Research grant will assist probe into method of traditional healing
Research into the traditional Mi’kmaq practice of using birch bark oil in the treatment of skin conditions has attracted $150,000 in funding.
Tuma Young, assistant professor of Mi’kmaq Studies, and Matthias Bierenstiel, associate professor of chemistry at CBU, have received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the biomedical screening and Indigenous studies of birch bark oil in treating topical skin conditions such as dry skin, eczema and psoriasis.
In an interview, Young said he was conducting research on traditional medicines when his mother mentioned to him an oil that her family used to use when her older sister had a bout of eczema.
“They used it and it cured it and that allowed her to nurse her newborn baby,” he said.
At a conference, an Innu man mentioned that they used to use birch bark oil.
“I said ‘I wonder if that could be the oil?’” Young said.
He said he learned how to perform the dry distillation process to extract the oil.
“I took out the can, my mother took one smell and said, ‘that’s it.’ She said the smell took her right back to the memory.”
The research grant supports a community liaison position assisting
with interviews and a senior science research associate for the biomedical research. Several CBU bachelor of arts and science undergraduate students will assist with the research project.
Young said the traditional dry distillation process takes about 60 hours to produce only a small quantity of the oil.
The project will involve working with elders from Membertou to gather their experiences with birch bark oil. The involvement of the elders is intended to determine the best way to harvest birch bark as well as the preferred method of application.
“When you’re talking about traditional medicines, you have
to approach the research in what they would term a good way, or the proper way,” Young said, adding they have hired a community liaison co-ordinator to help facilitate meetings with elders.
Young added the research could also help serve to restore some traditional knowledge at Membertou.
Among the challenges the project will face is access to materials as they seek out sources of birch bark, Young said. Membertou has a licence to cut wood, but birch is not a species valued by the paper industry, he said.
“The harvesters basically run over birch to get to the spruce,” Young said. “It takes a lot of material to make a few ounces.”
The traditional method of making the cream would also call for the use of bear grease. Instead, they will explore whether other fats such as police oil could be suitable.
They will also try to determine whether bark taken in spring or fall works better.
Bierenstiel will work to improve processing efficiency and removing the unpleasant odour of the oil without affecting its effectiveness. As the oil is a natural product, it requires study of the chemical composition of the complex organic compound mixture and chemical interactions to determine potency and shelf life.
Preliminary research has shown that the oil kills bacteria and acts as a natural antibiotic.
Another phase of this research could focus on other medical properties of the oil such as anticancer studies.
The funding announcement was a part of a $865,000 in announcements made recently by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.