ABSTRACT
Medicinal plants are an essential component of traditional medicine in Laos. They served as the backbone of primary health care throughout the population in the past and continue to do so today. Chemical ingredients in plants, and frequently their co-occurrence in mixtures, are responsible for the preventive and/or curative effects of medicinal plants, and single constituents have served as the source of lead compounds in the discovery of many therapeutic drugs. Previous research between the ITM and UIC documented many medicinal plants of Laos, yet only a small number of pharmaceutical drug leads have been discovered from them. Nevertheless, scientific studies of plants of Laos confirm the presence of constituents that can exert significant biological activity, thus providing additional support to the ethnomedicinal applications of a plant. Healers of Laos will be able to continue their healing practices only if the medicinal plants they use remain available. The present MPP and MBP network in Laos serves to assure that medicinal plants will be available to healers in the present and future. In this context, it is important to recognize the major role communities have in the protection and maintenance of these preserves, whose resources they rely on for multiple aspects of daily living. As we move forward, goals include continuing our research efforts to value these preserves and uncover new natural products with healing potential, sharing the results of this research with the healers and members of the community, and promoting public education on the importance of medicinal plant resources and their protection. Healers should be included in short seminar settings for secondary school students near the MPPs and MBPs, and posters and books about medicinal plants should be produced and distributed.
