Herbal Medicine Research Research Articles

Mapping the Terms of Medicinal Material and Formula Classification to International Standard Terminology

The current study aims to analyze the acceptance of International Standard Terminology (IST) related to herbs and formulas used in Korea. It also intends to examine limitations of each term source by linking texts for herbal medicine research and formula research used in schools of oriental medicine with medicinal substance-formula classification names within the IST framework. This study examined 64 medicinal classification names of IST, including synonyms, 41 formula classification names, 65 classification names of “Herbal Medicine Study,” 89 medicinal classification names of “Shins Clinical Herbal Medicine Study,” and lastly 83 formula classification names of “Formula Study.” Data on their chief virtue, efficacy and characteristics as medicinal substances were extracted from their definitions, and such data were used to perform Chinese character-English mapping using the IST. The outcomes of the mapping were then analyzed in terms of both lexical matching and semantic matching. In terms of classification names for medicinal substances, “Herbal Medicine Study” had 60.0% lexical matching, whereas “Shins Clinical Herbal Medicine Study” had 48.3% lexical matching. When semantic matching was also applied, “Herbal Medicine Study” showed a value of 87.7% and “Shins Clinical Herbal Medicine Study” 74.2%. In terms of formula classification names, lexical matching was 28.9% of 83 subjects, and when semantic matching was also considered, the value was 30.1%. When the conceptual elements of this study were applied, some IST terms that are classified with other codes were found to be conceptually consistent, and some terms were not accepted due to different depths in the classification systems of each source.

Assessing the potential of Caribbean phytomedicinals

AbstractOver the past four decades, there has not been any significant organised research into the therapeutic efficacy and/or potential toxicity of purportedly medicinal Caribbean botanicals. Books published during the period and dealing with such plants were essentially compendia of ethnopharmacological information regarding uses, containing occasional crude modes of preparation of treatments and sparse data on chemical constituents. More recent publications have tended to consider the evidence‐based legitimacy of a modest number of pharmacologically active plants. Currently, two of the most prominent organisations in this area are TRAMIL (the Program of Applied Research to Popular Medicine in the Caribbean) and the Caribbean Herbal Medicine Research Institute (CaHMRI). While TRAMIL's expressed main aim is to stimulate research that has the potential to educate physicians, pharmacologists, health personnel, and health programmes, its core research activity has been the conduct of ethnopharmacological disease‐based surveys on the traditional medicinal uses of plants by the people in the Caribbean territories; TRAMIL is not involved in the conduct of clinical trials. A major objective of CaHMRI at the University of Trinidad and Tobago is claimed to be the provision of sound scientific information about medicinal plants and herbal remedies. However, CaHMRI's declared mission is the identification of local medicinal plants and isolation of their characteristic bioactive constituents, although an Internet posting states that it plans to test herbal medicinal extracts for their safety and efficacy through clinical trials. However, so far CaHMRI has not reported on any such activities. Cuba appears to be the only Caribbean territory to have made significant progress in advancing the status of herbal medicines from the folkloric domain. As part of its national natural and traditional medicine system, herbal medicine products are being manufactured by the State in pharmaceutical production laboratories.

Evaluation of the in vitro antimutagenic effect of Doash tea aqueous extracts

Human carcinogens are formed mainly due to the lifestyle and diet that is followed. It is well known that dietary factors play a crucial role in the aetiology of human cancer. The new attractions of drug discovery using natural products remain an important issue in the current herbal medicine research. The present study aimed to evaluate the antimutagenic activity of the water extracts of Doash leaves against several known mutagens, both direct- and indirect-acting, belonging to different chemical classes. These classes are heterocyclic amines (HAs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrosamines. The antimutagenic activity will be determined in Salmonella/microsomal system (Ames) using strains of Salmonella Typhimurium. Four Salmonella bacterial strains (TA98, TA97, TA100 and TA1530) were used in the present study. Results obtained showed that Doash extract possesses powerful antimutagenic properties, which impair the deleterious effects of various chemicals used in this study. One possible mechanism involved in this protection is the inhibition of the metabolic activation of chemical carcinogens to their reactive metabolites. We also suggest that the health benefits of Doash could be derived from the additive and synergistic combinations of the various phytochemicals present in Doash leaves. Other studies should also be conducted to determine the active components of Doash leaves, including macronutrients, micronutrients and other phytochemicals. Clinical studies should be performed before any claims that Doash consumption offers chemoprotection against cancer can be made.

