In recent years, expectations and demand for Japanese Kampo medicines have increased in Japan. However, the self-sufficiency rate of raw materials for crude drugs in Japan is approximately 10%, with most imported from China. Although discussions on the domestic production of raw materials are gaining momentum, achieving self-sufficiency of crude drugs for Kampo preparation poses several challenges, including production costs, sales channels, and distribution prices. However, it is well-known that a diverse array of crude drugs can be cultivated in the Japanese climate. Since 2013, Ibara City in Okayama Prefecture has been promoting a medicinal plant cultivation project to utilize fallow land effectively. Currently, we have achieved successful cultivation of ‘benishizuka,’ a medicinal peony known as Paeoniae radix, with sufficient quality. However, the present circumstances in Japan limit its sales channels for medical use. The project initiated by Ibara City has evolved from its inception, primarily involving farmers, the government, and national research institutes, to now encompass an unprecedented collaboration among medical professionals as well as local construction companies and a local university. This transformation has propelled Ibara City’s various new medicinal plant cultivation businesses into a new phase of development. In this report, we investigated the local history and climate from the perspective of a Kampo medicine practitioners and discuss the path to successful peony cultivation. Additionally, we delve into the innovations and outcomes pertaining to peony cultivation. Moreover, we report the challenges and prospects for the domestic production of crude drugs for Kampo preparation from the perspective of multiple professions.

Goreisan, a well-known hydrostatic modulating formulation, is used clinically in the treatment of edematous disorders. In this study, in order to clarify hydrostatic modulation in the intestine, we analyzed the effect of Goreisan in an experimental diarrhea model created with the single oral pretreatment of magnesium sulfate in mice. Ninjinto (166mg/kg, p.o.) did not lead to improvements in this model, whereas Goreisan (133mg/kg, p.o.) significantly abated the diarrhea.The warm Goreisan extraction (at 37°C, for 0.5hr) showed anti-diarrheal activity that was significantly stronger than the decoction. On investigating the anti-diarrheal activity of Goreisan by comparing the difference in crude drugs made from Atractylodis Rhizoma (Byakujutsu) and Atractylodis Lanceae Rhizoma (Sojutsu), no distinction between Byakujutsu-Goreisan and Sojutsu-Goreisan was recognized. Atractylodis Rhizoma, Polyporus, Poria, and Cinnamomi Cortex, which were administered singly, showed anti-diarrheal activities, but these were weak in comparison with Goreisan. Concoctions in which either Atractylodis Rhizoma, Polyporus, Poria, Alismatis Rhizoma, or Cinnamomi Cortex were omitted from Goreisan showed decreased anti-diarrheal activity as compared with Goreisan. The anti-diarrheal activity was clearly lower in the concoctions of warm extractions whereby the five kinds of crude drugs were extracted separately, compared with the warm extraction of Goreisan in which all crude drugs were extracted simultaneously.These findings suggest that the anti-diarrheal activity of Goreisan in this model was not dependent on a specific crude drug, it being optimal to extract the five kinds of crude drug simultaneously.
Diarrhea ; Models ; Chemical extraction ; cortex bone disorders ; lower case pea