1.A ten-year audit of traditional Chinese medicine and other natural product research published in the Chinese Medical Journal (2000-2009).
Chinese Medical Journal 2011;124(9):1401-1408
BACKGROUNDClinical research encompasses a wide variety of disciplines. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and natural product research have made great contributions to preventing and treating illness. The number and content of original research reports evaluating TCM and natural products have not previously been described. Information in this area will identify areas of relative strength and weakness in terms of knowledge gaps with respect to clinical conditions and natural product remedies.
METHODSOriginal research reports (i.e. original articles, brief reports, and research letters) published in the Chinese Medical Journal (CMJ) from January 2000 to December 2009 evaluating TCM and other natural products were reviewed. The United Kingdom Clinical Research Collaboration (UK-CRC) Health Research Classification System was used to analyze the type of health research conducted. Further analysis on the major illnesses addressed and the major herbal components utilized was conducted.
RESULTSOne hundred and seventeen original research reports involving TCM or other natural products were identified, comprising 3.82% of the CMJ output in the period covered by this study. Of the different materia medica described in these reports, 74.4% were derived exclusively from plant material, 10.3% from animals, 3.4% from fungi, 1.7% from minerals, and 10.3% were of mixed (plant/animal/fungal/mineral) composition. Twelve herbs were investigated exclusively or were constituents of 66/87 (75.9%) of the plant-based materia medica investigated. Panax ginseng was the most commonly investigated herb or constituent (14/87, 16.1%), followed by Astragalus membranaceus (9/87, 10.3%), Coptis chinensis/Berberis spp. (7/87, 8.0%) and Rheum spp. (7/87, 8.0%). Four UK-CRC health categories accounted for the majority of TCM and other natural product research (cancer, 20.9%; cardiovascular, 19.2%; oral/gastrointestinal, 9.8%; and inflammatory/immune, 9.0%). The most common research activity was "development of treatments and therapeutic interventions", which was undertaken by 103/117 (88.0%) of the research investigations reported. Human clinical trials involving natural products accounted for only 5.31% of the reported studies.
CONCLUSIONSThis is a relatively early systematic description of published research from a single journal related to TCM and other natural products. The majority of the research reports described preliminary findings and very few controlled clinical trials in human subjects were reported. Further applied studies will be required to demonstrate the clinical effectiveness, utility and cost-effectiveness of TCM and natural products in clinical practice. The UK-CRC health research classification system is a useful tool for evaluating published research output and could be applied to describe the output from other journals, national and provincial funding bodies, charities, and non-governmental organizations involved in supporting health-related research.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Publishing
10.Chinese medicine needs the baptism of science.
Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine 2012;32(8):1014-1022
All branches of mature practical technologies of both Eastern and Western ancient cultures, such as astronomy, geography, calendar, agriculture, architectonics, medicine, and so on, possess their own scientific connotation, which were derived from gradual accumulation and repeated validation of practical experiences. The ancient Greek medicine has the advantage of easily receiving scientific 'baptism' (reformation). The ontology and logics in ancient Greek philosophy, served as the epistemological and methodological bases, could effectively promote the development of science. Therefore, following the rapid progress of natural sciences since the Renaissance of the West world, the ancient Greek medicine rationally received the scientific "baptism" and gradually transformed into "modern medicine". In recent years, an upsurge to study and reappraise the works of Galen, an outstanding doctor and philosopher of Roman Empire, was evoked to discover and illuminate the practical and historical values of ancient Greek medicine. In ancient times, the medical theories and clinical practice of both Greek medicine and Chinese medicine were quite similar to each other, and they separately produced particular merits of themselves. However, owe to lack in the support of natural philosophy in ancient China, the progress of Chinese medicine, with its original native qualities for thousands of years only showed increase of clinical experiences, rather than scientific reformation of its essences. Therefore, Chinese medicine should also receive scientific "baptism" as Greek medicine. Ebb tide and see the real gold. The valuable medical experiences of Chinese medicine can be picked up for wide application, and its great historical achievements can be revealed for later pondering.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
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