Herbalism Asian medicine

Within the current global regulatory environment, the detection of adulterated or contaminated herbal products is not always an easy task, particularly because many policies to prevent these events have yet to be fully implemented and ways to identify the problems are not always easy to achieve. The presence of undocumented pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, misidentified plants, noxious plant compounds, and so on is still widespread, particularly in those formulations of Asian origins (Chan, 2003 Elvin-Lewis, 2001 Ernst, 2002b). Also, many Asian medicines traditionally incorporate substances such as heavy metals, which under today s standards of safety should... 

Polyphenols, such as quinones, are major components of many traditional herbal remedies which exhibit several beneficial effects, including antiinflammation. For example, Cuellar et al. [105] investigated the topical antiinflammatory activity of extracts from Cassia angustifolia Vahl. and Rheum palmatum, medicinal plants commonly known for their anthraquinonic content, and used in traditional East Asian medicine against different skin disorders. All the extracts significantly inhibited the edema induced by 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TP A) in both single or multiple applications. 

Another popular herbal dietary supplement that has a long history of use for medicinal purposes is ginseng. Much like Echinacea, three primary species of ginseng exist for therapeutic consumption Panax ginseng (Asian ginseng), Panax notoginseng and Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng). These herbal varieties can be readily authenticated... 

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. 

NCAHF position paper on over-the-counter herbal remedies. National Council Against Health Fraud Web Site, Peabody, MA, 1995, Available at www.ncahf.org/pp/herbal.html Ko, R.J., Adulterants in Asian patent medicines, N. Engl.. Med., 339, 847,1998. 

Lee KH, Itokawa H, Kozuka M. Asian herbal products the basis 22. for development of high-quality dietary supplements and new medicines. In Asian Functional Foods. Shi J, Ho CT, Shahidi... 

A 23-year-old Asian butcher developed diffuse abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed by constipation (4). He had a sinus tachycardia and generalized abdominal tenderness without peritonism. His serum bilirubin concentration and alanine transaminase activity were raised, but alkaline phosphatase activity, albumin concentration, and prothrombin time were normal. He had a blood lead concentration of 767 ng/ml and a raised zinc protoporphyrin concentration, diagnostic of lead poisoning. He had taken an herbal medicine, purchased in India, for vague aU-ments. He stopped taking it, and 3 months later was asymptomatic, with normal liver function tests and marked falls in blood lead (387 ng/ml) and zinc protoporphyrin. 

Even when modern, Western medical services are available, Asians frequently consider using indigenous or alternative remedies, and folk or traditional medicine may be tried first for treatment of a psychiatric disorder. Such treatment must be noted and monitored to avoid adverse drug interactions between traditional Asian herbal medicines and Western psychotropic medications. Also necessary is assessment of drug efficacy and toxicity, as well as placebo effects. Several studies have found that compliance with psychopharmacotherapy may be more problematic in non-Westem than among Western populations. For example, Western medicines are believed to be more potent and more likely to cause side effects than are non-Western therapies, and interpretations and perceptions of side effects differ as well (Lee 1993 Smith et al. 1993). 

In Asian markets, it is not unusual to find traditional herbal remedies containing undocumented pharmaceuticals. However, these illicit practices are now widespread, and serious adverse effects linked to their use have become commonplace (Bury et ah, 1987 De Smet, 2002, 2004 Ernst, 2002c Koh and Woo, 2000). Table II indicates the wide range of undocumented drugs that have been identified, but these are only representative of the possibilities that likely exist. In the current regulatory environment, it has become a monumental task to detect these types of adulterations, and constant surveillance is required to ensure the safety of traditional medicinal products that can be adulterated in this fashion. This concept is compounded by the fact that in certain countries, such as Japan, combinations... 

Because of their herbal contents, certain Asian traditional medicines have been consistently linked to undesirable hepatic events (Benoussan, 2000 Pittler and Ernst, 2003). It has been estimated that from 1 to 8% of patients using these drugs develop elevated liver enzyme levels, which tend to return to normal once therapy is completed (Al-Khaafi, 2000 Dasgupta, 2003 Melchart et al., 1999a,b). In a Taiwanese study, a number of cases of... 

Ernst, M. 2002b. Toxic heavy metals and undeclared drugs in Asian herbal medicines. Trends Pharmacol. Sci 23, 136-139. 

Alsophila spinulosa (Hook.) R.M.Tryon (fronds) (1-6,11-2 )-Biflavonoids Hegoflavone A (198) hegoflavone B (199). Asian herbal medicine. Immunomodulatory effects. Immunostimulation of both humoral and eellular immune responses. Chloroplast genome sequenee. Wada et ah, 1985[396] Kao et ah, 1994[397] Gao etal.,2009[398]. 

As in Eastern medicine, Systems biology aims to understand the human organism from holistic view point, and to diagnose and treat illness with consideration of individual s genotypic and phenotypic variances and lifestyle characteristics. Asian doctors prescribe personalized (herbal) medicine for each patient. They do not prescribe one-fits-all type of medicine except for... 

The Zingiberaceae is a large family of perennial herbaceous plants. The family contains approximately 1400 species in 47 genera [1]. The species are widely distributed throughout India, tropical Asian and extend to northern Australia. Zingiberaceous plants have been used in traditional or herbal medicine throughout the tropical world. Members of the family have attracted continuous phytochemical interest due to their culinary uses and their biological and pharmaceutical activities. 

Rosenkranz HS, Thampatty BP (2003) SAR flavonoids and COX-2 inhibition. Oncol Res 13 529-535 Rossi M, Meyer R, Constantinou P, Caruso F, Castelbuono D, O Brien M, Narasimhan V (2001) Molecular structure and activity toward DNA of baicalein, a flavone constiment of the Asian herbal medicine Sho-saiko-to . J Nat Prod 64 26-31... 

The practice of traditional medicine is widespread in Asian societies such as India, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Some 70 to 85 % of the population is dependent on traditional medicine in these countries. In Japan, preparations made from herbal dmgs (i.e., the kampo system of medicine) are more in demand than mainstream pharmaceutical products. Similarly, the traditional system of medicine is very popular on the African continent, which is very rich in medicinal herbs. Even in European countries, 1500 plant species of aromatic and medicinal plants are presently being used in countries such as Albania, Croatia, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and United Kingdom. 

Although a British herbal text contraindicates Asian ginseng during pregnancy (Bradley 1992), no concerns for use in pregnancy are listed in texts on traditional Chinese medicine (Bensky et al. 2004 Chin 1991). 

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