Prevention and treatment of radiation injury by traditional Chinese medicine: A review.
10.1016/j.chmed.2024.09.005
- Author:
Lixue HE
1
;
Shixing EDI
1
;
Jun MA
1
;
Zilin KONG
1
;
Chunguang DAI
1
;
Linfang HUANG
2
;
Rui ZENG
1
;
Kaijun GOU
3
Author Information
1. School of Pharmacy, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610225, China.
2. Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Resources Conservation of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China.
3. Key Laboratory of Research and Application of Ethnic Medicine Processing and Preparation on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610225, China.
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine;
new dosage forms;
radiation injury;
traditional Chinese medicine
- From:
Chinese Herbal Medicines
2025;17(2):220-234
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Nuclear radiation exposure events and tumor radiotherapy are highly susceptible to a range of psychological, physiological and other health problems, which can seriously affect patients' quality of life. It has been shown that 87.5 % of tumor patients are exposed to varying degrees of radiation injury during radiotherapy. The treatment of radiation injury (RI) in modern medicine is limited to drug therapy, cell therapy, etc. Among them, the most chemical drugs cause many adverse reactions including fatigue, nausea, vomiting, etc., and there are very few drugs dedicated to the treatment of RI. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a rich natural medicinal resource, which has a wide range of pharmacological activities, multiple targets of action and minimal toxic side effects. Many studies have demonstrated that TCM and its compound preparations have enormous potential in the treatment of radiation induced comprehensive diseases. However, TCM is limited in clinical application due to its slow onset of action, complex active ingredients, and low bioavailability. Therefore, the article reviews the application, molecular mechanisms, and new dosage forms of TCM in the prevention and treatment of RI. On this basis, we will focus on discussing the development advantages and application prospects of the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine to achieve highly efficient treatment of RI. This review aims to provide scientific and effective drug delivery strategies and basic theoretical support for the clinical effective treatment of RI with TCM, and further promote the innovative development of TCM.
