RESEARCH
THE RESEARCH POTENTIAL IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE By SANJANA RAO ABHIJIT RAMAPRASAD According to a 2004 press release by the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 80% of the populations of developing countries rely on traditional or alternative medicine for their medical needs. Traditional medicine, as defined by the WHO, refers to “the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness�. Thus, when this article refers to traditional medicine, it is referring to the WHO definition, examples of which include Sowa Rigpa, Ayurveda, and Unani, while more modern, non-allopathic treatments are termed as alternative, or complimentary therapies. Most traditional medicine relies on therapies derived from trial-and-error over hundreds of years and on herbal/natural agents. As these agents have been used over centuries by these communities, they present an untapped trove of research potential for use in modern medicine.
winter 2020 || 21
