Raj Amin, an ecologist at the Zoological Society of London who studied the biochemical signature of rhino horn, commented in a episode of the PBS program Nature that you might as well chew your own fingernails for equivalent medicinal value. The few medical studies of rhino horn focused on its possible value in treating fever—one of the more common medicinal uses in Vietnam and China.
A pharmacological study by researchers at the Switzerland-based health care company Hoffman—La Roche showed no evidence of such medicinal value. Hong Kong researchers in published a pair of studies that suggested some fever-reducing value in mice at fairly high doses—but also concluded water buffalo horn worked just as well.
Conservationists have begun identifying distinct groups of rhino horn buyers to better understand what drives demand.
A separate Vietnamese group reportedly includes middle- and upper-class mothers who purchase rhino horn as a traditional treatment for fevers. A report lead by Alexandra Kennaugh, a conservation researcher and Illegal Wildlife Trade programme officer for the Oak Foundation, also found two distinct markets for rhino horn in China: a luxury market and a traditional medicine market.
The report's survey of more than 2, people across five Chinese cities found that those who valued rhino horn as medicine—mostly to relieve fevers or pain—were less willing to pay for it as the price rose.
By comparison, those who valued rhino horn as a rare luxury good were still willing to pay through the nose for rhino horn beyond a certain price threshold. Aphrodisiac usage of rhino horn barely rated a mention in the report. When asked about preferences for using Chinese, Western or some combination of medicines, a very small percentage of Chinese respondents said they knew friends who had treated erectile dysfunction with rhino horn—but none actually named erectile dysfunction as a condition rhino horn could treat.
A study by U. The study showed the volume of rhino horns auctioned via legal loopholes in China between and — before Chinese authorities began strictly regulating such auctions—had a significant correlation with the rate of annual rhino poaching in South Africa.
His research published in Biological Conservation also specifically indicted Western media by comparing international English-speaking and Chinese coverage from to Its main usage is as a heat or feverreducing drug, but it must be realised that Chinese medicine is based on the principle of homeostasis, where 'heat' or 'fever' is not merely manifested as high body temperature.
Oriental medical text books from the Shen Nong Ben Coo Jong written in the first century BC to those still being written today, prescribe rhino horn as an antipyretic, as a detoxicant for insectand snake-bite, as a 'cleanser of the liver and stomach', as a cure for the common cold, typhoid, jaundice, rashes, the vomiting and excretion of blood, delirium and abscesses, and for soothing the nerves and improving the eyesight.
Modern textbooks used in medical universities today specifically recommend rhino horn for dispelling heat and cooling the blood, as well as in the treatment of febrile diseases, influenza, high fever, poisoning, convulsion, epilepsy, restlessness, delirium, macular eruptions, haemoptysis, epistaxis, carbuncle, malignant swelling, abscesses and even possibly AIDS.
It is also commonly held that rhino horn may be used in the treatment of hepatitis, leukemia, haemorrhage, rhinitis, meningitis, cerebrovascular diseases, gastrorrhagia, severe external burns, dermatitis, stroke, common headaches and dizziness, and it can also be used as a general 'pick-me-up' or tonic. There are even documented cases of veterinarians prescribing rhino horn for the treatment of distemper in lap dogs in Taiwan.
Daily doses for human treatment range from 0. The average live rhino in the wild carries perhaps 2. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars. India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.
Go Further. Animals Climate change is shrinking many Amazonian birds. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs. Meet the people trying to help. Environment COP26 nears conclusion with mixed signals and frustration. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big.
Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. Considerable efforts have been devoted to reducing the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam.
In , the Government of Vietnam increased sanctions on the illegal trade and use of rhino horns. We conducted a study to shed light on why people use rhino horn.
To do this we interviewed consumers who admitted to using rhino horn in Vietnam. We found that people used rhino horn for a number of purposes, principally as a medicine and as a status symbol. The most prevalent use was for treating hangovers.
Other uses included using it to honour terminally ill relatives.
0コメント