Ethnopharmacological relevance The Bhutanese Sowa Rigpa medicine (BSM) uses animal parts in the preparation of numerous polyingredient traditional remedies. Our study reports the taxonomical identification of medicinal animals and the description of traditional uses in English medical terminologies. Aim of the study To taxonomically identify the medicinal animals and their derived natural products used as a zootherapeutic agents in BSM. Materials and methods First, the traditional textbooks were reviewed to generate a list of animal products described as ingredients. Second, animal parts that are currently used in Bhutan were identified. Third, the ethnopharmacological uses of each animal ingredients were translated into English medical terminologies by consulting Traditional Physicians, clinical assistants, pharmacognosists, and pharmacists in Bhutan. Fourth, the animal parts were taxonomically identified and their Latin names were confirmed by crosschecking them with online animal databases and relevant scientific literature. Results The study found 73 natural products belonging to 29 categories derived from 45 medicinal animals (36 vertebrates and 9 invertebrates), comprising of 9 taxonomic categories and 30 zoological families. Out of 116 formulations currently produced, 87 of them contain one or more extracts and products obtained from 13 medicinal animals to treat more than 124 traditionally classified illnesses. Only five animal ingredients were found available in Bhutan and rest of the animal parts are being imported from India. Conclusions Out of 73 natural products described in the traditional textbooks, only 13 of them (some omitted and few substituted by plants) are currently included in 87 formulations of BSM.
In this work, total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities in methanol and aqueous extracts of five-high altitude medicinal plants namelyAconogonon tortuosum, Thlaspi arvense, Erysimum bhutanicum, Thalictrum chelidoniiandAletris pauciflorawere studied for the first time from Bhutan. Antioxidant activities were investigated using DPPH radical scavenging activity (DRSA), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) assays. Significant level of phenolics and flavonoids were found in all medicinal herbs. Among the five plants studied, aqueous extract ofThalictrum chelidoniiand methanol extract ofErysimum bhutanicumshowed best free radical scavenging activity. Both aqueous and methanol extracts ofAconogonon tortuosumshowed strong ferric reducing antioxidant power. The results indicate that all five medicinal herbs could be potential sources of natural antioxidant compounds and could help boost the immune system of patients.
<p><strong>Publisher's Description:</strong> This book on engaged Buddhism focuses on women working for social justice in a wide range of Buddhist traditions and societies. Contributors document attempts to actualize Buddhism’s liberating ideals of personal growth and social transformation. Dealing with issues such as human rights, gender-based violence, prostitution, and the role of Buddhist nuns, the work illuminates the possibilities for positive change that are available to those with limited power and resources. Integrating social realities and theoretical perspectives, the work utilizes feminist interpretations of Buddhist values and looks at culturally appropriate means of instigating change.</p>
<p>A Tibetan-English dictionary. (Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)</p>
<p>This article presents several oral myths from Thridangbi village in Mongar, Bhutan about a king of the Tongphu valley who was killed for ordering the removal of a mountain. The story serves to explain several place names including the name of Thridangbi village. (Ben Deitle 2006-02-09)</p>
Prolonged exposure to ‘toxic stress’ caused by financial hardship and social exclusion can result in reduced well-being, increased risk of illness and impaired cognitive function and can negatively impact the physiological processes underlying ageing. Evidence suggests that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may reduce stress and improve well-being in clinical and non-clinical populations, and recent studies indicate they may also help address well-being-related effects of poverty. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of delivering an adapted MBI training to adults living with the psychosocial stress caused by poverty and its effectiveness in improving participants’ well-being. In this mixed method, non-randomised waitlist-controlled feasibility pilot study, 40 adults (n = 20 in the training group) from regeneration areas in Scotland earning less than the Living Wage completed the adapted MBI. Delivery proved feasible, even though, as with previous studies on psychosocial interventions in socioeconomically deprived (SED) areas, the rate of participant attrition from recruitment (n = 107) to completion (n = 40) was high (58%). The results showed significant increases in well-being post training for the training group only (p < 0.001). No changes in mindfulness were found in either group. Further qualitative analyses suggested a possible shift in participants’ conceptualisation of well-being from being difficult to manageable or workable. These results indicate that MBI training can be feasibly delivered within SED communities and potentially improve the well-being of course participants. The practicalities of developing accessible MBIs for those living in areas of multiple deprivation are discussed.
