<i>Diospyros kaki</i>: A Review of its Pharmacological and Anticancer Properties

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 …

Aquilaria spp. (agarwood) as source of health beneficial compounds: A review of traditional use, phytochemistry and pharmacology

Traditional medicines such as Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, Unani, and ethnomedicines have globally been practiced by billions of people for many centuries. In the rural areas of developing countries, traditional medicine is often the only accessible and affordable treatment available. Even in developed countries the use of traditional medicine is gaining popularity, where western medicine is generally available. In Asian and African countries, 80% populations depend on traditional medicines for primary health care according to the World Health Organization. A lot of famous pharmaceutical drugs are derived from traditional medicines (e.g., artemisinin from traditional Chinese medicine Artemisia annua). Plants, animals, microbes, and minerals used in traditional medicines are enormous. Only the species number of traditionally used medicinal plants was estimated to be between 10,000 and 53,000. Although studies on traditional medicines have become a popular research trend worldwide, only a very small proportion of traditional medicines had been investigated focusing on their chemical components and biological activities. There are still a huge number of traditional medicinal species which are not investigated chemically. For the tropical plant species, for example, only 1% of them had been screened. As for the polypharmaceuticals with more than two species, especially in traditional Chinese medicine, less chemical studies had been completed. They are being used by millions of people every day. Therefore, further investigations of chemical basis of traditional medicines will be necessary and urgent. It will be also very important in the future to gain a better understanding of the chemical basis of these traditional medicines, demonstrate their activity, understand their mechanism of action, develop new potential applications, and discover new drugs based on the studies of traditional medicines. We received more than 30 papers after the call for papers was released in October 2013. Finally, only 18 high-quality peer-reviewed papers were included in this special issue. In addition to one review article, 17 papers are original research articles. The traditional medicinal plants are often selected for pharmacological studies, followed by isolation and identification of their chemical constituents. In this special issue, some plants are famous traditional herbal medicines such as Panax notoginseng, Angelica sinensis, Carthamus tinctorius, and Oldenlandia diffusa (Hedyotis diffusa). Some are less well-known but important in local ethnic communities (e.g., Selaginella moellendorffii, Elephantopus scarber, Melastoma malabathricum, Dicranostigma leptopodum, and Rabdosia japonica var. glaucocalyx). Besides the medicinal plants, other natural medicinal sources, such as Czech propolis, have also been included in this issue. Whether the processed or prepared medicines (e.g., Chinese traditional patent medicine and Chinese medicinal formula) are mixed with other materials or not demonstrated different biological activities from their original herbs. Their chemical basis and mechanism of action should be revealed. Paeoniae Radix (processed roots of Paeonia lactiflora), Fuzheng Fangai pill (composed of Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus, and other 4 species), Tianshu capsule (composed of Ligusticum chuanxiong and Gastrodia elata), and Sihuangxiechai decoction (composed of Astragalus and other 15 species) are included in this special issues. The research results pharmacologically supported their customary uses of these traditional medicines. It is impressive to note that an important traditional medicinal plant, Huangqi (Astragalus mongholicus and/or A. membranaceus), appeared in 4 papers in this issue (L. Shi et al., Y. Gao et al., S. Liu et al., and X. P. Huang et al.). Both its secondary metabolites and polysaccharide showed multiple pharmacological activities such as immunomodulatory and neuroprotective effects, anti-inflammation, and antivirus. Further studies on Huangqi may endow this traditional medicine with more new potential applications. Jatropha is ethnobotanically and ethnopharmacologically an important group in Euphorbiaceae, including J. curcas and J. gossypiifolia. To compare with other Jatropha species, few studies have isolated chemical compounds from J. gossypiifolia. However, it should be prioritized for bioprospecting. We believe that this special issue will provide readers with ideas and information in the fields of traditional medicines. Because of the great diversity of traditional medicines, the chemical basis and biological activity should be massively investigated in next decades so as to examine the safety, action mechanisms, new applications, and development potentials of traditional medicines. Chunlin Long Shi-Biao Wu William C. S. Cho

