Medicine for people who don’t take medicine
TEA is delicious and can even be good for you. It is this combination that is being tapped by Unilab’s line of teas — Sekaya.
On June 1, Sekaya (an abbreviation of Sentro ng Katutubang Yaman — more on that later) held a wellness talk in Makati, with their botanic infusions at front and center.
During the educational talk, tea master Rocel Leoncio explained the difference between tea and tisanes (under which Sekaya’s “teas” would fall). Tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, while everything else falls under “tisanes.” We learned that green and white teas (made from younger and less oxidized leaves) should be steeped with hot, but not boiling water otherwise one risks making the tea bitter. Black teas and other concoctions would benefit from high temperatures.
As the teas were served (Sekaya’s Aftermeal Treat and Immune Brew), Ms. Leoncio discussed the herbs and plants that went into each blend. The Aftermeal Treat contains peppermint, chamomile, licorice, and cinnamon. It is designed to relax the digestive system by calming stomach muscles, improve bile flow, reduce stomach acid secretions, and break down fats. According to her, the herbs are digestives and carminatives (good for bloating and gas), and the chamomile and licorice are gentle bitters that promote bile flow. Licorice and cinnamon also function as adaptogens that help with stress.
Immune Brew, meanwhile, had Echinacea, lemon peel, lemon balm, elderberry, elderflower, goldenseal, ginger, and olive leaf. She said that they reduce the impact of the common cold and flu and boost the immune system. Echinacea, goldenseal, and ginger in particular are immunostimulants; while the three ingredients plus lemon balm, lemon peel, and olive leaf serve as antimicrobials.
Asked if these actually work to get the effects we look for, Ms. Leoncio answered, “I have to note that individual responses vary.” She said that she may give someone chamomile tea to sleep, but it may not always work. “That’s not how it works. There are underlying conditions. What’s causing it? We have to know that.”
Dr. Angelica Lorenzo, who studied internal medicine but later shifted her practice to functional medicine after training at the Institute of Functional Medicine in the US, addressed these concerns by showing studies about the plants involved in Sekaya’s brews. For example, she showed a study about the effects and safety of peppermint oil done in 2018, which said that it “may have several mechanisms of action” including in smooth muscle relaxation, anti-inflammatory activity, anti-microbial effects, and modulation of psychosocial stress. She showed various studies that discussed the chemical constituents of plants that show beneficial effects in health. She points out, however, as in the case of peppermint oil: “When you brew tea, you do get some of the oils — not a lot, not like essential oil-level — but you do get the oils.
“The point is to show you that there’s research going on,” she said. “It’s all about these different constituents that they have studied, and each constituent would have different effects. I know for hospital medicines, we’re very reductive. We reduce the patient to their symptom. We reduce this herb to its active component. We try to control everything — and that’s not really how life works,” she said.
“I want to differentiate medicine versus these more supportive things,” she added. “These teas, they’re not meant to be medicine in the way that we think of medicine.” She said that we tend to think of medicine in pill form. “That’s what medicine is. But if you broaden what medicine means, which is what heals and ideally supports health, medicine can mean so many different things.”
For example, while some of the studies out there for cinnamon might say that it aids people with diabetes, she said, “Again, it’s not like saying, ‘you drink your Aftermeal Treat if you’re diabetic; it’s going to be like medicine level.’ It’s not — but it’s going to help.”
GREEN PHARMA
Sekaya is a brand under Synnovate, the Natural Products Division of United Laboratories, Inc. (Unilab) founded by the Campos family.
According to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), 56.5% of the sales value in 2016 of the pharmaceutical products in the country are from multi-national companies. The remaining 43.5% was shared by local companies, with Unilab dominating the list with 25.1%, thus making Unilab the country’s biggest pharmaceuticals company in terms of market share.
What’s the pharma giant doing in green medicine then?
The Sentro ng Katutubong Yaman (the present Sekaya) was established first in 2014 as a research facility for local herbs and ingredients, entering into partnerships with the Department of Health (DoH). “As a pharma company, they realized that there’s actually something in there that they can turn into a business,” said Kimi Abapo, Marketing Head for Synnovate.
Synnovate as a business entity was created in 2017 (the government collaboration still exists, with the DoH acknowledging the research done by Synnovate in connection to local medicinal plants). To this day, however, Synnovate has yet to produce a product that can be commercially launched, according to Ms. Abapo. In the interim, “They decided to grow (first) a business case that there is a demand in the market for herbal supplements and botanical products.” Hence the teas.
“I think what’s good being inside a pharma company is that we bring in the credibility with the products,” Ms. Abapo said as she explained the advantages of being under a pharmaceuticals giant. “It’s not just talking about teas… to a common person, tea is just flavor. To us, we bring in the health benefits,” she said, pointing out that the various herbal infusions in their line are intended for a specific benefit, whether it’s for calming, sleep, or detoxification. It’s like showing that this is the standard of natural health products. This kind of quality, pharma-grade manufacturing of natural health products.”
She noted that there is a proliferation of health supplements created in backyard facilities, many of which are unregulated. “That’s what we are trying to elevate; elevate the industry in showing them that you can put science into this, and you can make it pharma-grade high quality for the benefit of Filipinos.”
With the trend of companies going green or natural, she said, “We’re like the experiment of Unilab. At the end of the day, the mission of Unilab is to really bring healthcare to every Filipino.” Some people, she gives an example, don’t actually take medicine. “Unilab recognizes that there are people who are more inclined towards natural solutions, and thus, they want to make sure that we have products for them, for the people who think of health this way.”
For more information, check out instagram.com/sekayaph. Sekaya products are available at Real Food and the Vegan Grocer, as well as on Lazada. — Joseph L. Garcia
