Traditional Chinese Medicine Books Research Articles

A general review of research on historical facts of English translation of ancient traditional Chinese medicine books

A general review of research on historical facts of English translation of ancient traditional Chinese medicine books

Discovering herbal functional groups of traditional Chinese medicine

For the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a prescription for a patient often contains several herbs. Some herbs are often used together in prescriptions, and these herbs can be considered as a functional group. In this paper, we propose an approach for discovering herbal functional groups from a large set of prescriptions recorded in TCM books. These functional groups are allowed to overlap with each other. Our approach is validated with a simulation study and applied to a data set containing thousands of TCM prescriptions.

The catalogue and classification of medical works in ancient comprehensive bibliography

The classification of ancient works of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) had a long history. Some ancient comprehensive bibliographies such as Han shu yi wen zhi, Sui shu jing ji zhi, Tong zhi yi wen lue, Guo shi jing ji zhi have different classification methods in ancient medical works, reflecting the different cognitions of the compiler on the contents attribute of ancient medical works. The modern classification method of medical works of TCM is still a project for further study. Reviewing the previous catalogue and classification methods of medical works can provide references and guides for future collating and research works of TCM books and literature.

Toona sinensis Roem tender leaf extract inhibits SARS coronavirus replication

Aim of the study Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a life-threatening disease caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The development of new antiviral agents for SARS-CoV is an important issue. We tried to find potential resource from Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for development of new drugs against SARS-CoV. Materials and Methods Our team recruited the potential TCM formulae (also known as Kampo) from two TCM books, Shang-Han Lun (Discussion of Cold-Induced Disorders) and Wen-Bing Tiau-Bein (Differential Management of Febrile Diseases). Several herbs, which were believed to be beneficial for SARS by experienced TCM doctors were also recruited. In addition, a vegetable polular in Taiwan, China and Malaysia, the tender leaf of Toona sinensis Roem (also known as Cedrela sinensis, belongs to the family Meliacceae) was also recruited under the suggestion of botanic experts. These TCM products and plant extrats were then tested for the effectiveness against SARS-CoV in vitro. Results Only TSL-1, the extract from tender leaf of Toona sinensis Roem was found to have an evident effect against SARS-CoV with selectivity index 12∼17. Conclusion This paper reports for the first time that extract from a vegetable, the tender leaf of Toona sinensis Roem, can inhibit SARS-CoV in vitro. Thererfore, the tender leaf of Toona sinensis Roem may be an important resource agninst SARS-CoV.

Investigation of editions of Wenrebing Zhinan Ji (Collection of Guide for Warm Heat Disease)

Wenrebing Zhinan Ji (Collection of Guide for Warm Heat Disease) was not a lengthy work, but it had quite a few influences among the medical works of warm heat disease. Regarding the evolvement of the edition and contents of the book, relative records in some authoritative bibliographic tool references had mistakes, errors and defects. The records of the author were complicated and confusing. There were five versions of the book recorded in the Quanguo Zhongyi Tushu Lianhe Mulu (Nationwide Union Catalog of Books of Traditional Chinese Medicine). The study found that there are other versions to be added here, including Wenre Zuiyan (Verbosity of Warm Heat Disease) supplemented to Sanjia Yian Heke (United Collection of Medical Cases of Three Physicians) and Wenre Jingwei (Longitude and Latitude of Warm Heat Diseases) by Wang Mengying, with the xylographic version of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty excluded. Each version possesses its own special features and values.

Discrimination of for ms and meanings of the characters in translating ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine into English

Discrimination of for ms and meanings of the characters in translating ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine into English