Kenya, has learned to identify and use herbal medicines 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 been to the seminar for the third time. He excitedly took the reporter outside and pointed to a plant and said, "look, this is the last time a Chinese doctor taught me. There are some herbs we have here, but we don't know what disease it can cure. The reporter looked in his direction -- a purslane.

Although there are many kinds of plants here, they need to be carefully screened, he said. "For example, the honeysuckle that goes through the winter and summer cold and heat is only medicinal, the four seasons like spring, the honeysuckle can not enter the medicine."

At the meeting, local herbalists showed the herbs they brought, most of which were ground to powder. Kogo and markati told reporters that what kind of herbs can cure what diseases, and how to fill them, all came 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." Mamma spoke of the feeling of being like a handful of herbs.

Liu gaoqiong, an agricultural expert at nanjing agricultural university, has been in Kenya for more than 20 years. He told reporters that BBS, which brings together Kenyan herbalists, has been held for more than a decade. At first, the herbalists were too conservative to reveal their "secrets", and now they are slowly beginning to communicate.

Mr. Pan is 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. However, the amount of herbal medicine here is not like the prescribed dose of traditional Chinese medicine. There is no concept of dosage, and sometimes there will be adverse consequences due to overdose.

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 very impressed with pan's moxibustion demonstration. "China's treatment of Chinese herbs 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.