The Medicinal Plants of Gunung Leuser, Indonesia

Although tropical plants have provided the pharmaceutical industry with many products, there appears to be little interest within the industry in contributing towards conservation of tropical forests to protect plants, which could be useful for developing new drugs. 

The objectives of this project were to compile an inventory of medicinal plants used by the people of Marpunga and Gumpang: populated enclaves within Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. These settlements are surrounded by tropical rain forest, which is one of the most diverse plant communities in the world. Although their residents have access to modern medicine, they rely almost entirely on medicinal plants, administered by native doctors, called dukuns, for all medical treatment. 

During ten week's field work, the medicinal uses of 171 plant species were catalogued. Specimens collected were identified at the Herbarium Bogoriense on Java. Samples from several species underwent chemical analysis at the Joderell Laboratory, Kew Surrey. 

The study concludes that a wide variety of tropical plant species are of potential value to the pharmaceutical industry, and that pharmaceutical companies have much to gain from investing in the conservation of tropical forests.