China has been carrying out research into the side-effects and
toxicity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to ensure that
people can use these centuries-old pharmaceuticals safely, said an
official on Wednesday.
The belief that all TCM remedies are non-toxic and harmless to
health is a common misconception, said She Jing, head of the State
Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia, a medical encyclopaedia published in
2000, listed 72 kinds of TCM substances that are toxic in nature,
she said.
In ancient times, TCM doctors knew that which substances were
toxic, but the key was to tailor the herb prescriptions to specific
cases, said Du Guiyou, a researcher at the China Academy of
Traditional Chinese Medicine.
"Responsible doctors adjust prescriptions according to the
patient's condition. They do not apply the same prescription to
every patient," said Du.
"Patients taking TCM without a diagnosis or without a doctor's
prescription are asking for trouble," he said.
According to She, the administration has established three
toxicity evaluation centers and four clinical testing centers for
traditional Chinese medicine. Expert teams have also been set up to
carry out laboratory tests and research toxic compounds used in
TCM.
Five years ago, Du and his 24 fellow researchers were given 1
million yuan (US$125,000) to discover whether aristolochic acid
contained in some TCM compounds could cause kidney damage,
sometimes referred to overseas as "Chinese herbs nephropathy."
The team's conclusion was that the ancient prescription of
Longdan xiegan wan, a well-known and widely used TCM for liver
problems, was not a problematic one. However, in the 1830s, some
doctors changed the prescription by adding a herb called Caulis
aristolochia manshuriensis (guan mu tong in China) when making the
remedy. Caulis aristolochia manshuriensis contains the toxicant
aristolochic acid.
In 2003 the State Food and Drug Administration banned the use of
guan mu tong when Longdan xiegan wan after some cases of kidney
problems - such as uremia - were reported as being linked to
consummation of the drug.
The administration then required pharmaceutical companies to
replace guan mu tong with mu tong, another kind of herb which does
not cause the same problems.
TCM has been used in China for hundreds of years. Research must
continue in order that, through careful study and better
understanding, adverse reactions and side-effects, even toxicity
itself, can be detected and further regulations made, added Du.
"This kind of research is very important in preserving TCM and
making it serve the people. We need more of it," he said, also
calling on China's adverse reaction reporting system to be
improved.
(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2006)