SAKTI INDEX: TOWARDS SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION OF MALAY MEDICAL MANUSCRIPTS

Abstract

Malay medical manuscripts have become new objects of study in recent years. Our research at IIUM has departed from common manuscript study by emphasising on the historical, philosophical and most importantly the practical and contemporaneous use of the manuscripts’ content. In order to accelerate scientific study on these manuscripts, a scientific index called Indeks Analisa Saintifik Kitab Tibb Melayu or the Scientific Analysis of Kitab Tib Index (SAKTI), has been developed to analyse Malay medical manuscript data. Four integral subindices of SAKTI include (i) index of manuscript selection (iMS), (ii) index of comparison with published contemporary scientific evidence (iComPSE), (iii) index of pharmaceutical prospectivity (iPharmaprospect), and (iv) index of consensus with other manuscripts (iConText). Manuscripts and their contents would be graded according to these indices and a priority list can be generated to help a researcher in identifying the formulation with the strongest overall value to undergo development into drug therapy. The recent outbreaks of diseases including COVID-19 pandemic reiterates the value of having such an index in quickly identifying possible new cure.

Keywords: Malay medical manuscripts, Kitab Tib, Malay medicine, traditional medicine, index