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

Because of its long history of use in traditional medicine, Flemingia macrophylla has attracted a lot of attention from the fields of phytochemistry and pharmacology. However, a comprehensive research data on its phytochemistry and pharmacological roles have not been found in the literature. This comprehensive review combines the abundance of information regarding the traditional application, phytochemical makeup, and pharmacological properties, demonstrating its critical role in the traditional Chinese medicine. Examining its past uses in many cultural contexts from treating gastrointestinal issues to treating dermatological conditions highlights its extraordinary adaptability. This article reveals the generations-long development of Flemingia macrophylla as a reliable Chinese medicine through an examination of ethnobotanical records. Its phytochemical composition is carefully examined in this review, which reveals a complex array of chemicals including flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids that are crucial to comprehending the plant's potential as a medicine. Determining the pharmacological consequences of the bioactive components of this plant components requires a thorough structural clarification. Pharmacological studies demonstrate a range of actions, including antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and cardiovascular benefits, consistent with its conventional applications. Its antifungal function in particular highlights how useful it is against microbial dangers in general. Throughout, the paper highlights how conventional knowledge and contemporary pharmacology are convergent, emphasizing the mutually beneficial interaction between cultural legacy and evidence-based treatment. Encapsulating the historical significance and current relevance of Flemingia macrophylla in the integration of traditional Chinese medicine into modern healthcare practices, this comprehensive compilation could be an invaluable resource for researchers, herbalists, and healthcare practitioners.

Traditional Medicine collectively referred to as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) when commonly used outside their traditional context, alongside other medical systems, including Western biomedicine.The World Health Organization officially promoted traditional medicine in developing countries in 1978, there have been increasing interests among developing countries in integrating traditional medicine into a national health care system. Integrating traditional medicine into a modern health care system, moreover, can benefit industrialized nations as well. The contributions of Traditional and Modern Scientific Medicines to health care delivery have attracted a great deal attention in most communities worldwide. Traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, Kampo, traditional Korean medicine, and Unani have been practiced in some areas of the world and have blossomed into orderly-regulated systems of medicine. More than 80% of the world’s population in over 170 of WHO’s 194 Member States currently use some form of traditional medicine, such as herbal medicine, yoga, Ayurveda, acupuncture and acupressure, and indigenous therapies.To generate awareness about traditional medicine, since the 1980s, a number of publications on self-health care have been developed to inform people about the benefits and uses of traditional medicine. Some of the areas of focused research include studies on the development of anticancer drugs, cardiovascular diseases such as arteriosclerosis and angina pectoris, respiratory diseases such as bronchial asthma, obesity, diabetes and other metabolic disorders, and basic studies on acupuncture therapeutic mechanisms for various bone and joint and spinal disorders, and on different kinds of composition of the human body. To ensure the safety, standardization, efficacy and quality of traditional medicines, the practitioners must follow the same stringent standards and regulations for production and use of traditional medicines as are followed for allopathic medicines. This study aims to summarize the advancements made in understanding the efficacy, effectiveness of Traditional Medicine. Traditional and local knowledge systems need to be protected, preserved, and studied as different ways to approach modern healthcare, science, and technology at large. Significant challenges exist in integrating the differing perspectives. Traditional knowledge is derived from years of history and experience and is preserved through long, complex narrations lacking the traditionally rigorous scientific scrutiny required by modern medicine. Modern scientists are prone to quickly dismiss its merit, considering it to be irrelevant as a result. For many, traditional medicine is the first port of call, and practitioners of traditional medicine have played an important role in treating chronic illnesses. These traditional medicines and practices have been preserved, organized and modernized during the past several decades, and have been fully integrated into the national health-care delivery systems from the central to the most peripheral administrative levels.