This article first appeared in Personal Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on May 16 - 22, 2016.

The use of medicinal herbs to ease health conditions and improve wellness dates back centuries, especially in Southeast Asian countries that are rich with natural resources. Herbal remedies were used even before the invention of modern medicine.

The rainforests of Malaysia are home to many natural remedies, such as the well-known Tongkat Ali. Others, such as Misai Kucing (Cat’s Whiskers), can also be nurtured in your garden.

While herbs have been around for a long time, some doubt their benefits and efficacy. There have also been many cases of patients whose conditions worsened after they took these traditional remedies. So, are they safe to be consumed?

After spending many years traversing the rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo to study their indigenous inhabitants, Australian medical herbalist Benjamin Drewe says the answer depends on many factors, including the reason a person consumes a herb, how much he takes and whether it is the right herb to use.

“We should use herbs after understanding the plants’ chemistry, their active ingredients and correct dosage. For example, when you have a cup of instant coffee to wake you up, you know that it’s the caffeine in the coffee beans that provides the kick and if one packet has no effect, then this brand may not be using the right coffee beans and you would find another that has the desired effect,” says Drewe.

“Medicinal herbs should be used in the same way. Find out, before you purchase a product, what are the active ingredients and dosage. Check with the manufacturer if it has ‘standardised’ this ingredient in its product. If so, how much?”

Drewe is the founder of Rainforest Herbs, a pioneer herbal company established in 1995 in Malaysia. It focuses on developing and manufacturing products from tropical Southeast Asian herbs. The company’s flagship product is a range of Tongkat Ali that is distributed to different parts of the world, including Australia, the US and the UK. It also distributes its products to local pharmacies such as Nature’s Farm, Caring Pharmacy, Vitacare Pharmacy and Watsons.

“Herbal medicine companies like ours can be said to be offering modern-evidence-based alternative medicine as opposed to traditional medicine. Those that provide traditional medicine without scientific understanding often use sales gimmicks such as supernatural powers, hype or exaggerated claims to promote their products, which more often than not are totally ineffective,” says Drewe.

After delving into the world of tropical herbs and using them scientifically for more than 20 years, he has found that some have valuable properties and should be in the medicine cabinet of every family. These include Hempedu Bumi (King of Bitters) and Cat’s Whiskers.

“Hempedu Bumi literally means bile of the earth in Malay, which is an accurate description as it is an extremely bitter herb that works on protecting the liver and promoting bile flow and digestion. It is a herb that is very easy to grow … many elderly Chinese grow the herb around their house, although its bitterness makes it best to be taken in capsule form,” says Drewe.

The herb’s active ingredient, known as andrographolides, has been shown to have powerful free radical scavenging properties for the digestive system and liver. It works as an antioxidant to improve immunity and liver detoxification. It also protects the human body from oxidised fats as well as dietary and environmental free radicals.

“I often categorise this herb as a herbal first aid kit. When you are not feeling well and experiencing the first signs of sinus or an itchy throat, you can take this herb to support your body. It also helps when you have a hangover as it can assist your body in metabolising alcohol and protect you from alcohol’s toxic by-products and hangover symptoms,” Drewe explains.

However, a person suffering from acute liver or gall bladder problems should refrain from taking the herb as it may aggravate the situation. Drewe advises waiting until the condition of the acute disease stabilises before consuming King of Bitters to improve wellness.

“It is one of the best herbs for protecting and supporting the liver. As with all herbs though, it should be avoided if you are suffering from acute liver disease or hepatitis, or when you are on medication, such as steroids, to suppress your immune system as the herb will boost your immunity,” warns Drewe.

The Cat’s Whiskers plant is an Asian member of the mint family. Also known as Java Tea, the herb has a nice essential-oil aroma with a slightly bitter taste, while its unique flowers have fine filaments that resemble a cat’s whiskers, he says.

Rainforest Herbs initiated R&D on the medicinal use of Cat’s Whiskers in 1995. Several research papers have been published on the herb, showing that it has antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antimicrobial and even anti-cancer properties.

According to a research paper published by the Department of Pharmacology of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Universiti Sains Malaysia, “Cat’s Whiskers tea extract inhibits the growth of colon tumour in nude mice”. The research group deemed that the herb has anti-cancer properties.

Drewe says one of the traditional uses of Cat’s Whiskers is to treat kidney stones, as it is a mild diuretic and helps enhance the elimination of substances through urine. It also provides relief to arthritis and joint pain if taken over a long period of time.

He adds that although Cat’s Whiskers have been traditionally used to ease high blood pressure and diabetes, strict regulations prevent herbal products from promoting these properties.

“This is something everyone can plant in their garden, pick the leaves, boil them with water and drink to improve wellness. As a herbalist, I think herbal medicine should be something we consume often, in a manner that is as simple and as cost effective as possible.”

However, Drewe warns that patients with chronically low blood pressure and kidney disease should avoid taking Cat’s Whiskers. “While the herb is known as kidney tea because of its cleansing diuretic effect, it should not be thought of as a cure for kidney disease. Every professionally trained herbalist understands that all herbs should be avoided if there is no close professional monitoring of the kidney disease.”

The third herb that Drewe recommends is Pueraria Mirifica (known as Kwao Krua in Thai) from northern Thailand. It is especially helpful for women experiencing perimenopause — the period shortly before menopause.

An imbalance of hormones — estrogen and progesterone — can lead to many health issues for women, and this is especially prevalent during perimenopause, Drewe explains.

“Pueraria Mirifica is a phytoestrogen that may act as a hormone balancer for women, providing the benefits of estrogen without the negative side effects of pharmaceutical estrogen hormone replacement therapy, which may lead to a higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.

“Estrogen aids cell division. Cancerous tumours are cells that are dividing and replicating at a pace that is out of control. Pueraria Mirifica inhibits the growth of estrogen-sensitive cancer cells by depriving them of natural estrogen.”

Drewe points out that northern Thailand — where Pueraria Mirifica has been used as a traditional medicine for centuries — has the lowest rate of breast cancer in the world and low rates of other cancers as well.

The anti-ageing properties of the herb also helps to rejuvenate the skin and act as a breast enlarger. A lot of young women are using it to enhance their bust size and to look younger, he says.

While Pueraria Mirifica is good for women’s health and wellness, Drewe says females with sensitive hormonal systems should take it with caution.

Having been in the Malaysian herbal industry for more than two decades, he is often asked whether herbal medicine really works and whether it is harmful.

His answer is simple: It will not work for people who do not take the recommended dosage and is harmful to those who take more than the recommended dosage. The latter group often end up in the hospital after taking herbal medicine, giving herbs a bad name.

“Some will take certain herbal products because their friends or family promoted them, without doing their own research to find a reputable manufacturer. This is quite dangerous as most of the products are formulated by businesspeople and not professional health practitioners and as such are not being developed based on the standardisation of active ingredients at the correct dosage. Science sets a limit to the intake of substances in these herbs but when you don’t, that is when things get risky.”

Wrong dosages aside, Drewe says people sometimes do not get the promised benefits because of wrong prescriptions — they are using the wrong herbs for the wrong conditions.

“When you go to a herbalist in Australia or the UK, the herbalist will prescribe products based on a degree of scientific understanding of the product. I think it is high time Malaysia starts to look into modern herbal medicine training, and move beyond just categorising it as traditional medicine along racial or cultural lines. This is because the functions of many of the herbs we are using have evolved due to modern scientific research performed all over the world,” he says.

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