1. ISLAMIC MEDICINE CENTER KUWAITBy
Dr. MANAL AL- MATAR
HEAD OF ISLAMIC MEDICAL CENTER
Ministry of Health, Kuwait

2. Establishment of the Centre
Having recognized the importance of herbal medicines and global interest generated in the therapeutic value of medicinal plants, the Ministry of Health, Kuwait established a specialized Centre for treatment with medicinal plants in the year Indeed, the Centre was inaugurated by His Highness the late Amir Shaikh Jabir Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah on the great occasion of National Day on 25th February.

3. Organizational Set-up
The Centre has four main Units, besides a grand mosque, namely –
Clinical area
Research Laboratories
Drug Manufacturing Unit
Library

4. Clinical Wing
The clinical approach combines modern method of investigation with treatment by herbal drugs. It uses the sophisticated means and technological advances to arrive at proper diagnosis and to record the extent of pathological changes of every patient at the time of entry to the treatment schedule, repeated periodically to asses the progress, and also during the follow-up period.

5. The diseases treated at the Centre include:
Nasal Allergy/Allergic Rhinitis
Chronic Sinusitis
Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Diabetes
Urinary Tract Diseases including infection and renal stones
Peptic and Duodenal Ulcer
Hyperacidity
Hyperlipidemia
Migraine
Constipation
Liver Dysfunction
Colitis
Vitiligo, Psoriasis and other skin diseases
Obesity

6. Selection of Plants
The herbal formulae contain more than one plant, usually 2-8 plants. The selection of plants is based on the literature available in the Unani/Ayurvedic and Traditional System of Medicine and on the experience and advice of Experts in Herbal Treatment.

7. Research Laboratories
The research unit comprises of several laboratories charged with various activities constituting the functions performed by the Centre.

8. Microbiology
Microorganisms, if any, in the raw material is found out, examined and described. Only those plant materials which are devoid of any harmful microorganism and/or toxins are subjected to further pharmaceutical processing. It also performs microbiological assays during processing and after the production of finished product. This is done to ensure that the preparation given to the patient is free from any microbe that may cause infection, and is in the best effective form.

9. Phytochemistry
This laboratory determines the effective components and the constitutional constants in the plant materials and tests various extracts to analyze the active ingredients and to give assessment of these materials. It also separates the effective substance(s) that exist in high percentage to be used as critical ingredient(s) and lays down specifications for the pharmaceutical preparations manufactured in the Centre. Only those plant materials which meet with the laid down phytochemical specifications (WHO) and pharmacopoeial standards( BP ) are subjected to further processing for pharmaceutical preparations.

10. Pharmacognosy
It carries out studies on the macro- and microscopic studies on all the medicinal plants and herbs procured by the Centre to determine their morphological characteristics so as to accept only those plants which meet the specified(WHO- BP) requirements.

11. Pharmaceutical Chemistry
This laboratory determines the expiry dates of the herbal preparations manufactured in the Centre, and also advises in the manufacture of pharmaceutical forms such as tablets, capsules, syrups, powders, ointments, oils, pastes etc. It also evaluates the pharmaceuticals prepared according to Pharmacopoeias and studies the duration of biological efficacy under various temperatures, humidities and other storage conditions. In addition, it also studies the ways and means of excluding alcohol from the products and substituting it with nonalcoholic substances without affecting the quality and efficacy of the products in accordance of Islamic principle of avoiding alcohol.

12. Quality Control
It makes sure that each pharmaceutical product prepared in the Centre meets the required specifications and that the prescribed dose would yield the expected therapeutic effect. Control over preparations also includes determination of natural and pharmaceutical properties as well as microscopic and chemical examination of the components.

13. Sensitive Instruments Laboratory
This laboratory performs the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the effective ingredients, studies the biological availability and the melting and the spread rates of the active components in the pharmaceutical preparations. It also defines the various elements in the plants and determines the percentage of each element.

14. Pharmacology and Toxicology
This department carries out the pharmacological screening of medicinal plants/herbal formulations using relevant experimental models in the laboratory animals (rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits etc.) in order to find out the pharmacological basis of therapeutic action of herbal remedies, and to determine their therapeutic potential. Besides studying the possible mechanism of action at cellular and molecular levels, this department also carries out toxicity studies of herbal formulations on different systems, organs, blood components and biochemical contents, and on the fertility, pregnancy, fetuses, neonates, and up to F2 in addition to acute, sub-acute and chronic toxicity evaluation.

15. Biochemistry
It carries out studies on the biochemical effects of medicinal plants through finding out how they affect the biochemical components in the blood and tissues with a view to evaluate the beneficial effect and/or side-effect of the pharmaceutical preparations.

16. Laboratory Animal House
The Centre has a fully equipped and well maintained animal house having different species of laboratory animals, namely – rats, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits. The animals are bred and raised in sufficient numbers to ensure regular supply of in-bred strains of uniform wait, sex, and size for specified studies.

17. Drug Manufacturing Unit
The drug factory strictly follows the Regulations of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP regulations) and is housed in a separate independent building with restricted entry. The premises are maintained under extremely hygienic conditions and drugs are prepared following specified procedures.

18. Products evaluation
The products are subjected to scientific evaluation and testing right from the beginning of the acceptance of the raw material to the end of finished products. All the tests are performed in different laboratories charged with respective responsibilities under the supervision of experienced technical personnel.

19. Manufacturing Devices
The factory is well equipped with the latest manufacturing devices, such as grinding and mixing machines, and equipments for making granules, tablets, capsules, sachets and pastes. It also has a highly sophisticated drying equipment that is used for heat-sensitive plant materials.

20. Delivery Forms
Depending upon the nature of the plant material and its dosage, the products are made in such a way as is easy for the patient to use with acceptable odor and taste. Accordingly, the preparations are presented in different dosage delivery forms, namely – tablets, capsules, syrups, powders, ointments, pastes, and oils.
Each batch of the finished product is subjected to strict quality control and dispensed to the patients only after it satisfactorily meets with all the quality criteria.

21. Library
The library in the Centre possesses very rich collection of literature on Islamic heritage, history of medicine and medical research, complimentary, alternative, traditional and modern medicine, in addition to journals, magazines, compilations, and publications of WHO and other International organizations and Proceedings of different national, regional and international conferences and symposia. The library is well equipped with Internet and audiovisual aids.

22. KUWAIT Health Ministry ends the drafting of the Act on the regulation of alternative and complementary medicine according to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as the Gulf Executive plan for Alternative Medicine and supplementary

23. The management of the registration and control of medicinal and phyto-plant medicines, is the responsible Department in Kuwait for the registration of medicinal and herbal preparation

24. Thank You