About
The MEDICINAL PLANTS OF LAOS (MPoL) website was created by Bethany G. Elkington, Kongmany Sydara, Mouachanh Xayvue, D. Doel Soejarto, and other experts from the Institute of Traditional Medicine (ITM) in Laos, along with the Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in the USA.
Along with common names in the Lao language, this website lists the accepted Latin names for featured species. In the case of synonymous names, a link is provided to an alternative site that has more information about the taxonomy for the species in question.
Purpose
The purpose of this website is to provide information about medicinal plants of Laos, based on collaborative research between traditional healers of Laos, scientists at the Institute of Traditional Medicine, Ministry of Health, Vientiane, Lao PDR, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA.
These plants are documented with herbarium specimens, which are in deposit at the Herbarium of the Institute of Traditional Medicine and at the Searle Herbarium of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, USA.
All images and data are copyrighted under ©The Field Museum of Natural History, ©The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois at Chicago and ©The Institute of Traditional Medicine of the Ministry of Health, Lao PDR.
Acknowledgements
The government of Laos has been most kind to grant the necessary permits to interview Lao citizens and to collect plant specimens. We are grateful to the healers of Laos for their knowledge of the plants.
Funding
Plant collections and work for this website have been funded through the California Community Foundation Elina Vesara Ostern Fund, as "Support to further the study of medicinal/pharmacological use of wildlife products particularly in relation to local communities."