• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.112-123
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• 1991

Traditional drugs(herbal and animal drugs) of Korea, China and Japan have developed essentially from the same origin, since the traditional medicine of three countries has been originated from ancient China. Due to different geographical locations and discrepancy of plant resources of the traditional drugs, some divergency in terms of systematic botany in traditional drug materials has appeared in the three countries. Present report aims to survey traditional herbal drugs that have been called same traditional names in three countries, but they are actually different with respect to systematic botanical view-point. The official drug compendia(pharmacopoeia and natural drug standards) of three countries were subject to examination. Survey was conducted by the following categories. Traditional drugs were listed under same name, however, 1) they belong to different genus; 7 traditional herbal drugs were listed. 2) they belong to same genus, but different species; 24 traditional herbal drugs were found. 3) a variety of related species are used; 15 traditional drugs were listed. 4) actually same plant, but taxonomical name is differently called and/or different parts of plant are used; 10 traditional drugs were counted. 5) animal drugs belong to one of the above categories; 7 traditional animal drugs were found. Total 63 traditional drugs(herbal and animal) were found to comprise different taxonomical names when the official drug compendia of Korea, China and Japan were examined.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.506-522
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• 2023

COVID-19 is an acute infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that has infected more than 700 million people around the world and left many deaths. In Korea and China, Korean medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine were used to treat COVID-19, and the key element between them was herbal medicine. Clinical guidelines for herbal medicine have been published in Korea and China. In this review, the Korean and Chinese guidelines were compared and analyzed. This review was based on the latest revised clinical guidelines. The Korean guidelines covered all three guidelines published by The Association of Korean Medicine and The KM Professor Council of Internal Medicine of the Respiratory System. The Chinese guideline was published by the China National Health Commission. Based on research trends, a comprehensive comparison was made of the suggested prescriptions for each severity of COVID-19. It is expected that this review will be used as a reference for the treatment of COVID-19 or new infectious diseases in the future.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to review the research trends in the treatment on narcolepsy in traditional Chinese medicine. Methods: We searched articles in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) October 2009-September 2019. Keywords were 发作性睡病, 嗜睡病, and 嗜睡症. Results: Among a total of 81 articles, 12 articles were selected. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders was most frequently used as a diagnostic criteria. Feng Chi (GB20) and Baek Hoi (GV20) are the most commonly used acupoints in acupuncture treatment. Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草), Atractylodis Rhizoma Alba (白朮), and Poria (Hoelen) (茯苓) are the most commonly used preparations in herbal medicine. The effective rate is most commonly used as an outcome measurement. Conclusions: Acupuncture and herbal medicine could be considered to improve the symptoms of narcolepsy. In the future, this study could be primary data for the development of more clinical research on the treatment on narcolepsy in Korean medicine.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.96-102
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• 2009

Objectives: Traditional Korean herbal formulae are composed of multiple medicinal plants. This situation of multiple-ingredient mixtures has been considered as a major obstacle to new drug development using herbal formulae in the world market, despite the effectiveness of such mixtures. This study reviewed Liv-52 as a representative model of successful drug development using a multiple-herb mixture. Methods: All articles for Liv-52 were collected from the PubMed database. The history, composition of Liv-52, its pharmaceutical efficacy and mechanisms, and data from clinical studies including its market size were analyzed. Results: Liv-52 is composed of seven herbal plants and it is the best known in Ayurvedic medicine for treating liver disorders. Since its 1955 introduction, forty four international papers have been published based on pre-clinical and clinical trials. The efficacy and mechanisms of Liv-52 were intensively studied. Currently, Liv-52 is one of the top-selling products, with over 10 million dollars sales annually, in the world market. Conclusions: These results indicate that Korean herbal formulae could be new global drugs if scientific evidence for efficacy and standardization are produced via literature researches.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3 s.71
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• pp.244-260
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• 2007

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to provide lawmakers with basic data for the purpose of establishing a policy on health insurance for packed herbal medicine. Methods : To properly execute an insurance system for packed herbal medicine, we surveyed the following questions from May 1st to June 15th, 2006: (1)the way to pay the insurance benefits (2)specific impression (disease) names as related to insurance (3)the range of insurance coverage. We obtained answers from 304 Korea traditional doctors. Results : 89.4% respondents were agreed on execution of health insurance for packed herbal medicine. 93.86% respondents answered that the way to pay insurance benefits and the range of insurance coverage have to be changed properly. Most respondents answered that the coverage should be based on a specific disease being treated, not the current symptoms method which relates to the prescription. The execution of health insurance for packed herbal medicine is expected to increase the number of patients and make the Korean medical system more popular. Conclusion : The findings are expected to make it easier for the general public to get treatment by providing basic data with policy makers that will cover packed herbal medicine in insurance. Also, a proper Korea traditional health insurance program should be set up as soon as possible to widen the choice of medicine for the general public.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.171-173
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• 2006

