BEIJING -- China has been carrying out research into the side-effects and
toxicity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to ensure that people can use
centuries-old pharmaceuticals safely, said insiders 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, published in 2000, listed 72 kinds of TCM
substances that are toxic in nature, she said.
TCM doctors in ancient times knew that some TCM substances were toxic, but
the key was to adjust herb prescriptions in specific cases, said Du Guiyou, a
researcher at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
"Responsible TCM 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 diagnosis or without a doctor's prescription are
asking for trouble," he said.
According to She, the administration has established three TCM toxicity
evaluation centers and four TCM clinical testing centers. 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
(125,000 U.S. dollars) 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 problematic.
However, in the 1830s, some doctors changed the prescription by adding a herb
called Caulis aristolochia manshuriensis (Chinese name guan mu tong) 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
in making Longdan xiegan wan after some cases of kidney problems - such as
uremia - were reported after taking 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 so
that, with better understanding, adverse reactions and side-effects or even
toxicity can be detected and further regulations made, said Du.
"This kind of research is very important in preserving TCM and making it
serve the people. We need more of it," he said.
The country's adverse reaction reporting system also needs to be further
improved, he added.
