Grant: Project Grant

Birch bark-oil (maskwiomin) is an almost forgotten traditional L'nu medicine for the topical treatment of skin conditions such as rashes, eczema and psoriasis. Only two Elders of Membertou First Nation, Sydney, Nova Scotia held the knowledge of which one has since passed away. Funded by a 2017/18 CIHR Catalyst grant, Young and Bierenstiel successfully worked with the indigenous community in an equal partnership and based on a 2-Eyed Seeing approach. The team worked with Elders and community members through stories and recreation to re-discover maskwiomin. Maskwiomin is made in a torrefaction process in a campfire and compounded as crème or mixed into soap bars -now made regularly by community members for individual use. There is excellent anecdotal evidence of over 70 persons that daily washing of skin with maskwiomin soap reduces skin outbreaks, eczema and psoriasis within days. Preliminary scientific chemistry and microbiology studies showed that maskwiomin is a complex organic mixture composed likely of derivatives of betulin, a secondary metabolite and main component in birch bark. Betulin is known to have antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-viral properties. The research demonstrated for the first time that maskwiomin is a broadspectrum antibiotic against Gram+ and Gram- strains with the same efficacy as commercially available antibiotics. This also shows that the Mi'kmak people had a topical antibiotic centuries, if not longer, prior to Fleming's penicillin discovery in 1928! This proposed CIHR Project Grant expands the work on the community level (social science and indigenous knowledge) and in pharmaceutical science (processing and identification of active ingredients and medicinal studies beyond antibiotics). It also contains a medical component with a team of nursing researchers and clinician for pilot studies and preliminary human trials to study the extent and wide range of clinical indications of maskwiomin.