After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 and the establishment of a new capital in Bangkok, the revival of the nation’s economic, cultural and public health systems began to take place.
King Rama I , the founder of the persent Chakri Dynasty, ordered the renovation of Wat Po or Wat Potharam in Bangkok and renamed it “Wat Phra Chetupon Wimonmangklaram”. The King also gave instructions for the inscription of herbal drug recipes onto the walls of the temple in addition, there was an establishment of a royal dispensary in the royal palace similar to the one in Ayutthaya.
During the reign of King Rama II under royal guidance, there was an attempt to assimilate together a number of drug recipes to replace those that were lost during the war with the Burmese. Furthermore, Phra Chao Lukyather Kromameum Jesadabordin ordered the restoration of Wat Chom Thong and renamed it “Wat Raj Oros”. In the process of restoration, a number of drug recipes was ordered to be inscribed onto the walls of Phra Viharn and Phra Ubosed (principal buildings) of this temple.
In 1816, a Royal Decree governing the roles of royal drug dispensers was promulgated, thus emphasizing the importance placed on drug dispensing as a highly sophisticated art. Those bestowed with the title of royal drug dispensers must possess a high degree of honesty and integrity. It was, therefore, believed that these highly sought after titles probably remained within a few chosen families.
After his ascension to the throne, King Rama III began the task of the second renovation of Wat Phra Chetupon. He also ordered the inscription of drug formulae onto marble tables to be used to decorate the walls of the principal building as well as the surrounding walls. In addition to the drug recipes, these inscriptions also included the diagnosis as well as the cure for each ailment. Furthermore, numerous useful medicinal plants together with some rare species were planted within the temple’s compound. This move marked the first attempt to educate the general public on the attributes of Thai medicinal plants, Similarly, the restoration of Wat Raj Oros was effected with the inclusion of tablets bearing drug recipes which were used to adorn the columns supporting the corridors of Phra Viharn of the Reclining Budda. During this reign, there was a reintroduction of western medicine by the name of Dr. Dan B. Braley. Bradley introduced, for the first time in the kingdom, the practice of vaccination against smallpox as well as the use of quinine as a cure for malaria. It was a turning point in the history of Thai medicine.
The reign of King Rama IV saw many changes towards the adoption of various aspects of western civilization. There was much trading between the kingdom and the western countries. With the arrival of numerous trade missions, came western trained doctors. One doctor by the name of Samuel Reynold Haus, was said to have received much favour from the King. He was accredited with the introduction of modern obstetrical practice into the health system. The majority of public, however, remained faithful to the old tradition and culture.
During the reign of King Rama V, Siriraj Hospital was established in 1888, combining both western and traditional medical practices. There was, however, a scarcity of trained personnel to serve in the hospital. Therefore, Prince Dumrong Rajanuparp ordered the establishment of the first medical school within Siriraj Hospital. The school was to train western-styled surgeons and general practitioners. A course on traditional Thai medicine was also incorporated into its three-year-curriculum. In 1895, the first medical textbook called Paetsart Sonkhrau was published. The series consisted of three volumes combining western and traditional Thai medical doctrines. A new edition of this textbook appeared in 1904, in which the section on traditional medicine was virtually omitted. There were four volumes in this series. Next came Vejasart Wanna in 1907. It consisted of two volumes, wherein references were made to the various khampees or old writings on traditional drug matters. The 2-volume Tumra Paetsart Sonkhrau Chabub Luang consistiong of ten old writings on herbal drugs and traditional medicine constituted the first Thai National Formulary considered too complicated for most scholars, Phraya Pitsanu Prasartvej, in 1908, wrote a sim;lified version of this book, noting only relevant information. This series was entitled Tumra Paetsart Sunkape and consested of three volumes. These, together with the aforementioned Tumra Paetsart Sonkhrau Chabub Luang, are still in use today.
On the administrative side, the royal dispensary, first set up during the reign of King Rama I, was changed into the Department of Health in 1888. Its main functions were to take care of the sick, to make arrangements for the vaccination of the population against smallpox, to establish and oversee the operation of public hospitals including Siriraj Hospital, as well as to train doctors.
In 1891, two general drug stores, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health, were opened in Bangkok. These were called “Osod Sala” or drug pavilions. The first of these was taken over from a missionary doctor and only sold western-styled drugs while the second only dispensed Thai medicine. Subsequently, other drug stores and clinics were opened in other provinces around the country.
In 1902, the first government pharmaceutical operation, called “Osod Sapa” was set up in order to manufacture drugs for the general public. At first, only western drugs were produced but they wrer not well recived by the people. Therefore, a number of Thai drug formulae was also included. During the reign of King Rama VI, many changes were forthcoming. Firstly, in 1913, the teaching on traditional Thai medicine was discontinued in the medical school since the two doctrines were considered incompatible and, therefore, tended to confuse the students. A course on the formulation of Thai medicine was also ordered to cease after being taught ofr only five years.
In 1916, the Department of Health was further expanded and three years later, all health related agencies were combined together to form the Department of Public Health under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. In 1923, a decree governing the practice of the medical professions was promulgated in order ot safeguard the welfare of the general public.
The reign of King Rama VII saw more development which resulted in the complete segregation of the two systems of medicine. A law was promulgated which defined different classes of medical practitioners and, in 1929, came a ministerial regulation separation the medical practice into modern medicine and traditional medicine. This dealt a detrimental blow to indigenous Thai medicine which was already losing favour. During this period, however, the government dispensary was still producing ten traditional drug formulae for sale to the public. The cessation of the production of these traditional drugs by the government dispensary in 1941 marked the end of official involvement in traditional medicine.
Subsequent development on Thai medicinal plants was directed entirely toward modern medicine from the start of the first medical school in Siriraj Hospital through to the inception of the first Faculty of Pharmacy. Tith the establishment of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation in 1940 and the Ministry of Public Health in 1942, serious attempts were made to examine the attributes of indigenous herbal drugs in order to transform them into modern drugs.
Due to the shortage of modern medicine during the Second World War, Professer Dr. Ouy Ketusingh was motivated to carry out a clinical study at Sattaheep Hospital on a number of Thai medicinal plants reputed to possess antimalarial properties. The study confirmed the efficacy or certain medicinal plants such as the barks of Oroxylum indicum and Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. However, the problem of drug shortage did not dissipate with the end of the war. The Royal Thai Government took measures to rectify the situation by assigning the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation to produce drugs from Thai indigenous plants. To achieve this goal, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation engaged a German expert, Dr. Charlor, to conduct research on Thai medicinal plants and set up a medicinal plant garden at Bann Ang in the district of Makham, Chataburi Province. As the result of this study, a report, listing some 400 plants which had already been investigated, was published in both Thai and English. Prior to this, a project was initiated in 1938 to cultivate Cinchona species in Chiang Mai for the production of quinine. The project was later abandoned because it was not deemed economically feasible.
After the situation regarding the scarcity of modern drugs somewhat eased, the interest in medicinal plants also diminished. Sporadic research activites on Thai medicinal plants, nonetheless, still took place in certain departments of the Ministry of Public Health and various academic institutions over the years.***
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