An Overview of Herbal Medicine Research and Development in Nigeria

The research pattern in medicinal plants and traditional medicine practices in Nigeria is largely unknown. Hence this paper examined such research patterns with a view to determining how the country fared in herbal medicine research and development. The study also identified the number of herbal medicine scientific research outputs. Factors that mar herbal medicine research were discussed. Descriptive analytical technique was adopted in analyzing the secondary data obtained from the book of abstracts of published research findings on Nigerian medicinal plants and traditional medicines practices for 42 years (1970-2012). Results showed that the most researched areas in herbal medicines were in the anti-infective drugs, gastro-intestinal tract drugs, analgesics, cardiovascular drugs, hypoglycemic, and mollucicidal in that order. The study also revealed that much work is yet to be done in other vital areas such as hormones, anti-viral agents, ear nose and throat (ENT), hemorrhoids and neurological disorder. Thus, it recommended among other things, that herbal medicine research and development should be intensified in the above –mentioned least-researched areas, if Nigeria intends to meet the health challenges of the 21 st century. Key words: Medicinal Plants, Patterns, Traditional Medicine Practices.

한약재 중 살충제 Endosulfan의 잔류분석을 위한 Macroporous Diatomaceous Earth 컬럼 적용

Application of Macroporous Diatomaceous Earth Column for Residue Analysis of Insecticide Endosulfan in Herbal Medicines Jeong-In Hwang, Young-Hwan Jeon, Hyo-Young Kim, Ji-Hwan Kim, Yoon-Jeong Lee, Ju-Young Park, Do-Hoon Kim and Jang-Eok Kim (School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, Korea, Division of Herbal Medicine Research, Korea Food and Drug Administration, Osong 363-951, Korea)

Standardization of the terms for Chinese herbal functions based on functional targeting

Functional analysis concisely summarizes and concentrates on the therapeutic characteristics and features of Chinese herbal medicine. Standardization of the terms for Chinese herbal functions not only plays a key role in modern research and development of Chinese herbal medicine, but also has far-reaching clinical applications. In this paper, a new method for standardizing the terms for Chinese herbal function was proposed. Firstly, functional targets were collected. Secondly, the pathological conditions and the mode of action of every functional target were determined by analyzing the references. Thirdly, the relationships between the pathological condition and the mode of action were determined based on Chinese medicine theory and data. This three-step approach allows for standardization of the terms for Chinese herbal functions. Promoting the standardization of Chinese medicine terms will benefit the overall clinical application of Chinese herbal medicine.

New perspectives on chinese herbal medicine (zhong-yao) research and development.

Synthetic chemical drugs, while being efficacious in the clinical management of many diseases, are often associated with undesirable side effects in patients. It is now clear that the need of therapeutic intervention in many clinical conditions cannot be satisfactorily met by synthetic chemical drugs. Since the research and development of new chemical drugs remain time-consuming, capital-intensive and risky, much effort has been put in the search for alternative routes for drug discovery in China. This narrative review illustrates various approaches to the research and drug discovery in Chinese herbal medicine. Although this article focuses on Chinese traditional drugs, it is also conducive to the development of other traditional remedies and innovative drug discovery.

Chinese herbal medicine research in eczema treatment

Eczema is a chronic relapsing atopic dermatitis (AD) associated with pruritus, sleep disturbance and poor quality of life of the patient. Treatment of eczema includes use of emollient, topical and systemic antimicrobial agents, corticosteroid or immunomodulating agents. Many patients also seek alternative treatments such as dietary avoidance, supplementation or both. This article reviews the basic pathophysiology of eczema and clinical trials involving Chinese medicine in the treatment of eczema. Research reports on Chinese herbal medicine for eczema were retrieved from PubMed and the Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews for this review. Only a few RCTs demonstrated the efficacy (or lack of efficacy) of Chinese medicinal herbs in treating atopic eczema. Further larger scale trials are warranted.