Ethnopharmacological relevanceGeological materials, such as minerals, have a long history of usage as ingredients in multicompound formulations of Himalayan Sowa Rigpa medicine – as well as in its localized form of Bhutanese traditional medicine (BTM) – for treating various disorders for over thousand years. Yet, hardly any scientific research has been done on their ethnopharmacological efficacy and chemistry.
Aim of the study
This study documents and correlates the rarely explored ethnopharmacological and chemical identification of various minerals and their ethnomedicinal uses in BTM formulations for the first time.
Material and methods
A five stage cross-disciplinary process was conducted as follows: (1) a review of classical literature of Sowa Rigpa texts (Tibetan medical texts, pharmacopoeias and formularies) that are still in use today; (2) listing of mineral ingredients according to Sowa Rigpa names, followed by identification with common English and chemical names, as well as re-translating their ethnomedical uses; (3) cross-checking the chemical names and chemical composition of identified Sowa Rigpa minerals with various geological mineral databases and mineral handbooks; (4) authentication and standardization of Sowa Rigpa names through open forum discussion with diverse BTM practitioners; (5) further confirmation of the chemical names of identified minerals by consulting different experts and pharmacognosists.
Results
Our current study lists 120 minerals as described in Sowa Rigpa medical textbooks most of which we were able to chemically identify, and of which 28 are currently used in BTM herbo-mineral formulations. Out of these 28 mineral ingredients, 5 originate from precious metal and stone, 10 stem from earth, mud and rocks, 8 are salts, and 5 concern ‘essences’ and exudates.
Conclusions
Our study identified 120 mineral ingredients described in Sowa Rigpa medical textbooks, out of which 28 are currently used. They are crucial in formulating 108 multicompound prescription medicines in BTM presently in use for treating more than 135 biomedically defined ailments.
<p>This book is a traditional description of the lives of the first through sixteenth Karmapas, written by the Fourth Karma Thinleypa of the Karma bKa' brgyud tradition. The hagiographies are replete with descriptions of visions, signs, and miracles performed by the sixteen saints in combination with an essay on the historical and philsophical background of the sect. The introduction by Reginald Ray provides an alternative hermeneutic approach to the material from the rationalistic skepticism of modern materialism.</p>
<p>This article recalls the life and activities of Khenpo Jikmé Püntsok (mkhan po 'jigs med phun tshogs) (1932-2003), a Buddhist scholar and treasure revealer (gter ston) of the Nyingma (rnying ma) tradition who was active in the Buddhist revival in Tibet after 1980. Also, a short work written for the King of Bhutan by the Khenpo is translated. (Ben Deitle 2006-02-07)</p>
<p>By comparing the situations of Bhutan and Nepal in their relations with India, this article discusses international political theories concerning the functions of small states within the international political scene. The existing theories are criticized and the author concludes that more nuanced theories of the international politics of small states are needed. (Ben Deitle 2006-02-10).</p>
<p>An interdisciplinary, refereed journal of Bhutanese studies published by the Centre for Bhutan Studies. The editorial board was formed in 1999 with the aims of (a) giving Bhutanese scholars a chance to have their material published and critically discussed along with contributions from Western academics in the field and (b) making different aspects of Bhutan better known to the outside world. It serves as a forum for students and scholars from both the East and the West, and makes available in Bhutan itself more of the research done on the area. The journal was conceived to appeal to scholars from a number of disciplines, and submissions of material relating to Assam, the Himalayas in relation to Bhutan and on natural sciences as well as economy are actively encouraged. (David Germano 2004-04-04)</p>
INTRODUCTION: Surmang, Qinghai Province is a rural nomadic Tibetan region in western China recently devastated by the 2010 Yushu earthquake; little information is available on access and coverage of maternal and child health services.METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in August 2004. 402 women of reproductive age (15-50) were interviewed regarding their pregnancy history, access to and utilization of health care, and infant and child health care practices.
