Herbal traditional

The Chinese herbal tradition is believed to date back some 4000 years to the Emperor Shen Nong (or Chi en Nung). He is said to have described over 300 medicinal plants and their uses in a book called the PenT sao. Although versions of several ancient pharmacopoeia still exist today, the main surviving text on herbalism is the 16th-century book by the physician Li Shih-chen describing almost 2,000 herbs and 10,000 herbal remedies (Thomas, 1997 and General References). 

For an introduction to the history of herbalogy and some of the early treatises, there is The Rodale Herb Book, edited by William H. Hylton (1974). In the Western world, it is noted that the impetus started during the Elizabethan Age, though herbal tradition started much earlier in China. More details are contained in Barbara Griggs Green Pharmacy The History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine (1991),... 

Brahmighritham Ayurvedic compound herbal traditionally used to treat seizures and "insanity". Chronic treatment prevented pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures or EEC changes in rats. No significant adverse effects or toxicities were noted. Seizure porotection was comparable to benzodiazepine pre-treatment group... 

Roy Upton has been trained in traditional Ayurvedic, Chinese and Western herbal traditions, has studied Native American and Caribbean ethnobotanical traditions, and is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. He is the executive director and editor of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia and a member of the Standards Committee of the American Herbal Products Association and advisory committees for the American Botanical Council, AOAC International, and NSF International. Along with being an author and lecturer, Roy was co-founder and past president of the American Herbalists Guild and is the herbalist and director of the California-based herbal company Planetary Herbals. 

David Winston is an herbalist and ethnobotanist with over 40 years of training in Cherokee, Chinese, and Western/Eclectic herbal traditions. David is a founding/ professional member of the American Herbalists Guild and has been in clinical practice for over 33 years. He is an... 

Herbology is practiced in different ways according to the philosophy of treatment. Some dosage recommendations are derived from herbal traditions such as traditional Ayurvedic or Chinese medicine. Many books are available on the subject of herbal remedies, and some commercially available products will have recommended dosages on the label. 

Hurley, Dan. Natural Causes Death, Lies, and Politics in America s Vitamin and Herbal Supplement Industry. New York Broadway Books, 2006. Hurley criticizes the supplements industry for its excesses and discusses the politics behind regulatory decisions. PDR for Nonprescription Drugs, Dietary Supplements, and Herbs. 30th ed. Montvale, N.J. Thomson Healthcare, 2008. The physician s desk reference provides information on dietary supplements and herbs. Tierra, Michael. The Way of Chinese Herbs. New W>rk Pocket Books, 1998. Avery thorough compendium of Chinese herbal remedies with descriptions, including the philosophy of treatment imderlying the Chinese herbal tradition. 

The words aromatherapy, aromachology, and aromakinetics are coinages of the 1990s. Aromatherapy, once based on a tradition of folklore and herbal medicine, is being investigated scientifically. 

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). 

A Chinese traditional herbal treatment for malaria obtained from the roots of Dichroafebrifuga is called Ch ang Shan and was investigated in the 1940s. Febrifugine (80), the alkaloid responsible for its activity, was isolated and found to be considerably more active than quinine in experimental infections. Unfortunately, the dmg caused nausea and vomiting in humans. Synthesized analogues were generally less effective than the parent. 

Maine purpose of our work was too developing methods for standardization of these products. Among methods traditionally used in analysis of plant material and herbal preparations HPTLC has shown to be fast, convenient and not to expensive. Because the goal of analysis is not to prove presence of certain compound, but to check if the product was made of proper raw material accomplishing technological conditions the best standard, in most cases, was properly prepared raw material sample. 

Amended by Directive 2004/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 amending, as regards traditional herbal medicinal products. Directive 2001 /83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use Amended by Directive 2004/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 amending Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use... 

Traditional herbal and homeopathic remedies that are supplied as natural treatments for medical conditions or diseases are subject to regulation as drugs, for example St. John s wort. 

Traditional herbal medicines may also avail of a simplified registration procedure if they fulfil the following criteria ... 

