Bhutanese Brag-zun (mineral pitch): Its uses and scientific findings.

ABSTRACT

Brag-zun is the most sought after medicinal products in Bhutan and also in the Asian countries. It is used in many folkloric and traditional medicines for treating various disorders and is commonly known as the "destroyer of all illnesses". According to gso-ba-rig-pa, Brag-zun is used for treating fever, ulceration of stomach, liver and kidney diseases, dysentery, gout, rheumatism, boosting the body immune system (as rejuvenators) and for improving the eyesight. In Bhutan, Brag-zun is collected from the rocky cliffs in Chukha, Punakha and Paro Dzongkhags and is used for formulating as many as seventeen different traditional medicines. The scientific literature review found that Brag-zun has been extensively studied and the findings substantiate most of its ethno-medical claims. However, no study was done on the Bhutanese variety of Brag-zun. Therefore, series of studies were carried by the authors mainly to asses its anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activities. These studies found that the Bhutanese variety of Brag-zun exhibited the anti-oxidant and the antifungal activities. It was active against Candida albicans and Microporeum gypsum. Thus, this paper describes the reported scientific findings of Brag-zun and the findings of the Bhutanese variety of Brag-zun.