Affiliation:
1. Bute Medical School, University of St Andrews
Abstract
AbstractAlthough Western medicine makes extensive use of herbal extracts in its prescribing, from cancer treatments to antimalarial prophylaxis, there is a reluctance to approach one of the oldest and most established sources of medicinal herbs, namely traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This is due, in part, to the perceived link between the doctrines of TCM and the herbs, making the latter unacceptable in Western prescribing practice with its insistence on an evidence-based rationale. Reviewing recent studies of the doctrines of TCM and Western studies of the action of Chinese herbs, we conclude that the two are not intrinsically linked. Some Chinese herbs have an action that can be explained in clear biochemical terms. Also, the mixtures of herbs, so characteristic of Chinese herbal medicine, may parallel the modern practice of combination therapy. These ideas are considered in the light of a recent effort to transform a Chinese herbal remedy for eczema into a treatment within Western prescribing practice. Problems were encountered because of the EU regulations with regard to herbal remedies but the results were promising and further research into the efficacy of Chinese herbal remedies is fully justified.
Subject
Medicine (miscellaneous),Complementary and alternative medicine,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Reference35 articles.
1. ‘Primitive Medicine and Cultural Pattern’;Ackerknecht;Bulletin of the History of Medicine,1942
2. ‘Chinese Herbs for Eczema’;Allen;Lancet,1990
3. ‘Chinese Herbs for Eczema’;Atherton;Lancet,1990
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献