Pharmacognosy Journal | August 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 24 15 orIgInAl ArtIcle PHcog J. *Address for correspondence: Tel: +603-9289 7303; Fax: +603-26983271. E-mail: jamia@pharmacy.ukm.my DOI: 10.5530/pj.2011.24.4 (b) spiritual. [3,4] The physical characteristic of a person comprises of four elements (fre, earth, wind and water) and humours (damp, cold, dry and hot). [5] Often a cold condition, due to either consuming “cold” foods and drinks or being in a cold weather, may result to the person building up excessive wind within the body and consequently this will cause the immediate or precipitating illness. [6] The spiritual aspect, on the other hand, constitutes of the mind and soul substance or vital force (semangat); thus a person with a loss of semangat is said to be vulnerable to the infuence of supernatural or evil spirits. [3] The cause of an ailment is often thought to be due to the imbalance of the above mentioned physical elements and/or loss of semangat. Various methods are used in the treatment of illnesses including use of herbal medicines such as spices, medicinal plants and animals; physical treatment such as massage, suction therapy and circumcision; as well as spiritual treatment such as recitation and performing prayers. Medication of physical illness is usually prescribed, of which characteristics must be opposite to those of the ailment. Medicinal Plants used for Postnatal Care in Malay Traditional Medicine in the Peninsular Malaysia Jamia Azdina Jamal 1 *, Zakiah Abd. Ghafar 2 & Khairana Husain 1 1 Drug and Herbal Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2 National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Lot 36, Jalan Universiti, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. ABStrAct Malay traditional medicine practice concentrates on the primary healthcare including physical and spiritual aspects of human being. Most traditional practitioners use medicinal plants in the treatment. Hence, the study is aimed to compile preparations and local medicinal plants used traditionally by the women in postnatal care. Five Malay traditional practitioners based in the district of Muar in Johor and two in the district of Kuala Pilah in negeri Sembilan were interviewed. From the study, information on 23 preparations, consisting of 128 medicinal plants, was successfully compiled. the preparations were categorised as jamu, fresh herbs, eye drop, poultice, medicated talcum powder and bathing solution. the medicinal plants comprised of 52 species belonging to 42 genera and 27 families. Some species were found to occur frequently, such as Curcuma longa l., Zingiber offcinale roscoe, Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume, Kaempferia galanga l., Piper cubeba Bojer, Zingiber cassumunar roxb., Acorus calamus l., Piper nigrum Beyr. ex Kunth, Alyxia stellata roem. & Schult., Coriandrum sativum l., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Nigella sativa L. and Usnea barbata Fries. The part of plants utilised in the preparations include rhizomes, fruits/berries, leaves, seeds, barks, fowers, roots, whole plant, gall and bulb. the study provided useful and important information on the diversity of medicinal plants used by different Malay traditional practitioners in postnatal care. Key words: medicinal plants, postnatal care, Malay traditional medicine INTRODUCTION The practice of Malay traditional medicine has various infuences, for example by the Indonesian, Chinese and Indian traditional medicines, orang asli medicine and including those introduced by the Arabs, Persians and Europeans. [1] However, nowadays the practice is mainly dominated by the Arabic Unani medicine and Galenic philosophy. In the context of socioanthropology, structure of the Malay traditional medicine is not fxed and rigid, thus allowing improvements and changes to be made according to suitability and current needs. [2] The Malay traditional medicine system believes that a person consists of two aspects: (a) physical, that is the body; and