RESULTS: Women's access to education was low at 15% for any formal schooling; adult female literacy was <20%. One third of women received any antenatal care during their last pregnancy. Institutional delivery and skilled birth attendance were <1%, and there were no reported cesarean deliveries. Birth was commonly attended by a female relative, and 8% of women delivered alone. Use of unsterilized instrument to cut the umbilical cord was nearly universal (94%), while coverage for tetanus toxoid immunization was only 14%. Traditional Tibetan healers were frequently sought for problems during pregnancy (70%), the post partum period (87%), and for childhood illnesses (74%). Western medicine (61%) was preferred over Tibetan medicine (9%) for preventive antenatal care. The average time to reach a health facility was 4.3 hours. Postpartum infectious morbidity appeared to be high, but only 3% of women with postpartum problems received western medical care. 64% of recently pregnant women reported that they were very worried about dying in childbirth. The community reported 3 maternal deaths and 103 live births in the 19 months prior to the survey.
CONCLUSIONS: While China is on track to achieve national Millennium Development Goal targets for maternal and child health, women and children in Surmang suffer from substantial health inequities in access to antenatal, skilled birth and postpartum care. Institutional delivery, skilled attendance and cesarean delivery are virtually inaccessible, and consequently maternal and infant morbidity and mortality are likely high. Urgent action is needed to improve access to maternal, neonatal and child health care in these marginalized populations. The reconstruction after the recent earthquake provides a unique opportunity to link this population with the health system.
Background: The Bhutanese Sowa Rigpa medicine (BSM) uses medicinal plants as the bulk ingredients. Our study was to botanically identify subtropical medicinal plants from the Lower Kheng region in Bhutan, transcribe ethnopharmacological uses, and highlight reported pharmacological activities of each plant.Methods: We freely listed the medicinal plants used in the BSM literature, current formulations, and the medicinal plants inventory documents. This was followed by a survey and the identification of medicinal plants in the Lower Kheng region. The botanical identification of each medicinal plant was confirmed using The Plant List, eFloras, and TROPICOS. Data mining for reported pharmacological activities was performed using Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and SciFinder Scholar.
Results: We identified 61 subtropical plants as the medicinal plants used in BSM. Of these, 17 plants were cultivated as edible plant species, 30 species grow abundantly, 24 species grow in moderate numbers, and only seven species were scarce to find. All these species grow within the altitude range of 100-1800 m above sea level. A total of 19 species were trees, and 13 of them were shrubs. Seeds ranked first in the parts usage category. Goshing Gewog (Block) hosted maximum number of medicinal plants. About 52 species have been pharmacologically studied and only nine species remain unstudied.
Conclusion: Lower Kheng region is rich in subtropical medicinal plants and 30 species present immediate economic potential that could benefit BSM, Lower Kheng communities and other Sowa Rigpa practicing organizations.
The objective of this study was to compare a Tibetan traditional medicine (the uterotonic Zhi Byed 11 [ZB11]) to oral misoprostol for prophylaxis of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). We conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial at three hospitals in Lhasa, Tibet, People''s Republic of China. Women (N = 967) were randomized to either ZB11 or misoprostol groups. Postpartum blood loss was measured in a calibrated blood collection drape. The primary combined outcome was incidence of PPH, defined as measured blood loss (MBL) ≥ 500 mL, administration of open label uterotonics, or maternal death. We found that the rate of the combined outcome was lower among the misoprostol group (16.1% versus 21.8% for ZB11; P = .02). Frequency of PPH was lower with misoprostol (12.4% versus 17.4%; P = .02). There were no significant differences in MBL > 1000 mL or mean or median MBL. Fever was significantly more common in the misoprostol group (P = .03). The rate of combined outcome was significantly lower among women receiving misoprostol. However, other indices of obstetric hemorrhage were not significantly different.
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