Chinese herbal medicine chemical constituents

Characterization of Chemical Constituents in Chinese Herbal Medicine... 

Chinese herbal medicine has developed over thousands of years. The vast human pharmacological information and experience that have been accumulated form an integrated theory system. However, Chinese herbal medicine is such a complex system that a large number of chemical constituents and metabolites, in vivo and in vitro, need both qualitative and quantitative analysis. More importantly, the chemical compositions and metabolites that exist in various chemical processes are closely related to the therapeutic effects... 

The characteristics of multiconstituent, multitarget effect mechanisms have restricted the revelation of the active material basis of Chinese herbal medicine, which makes the quality control of herbal medicine a problem. Therefore, study of analytical methods of the chemical constituents in Chinese herbal medicine is not only a significant challenge that pharmaceutical analysts face but also a key link in the investigation of the material basis of Chinese herbal medicine. Generally, there are three types of chemical analysis of Chinese herbal medicine (1) the analysis of chemical constituents in Chinese medicine materials (2) the analysis of chemical constituents in a prescription and (3) the analysis of the original drug and its metabolites in body fluids (such as blood serum, tissue, urine, etc.) or in vitro bacteria/cell metabolism. The analysis of various trace-level constituents and metabolites in Chinese herbal medicines and their pharmaceutical preparations is critical to the research of such complex mixture systems. 

CHARACTERIZATION OF CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS IN CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE... 

Tian, Y, Wu, J, Zhang, S. Advances in research of chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of semi-mangrove medicinal plant Thespesia populnea [J]. Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs, (2003). 

This book is an authoritative and comprehensive reference guide to a very large number of significant Chinese medicinal herbs. A gold mine of information is available on their chemical constituents and therapeutic applications. This will be extremely useful to a wide range of health-care professionals who deal in one way or another with medicinal plants. The current heated debate regarding the comparative values of traditional herbal preparations and physician-prescribed pharmaceuticals should in no way detract from the value of this book, since Chinese medicinal herbs are not simply useful in herbal form, but also have immense potential for contributing to the development of new pharmaceuticals. 

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