Lower productivity caused by asthma disease has compelled loss in Canada up to Rp840-billion a year. This fact has been studied by Arto Ohinma and Charles Yan of Netherlands Institute for Health. In Indonesia alone, the number of asthma sufferer has reached 12-million people. Unlike what happened in Canada, so far there has been no report on the loss caused by asthma attack.
According to dr Sidi Aritjahja, a doctor who is also a herbalist in Yogyakarta, asthma cure that circulates in the market generally contain 2 substances: antihistamine and bronchodilator. Antihistamine will halt histamine effect which usually causes swelling; bronchodilator help to relax bronchial tube muscle against constriction. The active ingredient that is commonly used as bronchodilator is aminophilin. Nevertheless, the use of that substance may influence the performance of smooth muscle and peripheral nervous system. It will result in low blood pressure and throbbing heart.
Nature, however, provides antiasthma medicine that appears to be safe, i. e., ngai camphor Blumea balsamifera. “The leaves of ngai camphor can be used as bronchodilator,” said Prof Andreanus Sumardji of School of Pharmacy of Bandung Institute of Technology (Institut Teknologi Bandung, ITB). He conducted a research on the influence of ngai camphor leaves extract to treat asthma. He found that the use of 621,7 mg of ngai camphor leaves extract is equal to antiasthma medicine dose that circulate in the market.
The dose of 621,7 mg is equal to 4,3 gram for a human weighing 70 kg. From a research conducted by Krishna Martha of the School of Pharmacy of Bandung Institute of Technology (Sekolah Farmasi Institut Teknologi Bandung, ITB), LD50 in ngai champor reaches 4.000―8.000 mg per kg body weight. LD50 is a dosage that has killed a half of experiment animals. On a person weighing 70 kg, LD50 is equal to 280―320 gram for one consumption. In other words, with the dose of only 4,3 gram is indeed very safe to relieve bronchus. (A. Arie Raharjo)
- The leaves of ngai champor Blumea balsamifera
- Prof Andreanus, a scientist who conducts a research on ngai champor leaves used to treat asthma in School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology
- (Ilustrasi) Bronchus of asthma sufferer is narrowing as the body excretes histamine―swelling stimulus―as a response against the emergence of foreign object such as dust
- Normal bronchus
