Chinese Herbal Drug Research Trends

Book excerpt: Chinese Herbal Medicine -- part of a larger healing system called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which also includes acupuncture, massage dietary advice and exercise. TCM is a popular method of treatment -- is actually called Chinese Drug Therapy in China because it uses a wide variety of substances and therapeutic modalities. Plant, animal and mineral substances are all included in the Materia Medica of Chinese Drug Therapy. The earliest uses date back at least 4000 years to the Shang dynasty. Characters representing medicinal substances have been found carved into oracular bone fragments. These were used diagnostically by the Wu Shaman of this time. The earliest materia Medica, the Sheng Nung Peng Tsao, recorded over 10,000 medicinal substances. While there seems to be an almost unlimited amount of medicinal substances, the most commonly used number around 200. Increased attention has begun being given to the field due to several factors: The apparent success stories in many cases; The failure of Western medicine in many disorders; and Realisation on the part of Western researchers that successful drugs can be designed on the basis of Chinese herbal drugs. This new book presents the latest research in the field.