Exploring Traditional Medicine in Los Angeles

For my AP Biology final project, I decided to investigate the field of "ethnopharmacology," or the study traditional medicine and folk remedies from different cultures. My  location on the South Pasadena-Highland Park border, just a stone's throw from the predominantly Latino East and Northeast Los Angeles and the heavily Chinese San Gabriel Valley and Chinatown areas put me in the perfect geographical location to explore herbal medicines from both of these cultures and meant that my research could help me deepen my own understanding of and cultural connection to my own neighborhood.

I started off my research at the small Botanica Era Nueva (a botanica is a traditional Mexican herbal pharmacy and religious relic shop) off of York by my house, but upon entering, I was disappointed to find a preponderance of spiritual candles, oils, and objects, and not much in the way of herbal medicine. When I asked the friendly elderly couple behind the desk if there was anywhere nearby that I could find what I was looking for, they said I had to visit El Mercadito in Boyle Heights, on the corner of Lorena Street and 1st Street. Intrigued, I made my plan: I would first journey to Chinatown and then make my way from there to El Mercadito.

After purchasing some ginseng, a common herb recognized universally for its antioxidant and energy-restoring properties at a small Chinese bodega, I was relieved to find Tian Xiang herbal market, which, at 6:50, was 10 minutes from closing. I walked in without any prior knowledge of Chinese herbs and looking for something to "invigorate the central nervous system," but, as I quickly found out, the owners of the store weren't too keen on selling herbs to anyone without a recommendation from a Chinese herbal doctor. After some quick Google research, I convinced the store owners to let me buy a giant lingzhi mushroom (known for its cancer-fighting, immune-boosting, and antioxidant properties), a wu wei zi or "five flavor berries" (known as an adaptogen that helps the body adjust to stressful conditions), and the surprisingly expensive but exotic-smelling Angelica root (used to treat anxiety and intestinal problems). Bags of Chinese herbs in hand, I made it out the door just as Tian Xiang was closing.

Buckets of mole

Francisco Quiroga in front of his stand

Bags of yerbas