Sandhu Davinder S, Heinrich Michael
Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK.
Phytother Res. 2005 Jul;19(7):633-42. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1714.
Attitudes and practice concerning complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are currently an area of considerable interest. However, little is known about the overall importance of such practices, for example, in immigrant communities such as the Sikh (Punjabi) British. The use of CAM in immigrants belonging to the Sikh religion in London was studied. The primary objective was to analyse the extent to which traditional medicine is used and understood by this population. Traditional Sikh medicine is important to this group of informants and a total of 42 species were recorded and identified tentatively. The most frequently mentioned species were Allium cepa (onion -- gunda), Allium sativum (garlic -- lasan, thon), Capsicum frutescens (cayenne pepper -- lalmirch), Cinnamomum verum (cinnamom--dhal chini), Citrus limon (lemon -- nimbu), Foeniculum vulgare (fennel -- saunf), Elettaria cardamomum (cardamom -- elaichi) and Zingiber officinale (ginger -- adrak). The study also highlights the rapid change this tradition is undergoing in a diaspora situation. In depth studies on the use of CAM among other immigrant communities and among ethnic groups are urgent and may help to manage better the treatment of minor ailments as well as chronic diseases. Specifically, more research on traditional and herbal remedies amongst the numerous ethnic groups in urban Britain and how this impacts on the use of biomedicine (e.g. as it is provided by the NHS) is essential.
目前，关于补充和替代医学（CAM）的态度及实践是一个备受关注的领域。然而，对于这些实践的总体重要性，我们了解甚少，例如在锡克教（旁遮普族）英国人等移民群体中。本研究对伦敦锡克教移民使用补充和替代医学的情况进行了调查。主要目的是分析这一群体对传统医学的使用和理解程度。传统锡克教医学对这群受访者很重要，共记录并初步鉴定了42种植物。最常被提及的植物有葱（洋葱——贡达）、大蒜（大蒜——拉桑、通）、辣椒（辣椒——拉尔米尔奇）、肉桂（肉桂——达尔奇尼）、柠檬（柠檬——宁布）、小茴香（茴香——桑夫）、小豆蔻（小豆蔻——埃莱奇）和姜（姜——阿德拉）。该研究还凸显了这一传统在散居海外的情况下正在经历的快速变化。迫切需要对其他移民群体和族裔群体中补充和替代医学的使用进行深入研究，这可能有助于更好地管理小病以及慢性病的治疗。具体而言，对英国城市众多族裔群体中的传统和草药疗法以及这如何影响生物医学的使用（例如由英国国家医疗服务体系提供的生物医学）进行更多研究至关重要。
