Book Description:
Chinese Herbal Medicine (part of a larger healing system called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which also includes acupuncture, massage dietary advice and exercise. TCM is a popular method of treatment)is actually called Chinese Drug Therapy in China because it uses a wide variety of substances and therapeutic modalities. Plant, animal and mineral substances are all included in the Materia Medica of Chinese Drug Therapy. The earliest uses date back at least 4,000 years to the Shang dynasty. Characters representing medicinal substances have been found carved into oracular bone fragments. These were used diagnostically by the Wu Shaman of this time.
The earliest materia Medica, the Sheng Nung Peng Tsao, recorded over 10,000 medicinal substances. While there seems to be an almost unlimited amount of medicinal substances, the most commonly used number around 200.

Increased attention has begun being given to the field due to several factors: 1. The apparent success stories in many cases; 2. The failure of Western medicine in many disorders and 3. Realization on the part of Western researchers that sucessful drugs can be designed on the basis of Chinese herbal drugs. This new book presents the latest research in the field.

Table of Contents:
Preface

Expert Commentaries

Commentary A - Antioxidant Effets of Astragali Radix Oxidative Stress; pp. 1-8
(Shizuo Toda, Kansai College of Oriental Medicine, Sen-nan, Osaka, Japan)

Commentary B - Antioxidants: Potency, Cell Targets and Drug Interactions; pp. 9-13
(Teresa Krakauer, Dept. of Immunology, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD)

Commentary C - How to Control Heavy Metals in the Chinese Medicines Rationally?; pp. 15-19
(Jing Zhao, Wei Hong, Shao-ping Li, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, Univ. of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, P.R. China)

Short Communication

A - The Way of the Development of Herbal Medicinal Products;
pp. 21-29
(Zhijun Yang, Zhongzhen Zhao, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist Univ.)

Research and Review Studies

Chapter I - Quality Control of Polysaccharides From Medicinal Plants and Fungi; pp. 31-65
(Jia Guan, Shao-Ping Li, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, Univ. of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China)

Chapter II - Quality Control of Essential Oil in Chinese Medicine; pp. 67-98
(F.Q. Yang, S.P. Li, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, Univ. of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China)

Chapter III - Bofutsushosan "Kampo Medicine" Use in Metabolic Syndrome: Research the Scientific Basis and Clinical Trial in Japanese Obesity; pp. 99-122
(Chizuko Hioki, Dept. of Oriental Medicine, Tokai Univ. School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan)

Chapter IV - Herbal Drug Research on Bone Regeneration; pp. 123-145
(Ricky W. K. Wong, A Bakr M Rabie, Biomedical and Tissue Engineering, Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

Chapter V - Pharmacological Studies on Sasanquasaponin, An Herbal Effective Component Isolated From Sasanque Camellia Oleifera ABEL; pp. 147-171
(Zhong-Fang Lai, Dept. of Pharmacology and Molecular Therapeutics, Institute of Materia, Nanchang Univ. School of Medicine, P.R. of China, Shanghai Institute of Technology, P.R. of China, Yu-Zhen Chen, Dept. of Immunogenetics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto Univ., Kumamoto, Japan, Xiao-Zhen Liu)

Chapter VI - Quality Control of Traditional Chinese Medicine;
pp. 173-188
(Wei Fang, Ma Ling-Yun, Division of Chinese Materia Medica and Natural Products, National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, State Food and Drug Administration, Beijing, P.R. China, Jin Hong-Jun, Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX)

Chapter VII - Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicines Use in Anaesthesia; pp. 189-200
(Anna Lee, Po Tong Chui, Lester AH Critchley, Dept. of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, The Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong)

Chapter VIII - Studies on Chinese Herbal Medicines for Alzheimer's Disease; pp. 201-216
(Jianxun Liu, Weihong Cong, Li Xu, Research Center, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing)

Chapter IX - Research on Analgesic Effect of Dragon's Blood Resin and Reverse Pharmacology; pp. 217-227
(Xiangming Liu, Su Chen, Dept. of Biological & Medical Engineering, South-Central Univ. for Nationalities, Wuhan, Hubei, China)

Chapter X - Two Regulatory Systems But Permeable Markets For Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine: Are National Legislative Regulations in Germany and in The Netherlands Sufficient?;
pp. 229-238
(Tan L. Kroes, Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Univ. of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, Kroes BH, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dept. of Medicinal Chemistry, Univ. of Utrecht, The Netherlands, Dobos GJ, Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Univ. of Duisburg-Essen, Germany)

Chapter XI - Chinese Herbal Drug Research Trends; pp. 239-247
(Jing Peng, Jianguo Fang, Dept. of Pharmacy, Tong Ji Hospital Affiliated with the Tong Ji Medical College, Huazhong Univ. of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China)

Index