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and integrative medicine are key components of the cultural heritage from Eastern Asia with thousands-of-years history in research and healthcare delivery. Traditional oriental medicine contributes significantly to the prosperity of Chinese and Eastern Asian culture. After the introduction of western biomedicine to Asia, traditional medicine still plays an important role in the healthcare system of many Asian countries and integrated with the mainstream medical treatments as a new track of healthcare named as integrative medicine. With the current trend of globalization, traditional medicine and integrative medicine are receiving gradual acceptance in the Western world. As a result, studies on traditional medicine attract more and more attention from researchers with various knowledge backgrounds and technologies. Medical informatics is a new interdisciplinary branch in medical science when computer science and information technology are combined with research of health science. The application of medical informatics that has extended to the studies of traditional medicine and other therapies of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The special issue supported by this journal provides a forum for traditional and integrative medical researchers and practitioners to share and exchange their new ideas on using computer science and information technology to explore and solve problems in healthcare. It is proposed with the Fifth International Workshop on Information Technology for Chinese Medicine (ITCM 2014) in Guangzhou, China, on 12 to 14 December 2014. The workshop is in conjunction with the 2014 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM'14), which was held in Belfast, UK, on 2 to 5 November 2014. Professor Xusheng Liu, Professor Honglai Zhang, and Professor Guozheng Li cochaired the workshop. The conference invited top experts from the US, UK, Australia, and Hong Kong to present their inspiring research outcomes and prospect the future of traditional and integrative medicine. However, numerous scientists and researchers were unable to introduce their excellent idea due to time limit of the workshop. The ITCM 2014 received about 100 submissions. All papers were anonymously reviewed by members of the IEEE conference organization committee. The accepted papers were published in the Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine Workshops (IEEE-BIBMW) (ISBN 978-1-4799-1309-1). Just a few excellent papers were later invited to submit the extension version to the special issue alongside external submissions for consideration of publishing. This special issue has received 37 submissions. All papers have gone through rigorous view, and only 10 of them (27%) are finally accepted for publication. This special issue reflects the up-to-date progress in applications of information technology to traditional and integrative medicine. The papers are categorized to represent the four aspects of medical informatics research of the discipline. In the paper entitled “Standardization of Syndrome Differentiation Defined by Traditional Chinese Medicine in Operative Breast Cancer: A Modified Delphi Study,” Q. Guo and Q. Chen present their research on TCM syndromes. Five papers are selected to demonstrate the research progress in disease diagnosis and treatment. G.-X. Shi et al. report a clinical study on vascular dementia. Z. Chen presents a new mathematics method to explore the classical theory of five elements in TCM in his work “Researches on Mathematical Relationship of Five Elements of Containing Notes and Fibonacci Sequence Modulo 5.” In “Syndrome Differentiation Analysis on MARS500 Data of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” Y.-Z. Li et al. succeed to use MARS500 to process the data of traditional medicine. The paper entitled “Detecting Disease in Radiographs with Intuitive Confidence” by S. Jaeger introduces the new idea to use informatics method to detect disease. Three papers are about information processing of traditional medicine. The paper entitled “Patterns Exploration on Patterns of Empirical Herbal Formula of Chinese Medicine by Association Rules” by L. Huang et al. used association rules to retrieve patterns from classical traditional medical formula. B. Zhang et al. proposed a bioinformatics approach to explore the latent patterns from conventional formula Shuang-Huang-Lian in their work “Using Bioinformatics Approach to Explore the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Multiple Ingredients in Shuang-Huang-Lian.” The paper entitled “Pulse-Diagnosis Signals Analysis of Fatty Liver Disease and Cirrhosis Patients by Using Machine Learning” by N. Wang et al. introduces new data mining method to process diagnostic data of liver disease. Finally, the paper entitled “An Ensemble Learning Based Framework for Traditional Chinese Medicine Data Analysis with ICD-10 Labels” by G. Zhang et al. and the paper entitled “ISMAC: An Intelligent System for Customized Clinical Case Management and Analysis” introduce the applications of machine learning to electronic data analysis of traditional medicine.

