Integrated Database of Materia Medica (IDMM), a consolidated cross-cultural resource for data-driven research in traditional medicine.

Traditional Indian medicine in China: The status quo of recognition, development and research

Is There Room for Paradox in CAM?

An analysis of application of health informatics in Traditional Medicine: A review of four Traditional Medicine Systems

WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Chinese Medicine: Use in Context, Creatively

Characteristics and comparative study of medicinal materials between China and India based on data mining from literatures

Half of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Chinese scientist Youyou Tu in recognition of her pioneering work on the antimalarial artemisinin, extracted from Artemisia annua, a traditional Chinese herbal remedy used to treat fever. This is clearly a great encouragement for scientists who engage traditional medicine research. As Youyou Tu stated in her Nobel Prize awarding lecture, artemisinin is a gift from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to the world, this definitely will generate great interest in not only TCM but also other traditional medicine systems from other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, India, Americas, etc. Though the Nobel Prize selection committee did not confess that the prize is to award traditional Chinese medicine, rather a new drug discovery inspired from TCM, this is indeed the exciting and encouraging event for Chinese TCM scientists. In my opinion, it is meaningless to dispute if artemisinin is still belonging to TCMor westernmedicine. Any contribution or new discovery derived from TCM to benefit for the human health should be recognized and respected. TCM needs to be developed and modernized. Any standpoint that developed or modernized TCM does not belong to TCM may drastically hinder the TCM modernization and integration with modern medicine process, or even deepen the gap between TCM and modern medicine. Evidence-based medicine is the future of TCM by means of modern biomedicine advances and novel approaches. In the past 20 years, TCM has undergone rapid development period evidenced by a number of achievements including the geometric growth of TCM research papers, booming TCM industry, TCM new drug research and development, etc. However, TCM is still facing grand challenges in the future development. Shortage of modern scientific evidence for safety, effectiveness, quality and mode of action should be emphasized and dealt with solutions. TCM experienced-based feature should be turned into evidence-based and science-based one. Following several aspects are suggested for the future modern TCM research: a) TCM-based new drug discovery. TCM is still a non-fully explored treasure house for new drug discovery and development. According to TCM resource survey, there are over 12000 TCM species, among which majority are herbs. Apart from artemisinin and its derivatives, a number of single chemical entity drugs have been developed and successfully marketed, such as arsenic trioxide, ginsenoside Rg3, bifendate, β-elemene, indirubin, etc. It is anticipated that more new drugs could be discovered from this vast TCM resource with modern drug discovery technology and methodology. b) Research on the holistic TCM quality control. The current quality control approach is more focused on a single marker or a few marker determinations, which follows the western drug quality control model and hence, could not really monitor the quality of TCM products. Systemic and comprehensive quality control method should be developed for the TCM crude drugs, prepared slices and finished products, especially for those multiple-ingredient herbal products. c) Research on TCM processing. All TCM crude drugs should be processed in different extent before they can be used either for decoction or for herbal production. TCM processing method is mainly based on the traditional knowledge or experience. Mechanism of processing either for the purpose of enhancing efficacy or eliminating toxicity should be thoroughly investigated and clarified. d) TCM efficacy and safety research. During the development of TCM, greater attention needs to be paid to the integrated evaluation of the effectiveness and safety based on TCM theory and modern scientific research. New evaluation methodology fit for TCM complex feature should be developed with international collaborations. Globally recognized evaluation criteria should be constructed. Other TCM research focuses include pharmacokinetics, geo-authenticity, active principles and giant data library. It is firmly believed that TCM will contribute more than ever to the human health along with the rapid advances of biomedicine science and eventually developed into an evidence-based medicine system.

A wide array of wildlife species, including many animals, are used in traditional medicines across many medicinal systems, including in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Due to over-exploitation and habitat loss, the populations of many animals commonly used in TCM have declined and are unable to meet market demand. A number of measures have been taken to try to reduce the impact that this large and growing market for TCM may have on wild animal species. Consumer preferences and behavior are known to play an important role in the consumption and protection of wild animals used in traditional medicine, and thus are likely to be an important factor in the success of many of these mechanisms—particularly given the significant percentage of TCMs that are over-the-counter products (access to which is not mediated by practitioners). In this study we conducted questionnaires and designed stated preference experiments embodying different simulation scenarios using a random sample of the population in Beijing to elicit individuals’ knowledge, perceptions and preferences toward wild or farmed animal materials and their substitutes used in traditional Chinese medicine. We found that respondents had a stated preference for wild materials over farm-raised and other alternatives because they believe that the effectiveness of wild-sourced materials is more credible than that of other sources. However, we also found that, although respondents used TCM products, they had a poor understanding of the function or composition of either traditional Chinese medicines or proprietary Chinese medicines (PCM), and paid little attention to the composition of products when making purchasing decisions. Furthermore, awareness of the need for species protection, or “conservation consciousness” was found to play an important role in willingness to accept substitutions for wild animal materials, while traditional animal medicinal materials (TAMs) derived from well-known endangered species, such as bear bile and tiger bone, show relatively higher substitutability. These results suggest that there is still hope for conservation measures which seek to promote a transition to farmed animal, plant and synthetic ingredients and provide clear directions for future social marketing, education and engagement efforts.

