ByVerayuth Lertnattee*Sinthop ChomyaVirach Sornlertlamvanich

Pacific Neighborhood Consortium (PNC) Annual Conference and Joint Meetings(PNC 2011), October 19-21, 2011, Sasin Hall, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, THAILAND

Collaborative Platform for Multicultural Herbal Information

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Outline

Introduction Herbal Information Collecting Herbal Information Implementation of KUIHerb Conclusion and Extended Work

Introduction

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Introduction

Herbal medicine is very important from the past until the present and also in the future

Knowledge about herbal medicine varies from different area and different time

Using conventional methods, it is hard to collect herbal information from several cultures in a systematic approach

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Motivation on the Research The problems of collecting herbal information were

addressed Multicultural knowledge Require several experts for contributing better

knowledge Locations of herbal experts

The Internet is popular, collaborative work on the Internet is possible

Some young generations who are interested in traditional medicine is a group of key persons who can transfer knowledge from traditional doctors (tacit knowledge) to the knowledge in digitized form (explicit knowledge)

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The Aim of This Work

Design a system for Collecting Herbal Information Using the concept of collective

intelligence Using the Internet for collaboration Using the concept of the future web

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Collective Intelligence

From the concept “Under the right circumstances,

groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people”

From, Wisdom of the Crowds, by James Surowiecki, business columnist for New Yorker

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The Internet Technology

With the Internet, users around the world can connect and communicate to each other

The most popular service one on the Internet is World Wide Web (WWW), especially in GUI

Web technology moves from 1.0 to 2.0 and is going to the next version

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Trends of the Future Web

Wisdom of the experts Control of information No or less controversial The intelligent web

Herbal Information

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General Characteristics It is a special type of information

dealing with medicinal herbs The relationship between herbs and

their names is Many-Many An herb with several names

Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f.: Wan hang chora khe, Hang ta khe, Wan fai mai

A name with several herbs Prayarakdum: Polyalthia cerasoides (Roxb.)

Benth. ex Bedd., Diospyros variegata Kurz., Jussiaea suffruticosa Linn.

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Useful Features of Herbal Information

Herb name General characteristics Image Part used Indication Method for preparation Precaution Toxicity Additional Information

Collecting Herbal Information

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Four Major Topics

Herb identification Vocabulary collection Intercultural usages Precautions and toxicity

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Herb Identification

Using scientific name and images of an herb for common understanding

Several parts of a medicinal plant may be used with different proposes. Images for ease part should be collected in fresh form and dry form

The synonyms for an herb are useful for identification

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Vocabulary Collection

In KUIHerb, a set of names for an herb and the locations which call it, should be collected

Some mechanisms should be applied for increasing an existing of the name and the right locations

Names of the herb may be Several languages Common and local names for each language

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An Herb with Several Names(Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.)

ARABIC األلوة

CHINESE 龙舌兰

ENGLISH Barbados aloe Coastal aloe

THAI ว่�านหางจระเข้ ว่�านไฟไหม้

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Multicultural Usages

The usages of an herb depend on An herb Part used Method for preparation Traditional knowledge of the culture

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An example, Ginger

Common ginger grows from thick fleshy underground stems called "rhizomes“, but sometime called ginger root

In China The dried root treats depleted yang, removes cold, is useful for

"cold" pain of the stomach and abdomen, is useful for diarrhea due to cold deficiency, cough, rheumatism and many other uses.

In India Fresh ginger has been used for cold-induced disease, nausea,

asthma, cough, colic, etc. In Jamaica

The warm steamy fumes of hot ginger tea are used as an inhalant to relieve head colds

In Europe European tradition values ginger tea for digestive disturbances

http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/ginger.html

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Precautions and Toxicity Although several herbs are frequently used,

they may cause some problems For example, Ginkgo biloba L.

Ginkgo may improve thinking, learning, and memory in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Small children of few years old have died from taking just less than ten pieces of Ginkgo biloba L.

Adults are rarely affected by its toxicity but this does not mean it will not happen.

Sharing experiences about precautions and toxicity is a very useful topic

Implementation of KUIHerb

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Implementation of KUIHerb Tools for building KUIHerb

Linux Apache MySQL PHP

Four Components in KUIHerb Accessing information Sharing information Providing information Web site statistics

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Levels of Access Information Administrator

Register Administrative Right Modify own and the other

information/opinions Member

Register Modify own information/opinions

Visitor View only

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Accessing Information Keyword search

Thai common name English common name Local name Scientific name Family name

Directory search By part used By symptom

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Keyword Search

Directory Search

http://inf.pharm.su.ac.th/~kuiherb

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Sharing and Voting for Herbal Information

A member can express his/her opinions The other members can vote their opinions Topics for Voting

Herb Name Local Name Location

Medicinal Use Part Used Indication for the part used Method for preparation for the indication of the part

used

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Herb Identification Given a scientific name, a member can

contribute his/her images of the herb into the system

Whole plants and parts for medicinal uses should be contributed

A contributor may input some keywords and comments for the image

The order of image is arranged by popularity of viewing the image

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Comment

•Whole plant and parts used •Click for larger view•Popular images are shifted

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Vocabulary Collection Local names of herbs are suggested by

members Multi-lingual names can also be applied The location or the language which uses the

name may be given The majority voting is applied Each member has only one vote for an opinion.

The opinion with the higher score will be moved to the upper part of the window

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Sharing Herb Names and Its Locations

Voting Score

Names of an herb with multiple languages

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Multicultural Usages A list of predefined parts which may

be used for treatments is provided A member may select the part and

suggest its indications The method for preparation can be

suggested The majority voting is applied The English or local languages can be

conducted

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Multicultural Usages

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Precautions/Toxicity and Additional Information

Two topics are separated Precautions and toxicity Additional information

Free text comment without the majority voting

Some interesting topics should be suggested in additional information

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A Precaution for an Herb

According to one survey, dust exposure to tamarind flours may induced chronic changes in lung function

Conclusion and Extended Work

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Conclusion

The problems of collecting herbal information were addressed Multicultural knowledge and languages Require several experts for contributing

better knowledge Different locations of herbal experts

KUIHerb was introduced to solve these problems

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Conclusion (cont.) Concepts of KUIHerb

Collective Intelligence Internet technologies based on Web 2.0 and

some features of the future web

Several topics on herbal information are considered Herb identification Different Languages and Local Names Part used, indication and method for preparation Precaution/toxicity and additional information

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Extended Work The KUIHerbRx, a version for a

supplement for learning herbal medicine A mobile application for herb

identification An application for identification of herbal

products by DNA barcode

The KUIHerbRx

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Initial Information

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Collaborative Work from Students

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Medicinal Usages

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Some Images -> Data Sets

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An Application in Mobile Phone for Herb Identification

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Herb Identification by Images

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Questions and Answers

Thank You