Stroke is the no 1 leading cause of death in Thailand. According to the Department of Disease Control, 13.7 million people worldwide, a quarter of which were over 25 years old, suffered from this disease in the previous year, which led to 5.5 million deaths. In Thailand, the total number of deaths from stroke in 2019 was 34,728 – 20,034 were male and 14,694 were female (Public Health Statistics AD 2019). Recognising the gravity of the situation, CMU and the Northern Science Park (NSP) joined forces to research herbs with properties to prevent and treat stroke in the elderly, while also sending scholars to help with the development of healthcare innovation using raw materials found locally.
For this reason, CMU Faculty of Medicine has now put more focus on health research, especially Thai herbs. It is found that ginger, jujube and wood ear mushroom contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds that could potentially help with stroke treatment. Gingerol, found in ginger, can help improve circulation and reduce clotting. If their in-vivo studies prove to be successful, the next phase will be drug development. With NSP’s extensive knowledge in science and resources for product processing, we may see many more local herb-derived drugs that treat severe illnesses, which would reduce imports of expensive drugs in the future. This effort will also address the issue of overproduction.
CMU strives to increase recognition of Thai herbs on the international stage by producing research and quality products to push educational and medical capacity limits, and at the same time promote applications of knowledge both for purposes of treatment and knowledge integration for the community. Our commitment is in line with societal needs, the BCG model and the university’s Proactive Strategy on Food, Health and Elderly Care, which would ultimately lead to excellence and sustainable development.