See related article, pages 1973–1979. The lack of effective and widely applicable pharmacological treatments for ischemic stroke patients may explain a growing interest in traditional medicines, for which extensive observational and anecdotal experience has accumulated over the past thousand years. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as “health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being”.1 Unlike Western medicine, which focuses on disease, traditional medicine takes the approach that the body provides external clues to an internal imbalance that can be addressed by interventions such as herbs and acupuncture (holistic treatment approach).2 According to a 2003 WHO report,1 traditional medicine is very popular in all developing countries, and its use is rapidly increasing in industrialized countries. For example, traditional herbal preparations account for 30% to 50% of the total medicinal consumption in China. In Europe, North America and other industrialized regions, over 50% of the population have used traditional medicine at least once. The global market for herbal medicines currently stands at over US $60 billion annually and is growing steadily.1 In recent years, several reviews have been published on the effect and potential benefits of traditional Eastern medicine in stroke.3–7 It has been suggested that some herbal medicines, or their products, may improve microcirculation in the brain,4,8 protect against ischemic reperfusion injury,8,9 possess neuroprotective properties3,4 and inhibit apoptosis,10 thus justifying their use in ischemic stroke patients. However, unlike industrially manufactured pharmacological drugs used in Western medicine, the active (potent) components of herbal medicines often have not been specified and measured precisely, although there have been recent attempts to regulate dosages and use of …

Botanical drugs in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine

Phytochemical variation: How to resolve the quality controversies of herbal medicinal products?

Objective To Analyze the development tendency and major influential factors of the resource and service of traditional medicine (TM) by contrasting the statistical data between China and India.Methods The research data came from the governmental statistical date of traditional medicine.The main statistical indicators included:number of TM hospitals,number of beds in TM institutions,number of health personnel of TM,number of visits and inpatients of TM institutions.A contrastive analysis was given based on these data over the period of 2008-2012.Results In 2012,the number of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital per ten million populations was 25.1,the number of Traditional Indian Medicine (TIM) hospital per ten million populations was 25.9; the number of beds in TCM institutions per ten thousand populations was 4.5,the number of beds in TIM institutions per ten thousand populations was 0.5; the number of TCM physicians and physician assistants per ten thousand populations was 2.6,the number of TIM physicians and physician assistants per ten thousand populations was 5.9.In 2012,the numbers of visits and inpatients of governmental public TCM hospitals were 426.671 million and 16.882 million; the numbers of visits and inpatients of governmental public TIM hospitals were 73.445 million and 0.947 million.Conclusion There was no significant difference in the number of TM hospitals per ten million populations between China and India.China had obviously advantages in the number of beds in TM institutions,number of visits and inpatients of TM institution.India had obviously advantages in the number of TM health personnel. Key words: Traditional Chinese medicine; Traditional Indian medicine; Medical resource and service

Traditional and complementary medicine system in Malaysia is composed of traditional Malay medicine (TMM),traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),traditional Indian medicine(TIM),homeopathy and other complementary medicine.Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division is the official body responsible for T/CM administration.Malaysia concentrates on 4 main areas of traditional and complementary medicine i.e.product,practices,training and research.The government of Malaysia is devoted to facilitate the integration of Traditional and Complementary Medicine into the Malaysian Healthcare system in recent years. Key words: Traditional medicine; Complementary and alternative medicine; Malaysia

Good practice in reviewing and publishing studies on herbal medicine, with special emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese materia medica

Arab countries have long tradition of using traditional medicine which enjoys mass foundation among local people. Recently, China's import and export trade of traditional medicine products with Arab countries showed an increasing trend year by year. With the implementation of the Belt and Road Strategy, Arab countries played a more important role in China’s foreign trade. With the aim of promoting the spread of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Arab countries, cooperation with relevant countries shall be differentiated. The Gulf region is economically advanced with its people enjoying prosperity, where is suitable for developing TCM product and service trade. The Levant has strong advantages in traditional medicine research, where academic communication shall be frequented. Countries in north Africa enjoy profound traditional friendship with China, where are suitable for dispatching Chinese foreign aid medical team to promote TCM. Meanwhile, we are supposed to take advantage of Confucius Institute and Chinese culture centers as platforms to spread TCM culture, to strengthen cooperation with medical universities and research institutions in the target countries, to enroll more Arab students to study TCM, to develop international standard Chinese-Arabic basic nomenclature of Chinese Medicine, and to carry out Traditional Arabic & Islamic Medicine researches. Key words: Belt and Road Initiative; Arab countries; Traditional medicine; Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM); Traditional Arabic & Islamic medicine(TAIM)

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition with global prevalence and complex etiology. Although modern treatments exist, their limitations—including side effects, high costs, and relapse—have led to a resurgence of interest in traditional medical systems such as AYUSH and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Despite growing research interest, there has been no comprehensive bibliometric evaluation of how psoriasis has been studied within these traditional systems of medicine over time. Objective: This study aims to provide a four-decade bibliometric review (1980–2024) of psoriasis research within traditional medical systems. Methods: Bibliographic data were retrieved from PubMed and Scopus using the keywords “Psoriasis” and “Traditional Medicine.” Eligible documents (n = 2,110) were filtered by predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. VOSviewer software was used to perform bibliometric mapping and visualization of co-authorship, institutional collaboration, keyword co-occurrence, and citation networks. Results: A total of 1,341 documents from PubMed and 769 from Scopus were analyzed. China, India, and the United States were leading contributors. Co-authorship networks showed moderate collaboration, mostly within regional clusters. Keyword analysis revealed a clinical and experimental focus with common terms including “psoriasis,” “humans,” “treatment outcome,” “herbal medicine,” and “inflammation.” Research gaps identified included limited randomized clinical trials, lack of standardization, and insufficient patient-reported data. Conclusion: This study provides the first systematic bibliometric overview of psoriasis-related research in traditional systems of medicine, revealing both progress and persistent gaps. The findings underscore the need for multidisciplinary collaboration, enhanced regulatory frameworks, and large-scale clinical validation to enable global integration of traditional therapies for psoriasis.