Antiallergy drugs from Oriental medicines

Although Oriental medicines have long been used effectively in treating many diseases throughout the world, the pharmacological mechanisms of most Oriental medicines used have not been defined. As part of our continuing search for biologically active antiallergic drugs from natural sources, Oriental medicines were analyzed. Some Oriental medicines have been used against various allergic diseases for generations, and still occupies an important place in traditional medicine in Korea. It is also still unclear how Oriental medicine prevents allergic disease in experimental animal models. Some Korean folk medicines inhibited the mast cell-mediated allergic reaction. This review summarizes the effective folk medicine in experimental effect of allergic reaction. Potential antiallergic folk medicines include: Poncirus trifoliata; Siegesbeckia glabrescence; Solanum lyratum; Aquilaria agallocha; Ulmi radicis; Polygonum tinctorium; Hwanglyun-Haedok-Tang; Rehmannia glutinosa; Kum- Hwag-San; Syzygium aromaticm; Spirulina platensis; Sosiho-Tang; Sinomenium acutum; Schizonepta tenuifolia; Shini-San; Magnoliae flos; Sochungryoung-Tang; Oryza sativa; Cryptotympana atrata; Salviae radix; Rosa davurica; Asiasari radix; Chung-Dae-San; and Cichorium intybus. Understanding the mechanisms of action for these Oriental medicines can permit drug development and laying of the ground-work for evaluating potential synergistic effects by addition and subtraction of prescriptions.