Heibei Okamura
Encyclopedia
Heibei Okamura produced Japan's finest "Okamura's" chaulmoogra oil,, between about 1892 and 1944 at Sakai
, Osaka
, Japan
. Chaulmoogra oil, which is taken from capsular fruits of Hydnocarpus
genus trees of Thailand
, Indonesia
, Malaysia and the Philippines
, had been the only one remedy in wide use before Guy Henry Faget
proved the efficacy of promin
in 1943 Promin started the era of sulfon chemicals and revolutionalized the treatment of leprosy. Okamura was also known for caring for more than 1,000 leprosy patients between 1888 and 1901 in his house.
in 1852, and his father went into the Okamura family. He married a girl of the Okamura family named Koteru. He was known in his city, Sakai
, Osaka
for being an amateur sumo wrestler, a tall height of 188 cm and for being a Japanese sword master. In 1888, he happened to save a miserable person with leprosy; he gave the patient a wash in a bathtub. Between 1888 and 1901, he cared for more than 1,000 leprosy patients in his house. He studied Chinese medicine and began to produce chaulmoogra oil probably in 1892, which was the year of the first advertisement. In 1944, the import of the materials of the oil discontinued, and the chaulmoogra oil age came to an end.
, the popularity of clove oil decreased, and the production of chaulmoogra oil was a prospective venture.
The efficacy of chaulmoogra oil for leprosy was studied in a special lecture in 1940 by Yutaka Kamikawa; it differed depending on sanatoriums from 30% to 80 % and there were many recurrences. However, before promin was discovered in 1943 by Guy Henry Faget
, chaulmoogra oil had been the only remedy known to be effective in this disease.
Sakai, Osaka
is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.Following the February 2005 annexation of the town of Mihara, from Minamikawachi District, the city has grown further and is now the fourteenth most populous city in...
, Osaka
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Chaulmoogra oil, which is taken from capsular fruits of Hydnocarpus
Hydnocarpus
Hydnocarpus is a genus of medium to large trees of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, having alternate leaves, small dioecious racemose flowers, and capsular fruits of which several are sources of chaulmoogra oil and hydnocarpus oil....
genus trees of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, had been the only one remedy in wide use before Guy Henry Faget
Guy Henry Faget
Guy Henry Faget was an American doctor who revolutionalized the treatment of leprosy by demonstrating the efficacy of promin, in a paper reported in 1943. Promin is a sulfone compound synthesized by Feldman and his co-workers in 1940 as an agent against tuberculosis effective in experimental animals...
proved the efficacy of promin
Promin
Promin, or sodium glucosulfone is a sulfone drug that was investigated for the treatment of malaria, tuberculosis and leprosy. It is broken down in the body to dapsone, which is the therapeutic form.-History:...
in 1943 Promin started the era of sulfon chemicals and revolutionalized the treatment of leprosy. Okamura was also known for caring for more than 1,000 leprosy patients between 1888 and 1901 in his house.
Life
Heibei Okamura was born in OsakaOsaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
in 1852, and his father went into the Okamura family. He married a girl of the Okamura family named Koteru. He was known in his city, Sakai
Sakai, Osaka
is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.Following the February 2005 annexation of the town of Mihara, from Minamikawachi District, the city has grown further and is now the fourteenth most populous city in...
, Osaka
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
for being an amateur sumo wrestler, a tall height of 188 cm and for being a Japanese sword master. In 1888, he happened to save a miserable person with leprosy; he gave the patient a wash in a bathtub. Between 1888 and 1901, he cared for more than 1,000 leprosy patients in his house. He studied Chinese medicine and began to produce chaulmoogra oil probably in 1892, which was the year of the first advertisement. In 1944, the import of the materials of the oil discontinued, and the chaulmoogra oil age came to an end.
Clove oil
The Okamura family had the technique of oil production, and since 1672, clove oil had been produced in the Okamura family. Clove oil had a variety of uses from Chinese medicine to the keeping of Japanese swords in good condition. Since the Meiji RestorationMeiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, the popularity of clove oil decreased, and the production of chaulmoogra oil was a prospective venture.
Chaulmoogra oil
In a medical journal published in 1892, the first advertisement of Okamura's chaulmoogra oil was found. It was registered in Japanese Pharmacopoeia. Chaulmoogra oil was produced later by Ministry of Welfare, but the quality of the oil was inferior to Okamura's oil.The efficacy of chaulmoogra oil for leprosy was studied in a special lecture in 1940 by Yutaka Kamikawa; it differed depending on sanatoriums from 30% to 80 % and there were many recurrences. However, before promin was discovered in 1943 by Guy Henry Faget
Guy Henry Faget
Guy Henry Faget was an American doctor who revolutionalized the treatment of leprosy by demonstrating the efficacy of promin, in a paper reported in 1943. Promin is a sulfone compound synthesized by Feldman and his co-workers in 1940 as an agent against tuberculosis effective in experimental animals...
, chaulmoogra oil had been the only remedy known to be effective in this disease.