The ethics of traditional chinese and Western herbal medicine research: views of researchers and human ethics committees in australia.

Despite the growth of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western herbal medicine (WHM) research in Australia, little is known about how ethics committees (HRECs) assess the ethics of TCM or WHM research. The objectives of this study were to examine the experiences of TCM and WHM researchers and HRECs with the evaluation of ethics applications. Two cross-sectional surveys were undertaken of HRECs and TCM and WHM researchers in Australia. Anonymous self-completion questionnaires were administered to 224 HRECs and 117 researchers. A response confirming involvement in TCM or WHM research applications was received from 20 HRECs and 42 researchers. The most frequent ethical issues identified by HRECs related to herbal products including information gaps relating to mode of action of herbal medicines and safety when combining herbal ingredients. Researchers concurred that they were frequently requested to provide additional information on multiple aspects including safety relating to the side effects of herbs and herb-drug interactions. Overall adherence with the principles of ethical conduct was high among TCM and WHM researchers although our study did identify the need for additional information regarding assessment of risk and risk management.

Global information hub on integrated medicine: Malaysia strategic initiative

The increasing global interest on traditional and complementary medicine (T/CM) and a need of a centralised and validated information on T/CM, added with a noble mission of optimally integrating the practice of T/CM into the mainstream healthcare system, revolutionised this Commonwealth health minister’s initiative project. Combined with strong government support and strength in ICT infrastructure at Multimedia Super Corridor, Malaysia put forward the proposal at the last Commonwealth Health Minister meeting which finally get the endorsement for implementing the project at the pre-WHA meeting 2002. This web portal aims in promoting and enhancing the practice of T/CM through global communication and smart partnerships, was implemented by the Herbal Medicine Research Centre of the Institute for Medical Research assisted by the beta group committee. Fondly referred to as the InfoHub, it will deliver validated, up-to-date and comprehensive information of T/CM to the world. Thus, the establishment of Integrated Medicine together with Allopathic Medicine towards contemporary health care can be achieved. The prototype, www.Globinmed.com was successfully launched in October 2003 have Malaysia information on Policy, Trade, Intellectual Property Rights and Herbal Databases, whereas the first international partner, NHIondemand provide other content including Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dietary Supplement Monograph, and Health Condition & Disease States. To achieve its establishment, more contents are being planned and Malaysia is cordially inviting other countries to form a strategic partners not only to enrich its content, but also improved the information portal to ensure its remain viable and competitive internationally.

Integration of traditional and complementary medicine into the national health care delivery: the strategies taken by Malaysia

Over the years, the role of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T/CM) in maintaining human health has significantly growing and could no longer be ignored. The World Health Organisation also recognised its contribution and encourages the member countries to integrate proven safe and effective traditional medicine into the national health care delivery. Unlike modern medicine, which is introduced and implemented based on scientific evidence, T/CM practices received its acceptance through the knowledge that is passed through many generations and attraction from various advertisement from the media. Hence, many issues especially in term of safety and efficacy, remain debatable. Malaysia, since 1996, had initiated many activities in coordinating this development with the formation of Standing committee on T/CM, that look into the coordination of the practice, training, product and research. Together with the appointed 5 umbrella bodies, the T/CM practitioners are monitored to ensure meeting the qualification and abate to the professional code, while the Traditional Medicine Product Act, regulate product and they can only have the claimed when it is proven by scientific data, resulting from proper research. The formation of Herbal Medicine Research Centre, National Committee on Herbal Medicine R&D and Global Information Hub on Integrated Medicine, showed Malaysia commitment in promoting and enhancing T/CM practice into the integrated medicine. More activities had been identified and that include the creation of T/CM Bill and this will be one of the major the trust of newly formed Traditional and Complementary Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.

