Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) takes the healthy body as a balanced and
well-coordinated whole, not only among its own parts but also with the living
environment.
By Wen Zongduo
The Western world should learn to
appreciate the value of the treasures of traditional Chinese medicine.
Although Tu Youyou, a winner of the
2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, was applauded in Stockholm when the
Chinese pharmacologist declared that "the discovery of artemisinin is a
gift to mankind from Traditional Chinese Medicine"; not all agreed with
her view.
Even some at home pointed out Tu and
her team used bio-chemical means to extract the active artemisinin from sweet
wormwood half a century ago.
Yet Tu's inspiration is deeply
rooted in thousands of years of TCM practice. The book that inspired her work,
Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies (Zhouhou Beiji Fang), can be dated
back to at least the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).
Although the traditional way of
using these treatments has benefited Chinese for long, the processing
highlighted by the Nobel prize carries its own advantages in prescription,
actual taking of the medicine and logistic services. Further exploration offers
abundant opportunities.
The earliest book of Chinese herbs,
The Divine Farmer's Classic on Roots and Herbs (Shennong Bencao Jing) cites 365
kinds of herbs including sweet wormwood.
These are a gold mine for Chinese
and multinational drug developers, which can be exploited to benefit millions
of people.
Read more, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment