Page 101 - journal-6-1-Full

Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine Vol. 6 No. 1 January - April 2008 ˘Ò

34
Medicine the name pro tung song (The Two Pro).
In one of the oldest publications in the Thai herbal In northeastern Thailand, the local people living
literature, King Narai Remedies, two crude drugs made around the type location (Phu Wiang District of Khon
from the genus Kaempferia L. are formulated in Kaen Province) of K. grandifolia Saensouk and Jenjitt.
several herbal recipes. The herb pro pom (‡ª√“–ÀÕ¡) use the leaves and rhizomes, blending them with
refers to the rhizomes of K. galanga L. and the crude husked rice, as an anti-herpes medication. The rhi-
drug known as wan pro pa (‡ª√“–ªÉ“) may refer to any zomes of K. filifolia K. Larsen boiled with water are
of three taxa, K. marginata Carey, K. elegans Wall. ex used for leucorrhoea in Ubonratchathani Province.
33
Baker, and K. roscoeana Wall. Selections from the Rhizomes of K. larsenii Sirirugsa, ground and applied
Thai traditional medical literature state that pro hom externally, are used to treat inflammation caused by
is characteristically pungent and bitter in taste but insects bites.
possesses a carminative effect, while pro pa, although Recently, wan krachai dam (K. parviflora Wall.
having the same taste, also has an antipyretic ef- ex Baker), or currently known in short as çKrachai
32
fect. Pro hom (K. galanga L.) is recognized in two Damé, has become a popular herb. The purplish black
forms, the çredé and the çwhiteé forms, and some- rhizomes of this taxon are claimed to produce a male
times they are prescribed together as a set of drugs aphrodisiac effect. This species currently is cultivated
under the name pro hom tung song (The Two Pro nationwide to serve consumer demand and the price
Hom), i.e. pro hom daeng (daeng = red) and pro hom has increased tremendously, although it sometimes
khao (khao = white). Both pro hom and pro pa are fluctuates. Research to prove this claim is ongoing.
also occasionally prescribed as a set of drugs under

Fig. 29 Wan Nok Kum (K. elegans Wall. ex Baker), a beautiful species grown as a garden plant or a pot plant, can be seen in most
plant shops throoughout Thailand.