My Operatraditional Chinese medicine
Sunday, December 13, 2009 6:43:15 AM
Some extinction of plants over the past several hundred years are mainly due to over harvesting for food, fashion and profit. Besides that, traditional medicine often combines ingredients from all parts of plants (the leaf, stem, flower, root ) and also ingredients from animals and minerals. The use of parts of endangered species (such as seahorses, rhinoceros horns, bear, and tiger bones and claws) has created controversy and resulted in a Black Market of poachers who hunt restricted animals. Deep-seated cultural beliefs in the potency of tiger parts are so prevalent across Asia that laws protecting.
For example, Bear parts are often employed in traditional Chinese medicine. Bile from the bear gall bladder is an ancient and treasured ingredient used to treat a range of illnesses including serious liver diseases, heart disease and hemorrhoids. Paws and other bear parts are eaten as a delicacy and are also thought to have health-giving properties. However, lack of censuses and field studies usually make it very difficult to establish exact numbers of bears in the wild. "We know what is in the market place, but we don't know what is in the forest," said Elizabeth Kemf, species information manager at World Wide Fund for Nature and one of the co-authors of the report. "The markets in Asia are supplied with bear parts, especially in Southeast Asia. While bear numbers in Asia slide downward, bears in the Americas are being increasingly targeted by traders." Earlier this year, in Virginia, U.S. law enforcement officials seized 300 bear gall bladders, the product of illegal bear kills. (thanh diem)
For example, Bear parts are often employed in traditional Chinese medicine. Bile from the bear gall bladder is an ancient and treasured ingredient used to treat a range of illnesses including serious liver diseases, heart disease and hemorrhoids. Paws and other bear parts are eaten as a delicacy and are also thought to have health-giving properties. However, lack of censuses and field studies usually make it very difficult to establish exact numbers of bears in the wild. "We know what is in the market place, but we don't know what is in the forest," said Elizabeth Kemf, species information manager at World Wide Fund for Nature and one of the co-authors of the report. "The markets in Asia are supplied with bear parts, especially in Southeast Asia. While bear numbers in Asia slide downward, bears in the Americas are being increasingly targeted by traders." Earlier this year, in Virginia, U.S. law enforcement officials seized 300 bear gall bladders, the product of illegal bear kills. (thanh diem)
