136
N. N. Win and H. Morita
2.24 Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
2.25 Jatropha multifida L. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
2.26 Swertia chirata Buch.-Ham. ex Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
3
Synthesis Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
4
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
1 Introduction
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar is a tropical country that is situated geographically in Southeast Asia and occupies a land area of 676,577 km
2 and a coastline
of 2,832 km. It lies between latitudes 9° 32
N to 28° 31
N and longitudes 92°
10
E to 101° 11
E and is comprised of seven states and seven regions, with the
former consisting of Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan, and the
latter Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, and Yangon.
Myanmar borders Thailand to the southeast and east, with Laos as a part of its east
border following the Mekong River, as well as China (Yunnan and Tibet) to the northeast and India to the northwest. A small part of the west is bordered by Bangladesh.
Generally, Myanmar has three different seasons characterized as summer (from
March to May), rainy (from June to October), and winter (November to February).
Different landscapes, such as mountains, lowlands, plateaus, plains, rivers, and lakes
occur from the east to the west and from the north to south. The average temperature
in the lowlands, plains, and coastal zones is approximately 27 °C. Fifty percent of the
land area was covered by forest 50 years ago. However, the amount of forest area is
decreasing gradually due to meeting a continuing demand for timber. Nevertheless,
Myanmar is a country that still retains valuable natural resources that are being lost
elsewhere in the world. The population of Myanmar has inherited its own traditional
medicine system and has practiced this for over 2000 years. Traditional medicine in
Myanmar is based on Ayurvedic concepts and is influenced by Buddhist philosophy.
In the primary healthcare system of Myanmar, traditional medicine still occupies an
important and integral role. The traditional medicinal formulation used in Myanmar
is abbreviated as “TMF.” Altogether, 57 formulations have been documented in a
manual for Myanmar traditional practitioners. The formulations generally consist
of three major ingredients, which originate from medicinal plants, animals, and
minerals. Medicinal plants are the major ingredients in most formulations, whereas
minerals and animal products are minor ingredients. The population has utilized not
only the TMF but also medicinal plants in their daily life to prevent, alleviate, and
cure human disease from time immemorial. At the time of writing this chapter, the
chemical constituents of more than 26 plants in Myanmar have been investigated, and
the results have been reported in international and local journals. Some biological
activities of the extracts and the isolated compounds from the plants from Myanmar
have also been documented in these reports. This chapter covers phytochemical and
N. N. Win and H. Morita
2.24 Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
2.25 Jatropha multifida L. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
2.26 Swertia chirata Buch.-Ham. ex Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
3
Synthesis Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
4
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
1 Introduction
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar is a tropical country that is situated geographically in Southeast Asia and occupies a land area of 676,577 km
2 and a coastline
of 2,832 km. It lies between latitudes 9° 32
N to 28° 31
N and longitudes 92°
10
E to 101° 11
E and is comprised of seven states and seven regions, with the
former consisting of Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan, and the
latter Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, and Yangon.
Myanmar borders Thailand to the southeast and east, with Laos as a part of its east
border following the Mekong River, as well as China (Yunnan and Tibet) to the northeast and India to the northwest. A small part of the west is bordered by Bangladesh.
Generally, Myanmar has three different seasons characterized as summer (from
March to May), rainy (from June to October), and winter (November to February).
Different landscapes, such as mountains, lowlands, plateaus, plains, rivers, and lakes
occur from the east to the west and from the north to south. The average temperature
in the lowlands, plains, and coastal zones is approximately 27 °C. Fifty percent of the
land area was covered by forest 50 years ago. However, the amount of forest area is
decreasing gradually due to meeting a continuing demand for timber. Nevertheless,
Myanmar is a country that still retains valuable natural resources that are being lost
elsewhere in the world. The population of Myanmar has inherited its own traditional
medicine system and has practiced this for over 2000 years. Traditional medicine in
Myanmar is based on Ayurvedic concepts and is influenced by Buddhist philosophy.
In the primary healthcare system of Myanmar, traditional medicine still occupies an
important and integral role. The traditional medicinal formulation used in Myanmar
is abbreviated as “TMF.” Altogether, 57 formulations have been documented in a
manual for Myanmar traditional practitioners. The formulations generally consist
of three major ingredients, which originate from medicinal plants, animals, and
minerals. Medicinal plants are the major ingredients in most formulations, whereas
minerals and animal products are minor ingredients. The population has utilized not
only the TMF but also medicinal plants in their daily life to prevent, alleviate, and
cure human disease from time immemorial. At the time of writing this chapter, the
chemical constituents of more than 26 plants in Myanmar have been investigated, and
the results have been reported in international and local journals. Some biological
activities of the extracts and the isolated compounds from the plants from Myanmar
have also been documented in these reports. This chapter covers phytochemical and