Herbal medicine research in Taiwan

Herbal medicine research in Taiwan

Current phytotherapy an inter-regional perspective on policy, research and development of herbal medicine

This article aimed at evaluating inter-regional differences in herbal drug policies, with a view to influencing such policies towards a more vibrant approach that will promote the registration, production and clinical trial of herbal remedies worldwide. The review drew attention to the impact of different national policies on the status and movement of herbal remedies in the world market and revealed a striking paradox - that about 80% of people in developing countries depended on herbs, but contributed only 7.2% to the trade in 1999. By contrast, the developed nations, where people relied less on herbs, contributed 55.2%. Asia, less Japan and South Korea, contributed 37.6%. Equally interesting is the comparison of Brazil with Nigeria. Both are rich in biodiversity and have high populations that depend substantially on herbs. However, while herbs contributed an unknown amount to the Nigerian economy in 2007, in Brazil it contributed US$ 160 million - a whopping 20% of Nigeria’s federal budget for health ($800 million) in 2007. These findings led us to conclude that developing countries need strategies that will promote herbal medicine. The comparison of Brazil with Nigeria revealed that with proper strategies herbal drugs can indeed contribute substantially to any economy.

Qualitative and quantitative determination of complicated herbal components by liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry and a relative exposure approach to herbal pharmacokinetics independent of standards

To date, the pharmacokinetic research of herbal medicines (HMs) is still in its infancy and is facing critical technical challenges on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of complicated components from biological matrices. Additionally, the lack of authentic standards constitutes another bottleneck on assessing herbal pharmacokinetics. This present work contributes to the development of a powerful technical platform for both qualitative and quantitative pharmacokinetic analysis of herbal components, and a strategy of relative exposure that provides a practicable pharmacokinetic assessment independent of authentic standards, based on the use of liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–IT-TOF/MS). Taking schisandra lignans extract (SLE) as an example, the LC–IT-TOF/MS assay was initially applied to the global qualitative analysis of components contained in SLE per se and in the rat plasma post SLE dosing. Afterwards, this study focused on validating the quantitative performance of LC–IT-TOF/MS assay by comparison with a well-established LC–Q/MS assay. For the absolute quantification of five lignans components with authentic standards, both assays showed very similar analytical figures of merit such as linearity, precision, accuracy, and pharmacokinetic parameters. Compared with LC–Q/MS, the prominent advantage of LC–IT-TOF/MS assay is its much higher sensitivity. Moreover, a ‘relative exposure approach’ (REA) that entails the use of sequentially diluted original herbal preparations to prepare the ‘mixed calibration curves’ was developed to assessing herbal pharmacokinetics independent of specific authentic compounds for each component. Such an approach was found capable of providing virtually identical pharmacokinetic parameters as that from the typical pharmacokinetic assay calibrated by authentic standards, except for the absolute plasma concentrations. The presently developed methodology and approach will find its wide use in, but not limited to, the qualitative and quantitative pharmacokinetic analysis of herbal medicines.

Influence of segmental and selected ion monitoring on quantitation of multi-component using high-pressure liquid chromatography–quadrupole mass spectrometry: Simultaneous detection of 16 saponins in rat plasma as a case

Quadrupole (Q) mass spectrometers are the most popular analytical tools due to their reliability, effectiveness, and low cost. However, they are not suitable for quantitative analysis of multi-component since the sensitivity will get worse rapidly with the increasing number of m/ z detected. The present work, for the first time, attempted to analyze of 16 saponins simultaneously using an approach of segmental and selected ion monitoring (SSIM) based on LC–Q/MS, and systematically investigated the influence of different SSIM modes on signal level/noise level (S/N), lower limits of quantification (LLOQ), upper limits of quantification (ULOQs), etc. Our results showed that a proper SSIM mode could not only provide much higher sensitivity for all the targeting analytes, but also dramatically broadened their dynamic ranges. The developed methodology could effectively break the application bottleneck on the quantitative analysis of multi-component with LC–Q/MS, and would be applied widely in related fields for multi-component analysis, such as environmental monitoring, metabonomics, Chinese herbal medicine research.

