Ampalaya’s new strength

What the Chamber of Herbal Industries in the Philippines Inc. (CHIPI) has helped accomplish — in partnership with national and local health agencies — is the very essence of hope: the expectation of better things, a world without diabetes.

In fact, the diabetes campaign began when the Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines, along with Herbcare Corp., recognized a need, and the important role that the vegetable ampalaya could play in public health. Further studies then established ampalaya as a medicine for diabetes.

Finally, the memorandum of agreement with the Department of Health (DOH) was signed. In lieu of the ampalaya advocates’ initiative to have the plant re-enlisted among the scientifically validated medicinal herbs in the country, Health Secretary Francisco Duque reinstated ampalaya, upholding Department Circular 168-A S. 1995.

"This reclassification is instituted in the light of recent evidence on the clinical efficacy of ampalaya against diabetes mellitus," the circular states.

Shortly after the reinstatement was issued, the Bureau of Food and Drugs officially reclassified ampalaya, specifically Charantia Ampalaya Tea, from a food supplement to food for special dietary use.

CHIPI president and Herbcare chairman Lito Abelarde says, "We see ampalaya as the medicinal herb that has a lot of promise here and abroad. In fact, the probable success can prompt us to look into other herbs that our country can promote around the world."

While there were conflicting theories of ampalaya, echoing concerns aired by consumers led to confusion as a result of a circular in 2003 strongly advising all concerned to cease, desist and discontinue any endorsement of ampalaya as an alternative treatment to diabetes mellitus. With all this brouhaha about ampalaya, most ampalaya-based producers had to close shop due to insufficient market.

It can be recalled that Operation Diabetes had been strongly endorsed by former Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit since it was launched in October 2001.

"(Operation Diabetes) has proven itself as an effective community-based program that has substantially helped to raise awareness of people about diabetes. In addition, it has assisted in identifying people with diabetes through blood-sugar screenings, and organizing them into support groups to pursue healthier lifestyles," Dayrit said.

The campaign was aimed at providing assistance to the less fortunate in coping with the high cost of managing the disease. Since many of those in municipal health centers are poor, health officers try to offer some measure of medication that is affordable. Thus, entered ampalaya, also called bitter melon.

Call it a twist of fate but a circular was never recalled when a joint statement signed by Dayrit, then BFAD director Leticia Gutierrez and the heads of the various doctors’ groups and ampalaya manufacturers’ association, stated that ampalaya food supplements are intended to fortify the diet and those taking ampalaya food supplements are advised not to stop their required medications without their doctors’ advice.

However, with the recent positive developments on ampalaya and further strengthening it with a circular, it sets the plant on the path of becoming a globally accepted herb for diabetes.

"This can bring the Philippines one step closer to reaping the full health and economic fruits of ampalaya," Abelarde says.

Ampalaya now completes the list of 10 medicinal plants being pushed by the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, an attached agency of the DOH and an inter-agency body tasked to give flesh to Republic Act 8423, or the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act.

Abelarde stresses that ampalaya is strongly recommended as a means of lowering blood-sugar readings, and such, it has the most number of scientific reports among plants for diabetes.

"The DOH has enough scientific proof of ampalaya’s safety and efficacy for a particular disease. In the list, ampalaya is the only medicinal plant approved for diabetes, one factor that convinced the DOH to recommend it," he says.

Duque believes that it is necessary to identify those at high risk of diabetes and for them to take precautionary measures.

"Ampalaya, if processed properly, has a therapeutic value. Prof. Nelia Maramba of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital made an extensive study on the therapeutic effects of ampalaya and it became one of our bases for the reinstatement; it’s a recommendation," he says.

According to Dr. William Torres, former BFAD director, he concluded that a review of these studies revealed that "ampalaya’s fruits, leaves, seeds and other parts, when used as dry powder, extracts, decoctions, fresh or cooled, have clearly demonstrated hypoglycemia activity."

Other studies done by researchers have also identified the key compounds present in ampalaya, notably polypeptide-P, a plant insulin found only in ampalaya. Similar to animal insulin, polypeptide-P lowers elevated blood sugar levels.

Although the local herbal industry may still be in its infancy compared to those of other countries, but with the private companies’ trust and support, "(it) can be a global player with ampalaya leading the way. (And I believe) that one day, the industry will," Abelarde says.