The potential of Amomum tsao-ko as a traditional Chinese medicine: Traditional clinical applications, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties

An understanding of the population-level data available on the use of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine is critical for reducing unmet health needs and improving health outcomes. Although research has shown that the existence of unmet health-care needs among people receiving conventional health care can drive the use of traditional medicine, the motivations for its use are complex and often related to cultural traditions, personal preferences and perceptions of effectiveness. At present, only limited population-based data are available on who uses traditional medicine, the reasons for its use, the context in which it is used (even when traditional medicine is a primary choice) and the outcomes of treatment. To address this data gap, we identified and analysed population-based surveys that reported data on traditional medicine use for perceived health problems in the World Health Organization’s Region of the Americas. Based on the findings, we discuss how best to analyse available population-based survey data and how survey questions on traditional medicine can be refined to enhance their usefulness. Strengthened data collection on traditional medicine can inform health-care policy on the integration of traditional practices into the health system, aid efforts to educate both health-care providers and the public on traditional medicine, support culturally responsive and people-centred care, and foster the ethical and effective integration of traditional medicine into health systems.

Is There Room for Paradox in CAM?

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

Rosin: A comprehensive review on traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology

BackgroundTraditional medicine is broadly used across Asian societies for various medical conditions and health concerns. However, there remains a wide disparity between users and non-use, which makes it imperative to understand the factors affecting the lay perception and utilization of traditional medicine. This study systematically examined the demographic, medical, and socioeconomic factors affecting belief in and use of traditional medicine among older adults of Shanghai, China.MethodsWe used the data from Survey of Life and Opinion on Shanghai Older Adults in 2013 with a sample of 3418 older adults aged 50 years or older. The multilevel logistic models were applied to examine the associations between faith and utilization of traditional medicine and a set of factors of the respondents, including demographics (gender, age, rural/urban residence), socioeconomic status (educational attainment, income, primary occupation), social support (marital status, social network), and disease/conditions. The associations between individual use of traditional medicine and the profile of socioeconomic development and the medical services conditions of local communities were also modelled.ResultsWe found that cardiovascular diseases, lung diseases, cancer, prostatitis, arthritis, and nervous system diseases were positive correlates for using traditional medicine. Older adults who had a cancer, a prostatitis, or a fracture had more faith in traditional treatment. Rural living, higher educational attainment, and white-collar occupation promoted the use of traditional medicine. A higher number of strong social ties and a tie connected with medical staff were positive factors of use as well.ConclusionThe belief in and use of traditional medicine were prevalent among older adults in Shanghai, China. Though not conclusive, our study suggested that traditional medicine in China appears to serve two distinct functions, namely complementary medicine for those socioeconomically advantaged whereas alternative medicine for those socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Traditional medicine has become an increasingly common treatment option for many patients. Traditional Chinese medicine is one of the more popular modalities. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of the needs of male subjects who visited a traditional Chinese medicine expert in a men's health polyclinic. A total of 231 male patients visited a men's health polyclinic comprised of psychiatry, andrology and traditional Chinese medicine. Participants completed a set of general data and screening assessments, including the Androgen Deficiency in Aging Males Questionnaire, the Aging Males' Symptoms Rating Scale, Insomnia Severity Index, Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, Chinese version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Gotland Male Depression Scale, the abridged 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function, and the Situational Fatigue Scale. Blood testing, including a profile of sex hormone levels, was selectively performed according to clinical needs. Eighty-six males (37.2%) sought traditional Chinese medicine. The subjects who had been to traditional Chinese medicine before had a higher rate of erectile dysfunction and infertility complaints, and lower scores on the Gotland Male Depression Scale as compared to those who had never been to traditional Chinese medicine. Infertile male patients seek help from traditional Chinese medicine due to oligo-astheno-tetratozoo-spermia syndrome or failure to achieve pregnancy after treatment for correctable causes such as varicocele. Specific symptoms of male depression might be related to overall sexual complaints rather than to erectile dysfunction specifically. Herbal medicine may be an alternative and complementary treatment for male infertility, erectile dysfunction and mood disturbances, but further research is necessary to determine its efficacy in the male population.

Context and objectives : West Africa has a very rich ethnozoological heritage due to its rich biodiversity, history and culture. Due to its location in a biodiversity hotspot, its agro-pastoralist traditions and its role during the maritime discoveries of the Renaissance, West Africa has a long list of animals and animal parts that have been used in its folk medicine. These uses can still be found in many historical documents and pharmacopeias. Bridelia ferruginea , Combretum glutinosum and Mitragyna inermis are tropical and subtropical medicinal plants widely used in general traditional African medicine and in West Africa in particularly, including Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast to treat many diseases such as bladder troubles, diabetes, dysentery, arterial hypertension, rheumatism pain. This study aims to do a literature review of these three tropical plants on their biological and pharmacological properties on veterinary medicine Methodology and Results : A thorough literature search was done and plants little studied Bridelia ferruginea, Mitragyna inermis and Combretum glutinosum were chosen in the search for their anthelmintic activity against gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes of small ruminants in Djallonke. Also to confirm their use in traditional veterinary medicine in West Africa. Conclusion and application of results : This literature review of their extracts properties showed that the plants possessed wide-reaching pharmacological actions, including anti-diabetic, cardiovascular disease antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and antiplasmodial and justifies their use in traditional medicine for treating various diseases. This manuscript intends to be a starting point to these future investigations. Key words : Bridelia ferruginea, Combretum glutinosum, Mitragyna inermis, anthelmintic, Traditional folk medicine, Pharmacological action.