Review on Experimental Research of Herbal Medicines with Anti-Amnesic Activity

Amnesia is characterized by the inability to form memories or total or partial loss of memory secondary to cerebral malfunction following degenerative diseases, cerebral infections, traumatic injuries and emotional events which could be differentiated from dementia. However, no effective treatment for amnesia is currently available. Much research effort has been focused on developing new drugs from herbal medicines which have multifunctional properties. Novel plant extracts and their major or bioactive components including alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides and saponins with promising antioxidant effects, various effects on cholinergic, GABAergic, glutaminergic, serotonergic, catecholaminergic and histaminergic systems, enhancement of cerebral blood flow and elevation of ribonucleic acid (RNA) as well as protein levels have been studied. In this review, we discuss the research findings on novel plant extracts and their bioactives with anti-amnesic effects on different neurotransmitter systems. Developing new drugs from herbal medicines for the treatment of amnesia is a hopeful attempt to meet the unmet medical needs.

Tuberculosis patient expenditure on drugs and tests in subsidised, public services in China: a descriptive study

To measure patient expenditure on additional drugs and tests in public services where tuberculosis (TB) drugs are supplied for free. Questionnaire survey of patients currently on treatment in eight TB dispensaries in two provinces; in depth interviews with providers at the facilities. Liver protection drugs (141/163) were prescribed for 86% of patients, 93% had one or more tests in the last month, and 23% were on treatment past the World Health Organization-recommended treatment duration. All but two patients were charged for something in cash at each visit: on average 287 Chinese Yuan (40 US dollars) in the previous month. For patients below the poverty line, drug and test expenditure was 1.85 times their average household monthly income. Average charges varied little between income categories. In terms of anti-TB drugs prescribed, 17.8% of regimens were inadequate by international standards. Providers reported they prescribe liver protection drugs to avoid medical negligence, and they believed they were effective; and the government subsidy for providing TB treatment was simply not enough. Despite an ostensibly fully subsidised TB programme in China, patients are charged substantive amounts irrespective of income. Research is needed to confirm these practices are widespread but this needs to be coupled with financing strategies to tackle it.

Herbal medicine research and global health: an ethical analysis

Governments, international agencies and corporations are increasingly investing in traditional herbal medicine research. Yet little literature addresses ethical challenges in this research. In this paper, we apply concepts in a comprehensive ethical framework for clinical research to international traditional herbal medicine research. We examine in detail three key, underappreciated dimensions of the ethical framework in which particularly difficult questions arise for international herbal medicine research: social value, scientific validity and favourable risk-benefit ratio. Significant challenges exist in determining shared concepts of social value, scientific validity and favourable risk-benefit ratio across international research collaborations. However, we argue that collaborative partnership, including democratic deliberation, offers the context and process by which many of the ethical challenges in international herbal medicine research can, and should be, resolved. By "cross-training" investigators, and investing in safety-monitoring infrastructure, the issues identified by this comprehensive framework can promote ethically sound international herbal medicine research that contributes to global health.

Is There Room for Paradox in CAM?

Is There Room for Paradox in CAM?

Evaluating the performance of sponsored Chinese herbal medicine research

Chinese herbal medicine has recently become a hot research field internationally; an increasing number of pharmaceutical researchers and scientists have dedicated themselves to such research work. Based on papers in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine from 2002 to 2004, 60% of papers published in the journal were sponsored by different institutions in the authors’ countries. This fact indicates that researchers receive sponsorship for their work, and sponsors should pay more attention on the control of the researchers to use financial support more efficiency. This study applied Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP to evaluating the performance of sponsored Chinese herbal medicine research, and this method can help sponsors weight evaluation elements without having to change the system of every category of research. To explain the process and application of AHP, a Taiwanese case study is presented. The analytical results presented in this study, provide a reference for institutes supporting research on Chinese Herbal Medicine.