Chinese herbalism

Chinese Herbal Medicines. Many traditional Chinese medicines have been screened for radioprotective activity in experimental animals. In one study of more than a thousand Chinese herbs, a number of agents increased the survival rate of dogs exposed to a lethal dose of y-rays by 30—40%, and some symptoms of radiation injury were ameHorated. These effects are potentially related to stimulation of the hemopoietic and immune systems (130). Extracts of five Chinese dmg plants, as weU as aspirin, effectively protected mice exposed to 7.5—8.0 Gy (750—800 rad) of y-radiation, and increased survival rates by 8—50% (131). Several Chinese traditional medicines, adininistered ip before or after irradiation, protected against Hpid peroxidation in a variety of mouse tissues, including BM, Hver, and spleen, as weU as in mouse Hver microsomal suspensions irradiated in vitro (132). 

Structures of new terpenoids with N- and 0-heterocyclic fragments from Chinese herbal medicine 98PAC431. 

Sun, X. et al., Capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection of curcumin in Chinese herbal medicine pretreated by solid-phase extraction, J. Chromatogr. A, 962, 117, 2002. 

Woolf GM et al. (1994) Acute hepatitis associated with the Chinese herbal product jin bu huan. Ann Int Med 121(10) 729-735... 

Alkylation of dianions occurs at the more basic carbon. This technique permits alkylation of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to be carried out cleanly at the less acidic position. Since, as discussed earlier, alkylation of the monoanion occurs at the carbon between the two carbonyl groups, the site of monoalkylation can be controlled by choice of the amount and nature of the base. A few examples of the formation and alkylation of dianions are collected in Scheme 1.7. In each case, alkylation occurs at the less stabilized anionic carbon. In Entry 3, the a-formyl substituent, which is removed after the alkylation, serves to direct the alkylation to the methyl-substituted carbon. Entry 6 is a step in the synthesis of artemisinin, an antimalarial component of a Chinese herbal medicine. The sulfoxide serves as an anion-stabilizing group and the dianion is alkylated at the less acidic a-position. Note that this reaction is also stereoselective for the trans isomer. The phenylsulfinyl group is removed reductively by aluminum. (See Section 5.6.2 for a discussion of this reaction.)... 

Wu T-N, Yang K-C, Wang C-M. 1996. Lead poisoning caused by contaminated cordyceps, a Chinese herbal medicine Two case reports. Sci Total Environ 182 193-195. 

Levi M, Guchelaar HJ, Woerdenbag HJ, Zhu YP. Acute hepatitis in a patient using a Chinese herbal tea—a case report. Pharm World Sci 1998 20 43-44. 

Feng-Qiao L, Xiu-Zhi L., Xi-Bin L, et al. Triptolide, a Chinese herbal extract, protects dopaminergic neurons from inflammation-mediated damage through inhibition of microglial activation. J Neuroimmunol 2004 148 24-31. 

Ferris H and Zheng L (1999), Plant sources of Chinese herbal remedies effects on Pratylenchus neglectus and Meloidogyne javanica , J Nematol, 31, 241-263. 

Adulteration, which can be accidental or deliberate, is another problem. Many herbal products have been found to contain prescription or OTC drugs and dangerous heavy metals. In 1998, for example, the California Department of Health reported that 32% of Asian herbal medicines sold in that state contained undeclared pharmaceuticals or heavy metals. A subsequent study of more than 500 Chinese herbal medicines found that about 10% of them contained undeclared drugs or toxic levels of metals. The FDA and other investigators have also detected sildenafil, colchicine, adrenal steroids, alprazolam, and other prescription drug ingredients in products claimed to contain only natural ingredients. 

Fukuda, N., Tanaka, H., and Shoyama, Y. (2000b). Applications of ELISA, Western blotting and immunoaffinity concentration for survey of ginsenosides in crude drugs of Panax species and traditional Chinese herbal medicines. Analyst 125,1425-1429. 

Source Reid D. Chinese Herbal Medicine, Shambhala Publications, Boston, 1996. 

The anti-HP activities of Gosyuyu, a crude extract from the fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa, a Chinese herbal medicine, have also been tested for activity... 

Fig. 9. Two quinolones, l-methyl-2-[(Z)-8-tridecenyl] -(l//)-quinolone and 1-methyl-2-[(Z)-7- tridecenyl]-4-(lZ7)-quinolone isolated from Evodia rutaecarpa, a Chinese herbal medicine used to treat stomach ailments.

Hamasaki N, Ishii E, Tominaga K, Tezuka Y, Nagaoka T, Kadota S, Kuroki T, Yano 1. (2000) Highly selective antibacterial activity of novel alkyl quinolone alkaloids from a Chinese herbal medicine, Gosyuyu (Wu-Chu-Yu), against Helicobacter pylori in vitro. Microbiol Immunol 44 9-15. 

Chen, X, Yang, L, Zhang, N, Turpin, JA, Buckheit, RW, Osterling, C, Oppenheim, JJ, Howard, OMZ. (2003) Shikonin, a component of Chinese herbal medicine, inhibits chemokine receptor function and suppresses Human Immunodeficiency Virus type Antimicrob Agents Chemother 47 2810-2816. 

Chinese legend states that the first herbal formulary was developed by an emperor around 2700 BC. The written record of a Chinese herbal formulary comes from the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). 

Hyatt R. Chinese herbal medicine. New York (NY) Schocken Books 1978. 

Luo, ]., ]. H. Yin, and Q. Wei. The effect of calcineurin activator, extracted from Chinese herbal medicine, on memory and immunity in mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav... 

Induction of neutrophil accumulation by Chinese herbal medicines hochu-etsuki-to and jyuzen-daiho-to . J Ethnopharmacol 1990 30(1) 91-95. 

ZO205 Toda, S., M. Kimura, M. Ohnishi, and K. Nakashima. Effect of Chinese herbal medicine saiboku-to on histamine release from and the degranulation of mouse peritoneal mast cells induced by compound 48/80. J Ethno-pharmacol 1988 24(2/3) 303—309. 

Z0342 Sugaya, A., T. Tsuda, T. Obuchi, and E. Sugaya. Effect of Chinese herbal medicine Hange-Koboku-To on la-ryngeal reflex of cats and in other phar-macological tests. Planta Med 1983 47(l) 59-62. 

Foster BC, Vandenhoek S, Li KY, Tang R, Krantis A. Effect of Chinese herbal products on cytochrome P-450 drug metabolism. J Pharm Pharmaceut Sci 2002 5 185-189. 

By the same token, not all Chinese botanical products are compatible with each other. Classic Chinese herbal texts have mentioned 18 Incompatibles (Shi Ba Fan) and 19 Counteractions (Shi Jiu Wei). The 18 Incompatibles refer to a classic list of 18 botanical product botanical product interactions,... 

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