They have indications exclusively appropriate to traditional herbal medicinal products which, by virtue of their composition and purpose, are intended and designed for use without the supervision of a medical practitioner for diagnostic purposes or for prescription or monitoring of treatment. 

The approach is quite similar to that for a well-established medical product, in that the applicant must submit bibliographic data supporting the safety, efficacy and duration of the traditional use of the herbal remedy (see Table 8.2). 

All other homeopathic and herbal medicines that do not qualify for simplified registration procedures will have to go through the standard authorisation procedure with supporting technical dossiers. The Committee for Herbal Medicinal Products has been charged with preparing monographs on herbal products so as to further facilitate the registration of traditional and well-established use herbal products. 

Traditional Herbal Product Registration Yes (SPC) Yes (Manufacture, control and stability) No (Pubbshed literature) No (Published literature)... 

Figure 9 from Paulsen BS (ed) Bioactive Carbohydrate Polymers. Yamada H (2000) Bioactive plant polysaccharides from Japanese and Chinese traditional herbal medicines , p 15-p24. Kluwer Academic Publishers, with permission from Springer. 

Yamada H (2003) In Watanabe H (ed) Pharmacological research on traditional herbal medicines. Taylor and Francis, London, p 170... 

The prospect of using historic herbal texts as a tool to resurrect lost traditional medicine knowledge and to identify new drugs is exciting. However, there are six significant challenges that need to be addressed to increase the efficiency of this system ... 

The different types or classes of phytochemicals can have multiple influences on the GIT (Kitts, 1994). For example, caffeine stimulates the motor, hormonal and secretory functions (Boekmaefa/., 1999). Although many phytochemicals reduce nutrient quality or availability, traditional herbal medicines have exploited some of these characteristics to improve health. Moreover, some of the systemic responses attributed to certain phytochemicals (beneficial or detrimental) can be explained by their influences on the GIT (Carbonaro et al., 2001). To date, the most of the information about phytochemicals is focused on the reductions in the functional capacities of the GIT (the bad), or the toxic properties (the ugly). There are also numerous examples of phytochemicals that can be used to obtain desirable GIT characteristics (the... 

Phytochemicals influence other digestive secretions. Several traditional herbal medicines stimulate gastric mucous secretion, providing protection (Sairam et al., 2001). The secretion and recycling of bile are also responsive to phytochemicals. The way in which certain polysaccharides increase fecal concentrations of bile acids (DalT Angelo and Lino van Poser, 2000) and thereby influence recycling and synthesis is particularly noteworthy. 

Phyto chemicals can be used to either stimulate or inhibit motility of the GIT. For example, caffeine and other phytochemicals stimulate motility (Lis-Balchim etal, 2001 Boekema et al, 1999), whereas motility is slowed by peppermint oil (Beesley et al, 1996), protease inhibitors (Schwartz et al., 1994) and several other phytochemicals (Abdullahi et al, 2001 Odetola and Acojenu, 2000 Rojas et al, 1999 Amos et al, 1998). Many of the traditional herbal medicines used for treatment of diarrhea are based on aqueous extracts that slow small intestine transit and increase residence time for digesta (Lin et al, 2002). The opiates and derivatives are particularly noteworthy (Williams et al., 1997). 

GIT characteristics, either to improve or limit specific function, and thereby influence host health. However, the complex, multiple and varied nature of the combinations of phytochemicals present in plants and traditional herbal medicines has complicated efforts to better understand the specific interactions between phytochemicals and the GIT (Yuan and Lin, 2000). Phytochemicals have other applications, such as the use of guar gum as a vehicle to deliver therapeutics (Krishnaiah et al, 2001). 

HASLAM E, LILLEY TH, CAI Y, MARTIN R, MAGNOLATO D (1989) Traditional herbal medicines--the role of polyphenols. Planta Med. 55 1-8. 

H, MATSUURA D, MIYAKE M, UENO M, TAKAI I, YAMAMOTO T, KUBO M, MOSS J, NODA M (2002) Identification in traditional herbal medications and confirmation by synthesis of factors that inhibit cholera toxin-induced fluid accumulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 99 3042-6. 

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