Trichomonicidal activity of thirty methanolic herbal extracts used in traditional medicine in Korea was evaluated. Trichomonas vaginalis was used as experimental model, and anti-Trichomonas activity was determined over cultures of the parasite in TYM Diamond medium. Six methanolic extracts such as Acanthopanacis Cortex, Agrimoniae Herba, Pulsatillae Radix, Sanguisorbae Radix, Sophorae Radix, and Torilidis Fructus showed more than 50% trichomonicidal activity at the concentration of 200 g/ml. These extracts were further fractionated into n-butanol soluble and aqueous phases. Except for Acanthopanacis Cortex, all of n-butanol soluble phases showed potent trichomonicidal activity, while none of aqueous phases exhibited trichomonicidal activity.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.337-342
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• 2009

Acquired pigmentary skin diseases such as abnormal melanogenesis, vitiligo, chloasma and inflammatory pigmentation are related to regulate the melanin production, In this study, an ethanol extract of Hovenia dulcis Thunb.(EHD) makedly inhibited melanin biosynthesis and suppressed, the protein expression of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1(TRP-1), and tyrosinase-related protein 2(TRP-2) in B16F10 cells. On the other hand, EHD did not inhibit mushroom tyrosinase activity. These results indicate that EHD may contribute to the inhibition of melanin biosynthesis through regulating tyrosinase activity and expression, and serve as a new candidate in the design of new skin-whitening or therapeutic agents.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.578-586
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to investigate the diagnosis and treatment of Sjogren's syndrome(SS) such as syndrome differentiation and herbal medicine by reviewing Chinese traditional medicine's journals. The journal search was carried out using China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) and PubMed from January 2007 to July 2012. Searching key words were the various combination of "Sjogren's syndrome", "Traditional Chinese Medicine", "herbal medicine", and "syndrome differentiation". The final selection of 57 studies were extracted and summarized by two researchers independently. The syndrome differentiation was classified as yin deficiency with fluid depletion, yin deficiency with dryness heat, dryness toxin with yin damage, internal obstruction of static blood, dual deficiency of qi and yang, dampness-heat obstructing, wind with external contraction, liver qi depression, blood deficiency and wind-dryness, dual deficiency of yin and yang, and internal obstruction of phlegm-blood stasis. Liriope platyphylla(麥門冬), Rehmania glutinosa(生地黃), and Scrophularia buergeriana(玄蔘) were primarily prescribed to tonify yin, engender fluid and moisten dryness.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.102-116
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analyze the research trends of randomized controlled trials on herbal medicine treatment for atopic dermatitis in China for the last 5 years. We searched for randomized controlled trials with the intervention of herbal medicine for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in the CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) from January 2014 to December 2018. For the screening of the paper, we used '特应性皮炎' and '异位性皮炎' which mean atopic dermatitis and search was limited to three areas within Medicine & Public Health: Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs, Combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine with Western Medicine. Among the 136 searched studies, we selected a total of 34 studies and analyzed a year of publication, subject characteristics, study design and intervention, prescribed herbal medicine and herbs, pattern identification, evaluation criteria, and outcomes. Longmu decoction (龍牡湯) and Polia Sclerotium (茯笭) was the most frequently prescribed medicine and herb. The most commonly used pattern identification was Blood deficiency and Wind-dryness (血虛風燥), and among them, the most frequently prescribed herb is Rehmanniae Radix (生地黃). In most studies using the total effectiveness and SCORAD index as an outcome measure, the herbal medicine treatment group showed statistically better results than the control group. As a result of the safety assessment, the herbal medicine treatment group was reported having significantly fewer side effects compared to the control group. Hence, it was confirmed that the intervention including herbal medicine had a significant effect on atopic dermatitis. This study would be able to provide the basis of clinical research on atopic dermatitis and applied to the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.141-149
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• 2010

A concern of safety issue for traditional herbal medicine is the possibility of some herbs containing heavy metals responsible for several cases of metal poisoning. In our previous study, the physiological levels of heavy metals, such as Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb, were examined to evaluate a potential risk in patients taking herbal medicine. In this study, the levels of 12 heavy metals, including non-metallic element, Se, were analyzed in hair and compared to the results from the previous study. In the previous study, the levels of Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb in hair showed a significantly lower odds ratio than 1. In this study, however, all metals did not show any significant odds ratio higher or lower than 1 even if 5 of 12 metals showed lower odds ratio than 1. In addition, the levels of metal concentrations, especially for Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn, exceeding the WHO reference values were observed in hair. However, any evidence for metal accumulation in hair caused by taking herbal medicines for long duration was not observed in analysis of multiple regression and odds ratio from case-control study. This result would show another possibility for a role of herbs as a non-enzymatic chelator inhibiting the gastrointestinal absorption of heavy metals.