Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T02:18:04.341Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Elizabeth I. Opara
Elizabeth I. Opara
Affiliation:
School of Life SciencesKingston UniversityKingston upon ThamesSurrey KT1 [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Image of the first page of this content. For PDF version, please use the ‘Save PDF’ preceeding this image.'
Type
Invited commentary
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 91 , Issue 2 , February 2004 , pp. 171 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2004

References

Awang, DVC (1991) Maternal use of ginseng and neonatal androgenisation. JAMA 266, 363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bao, X, Duan, J, Fang, X & Fang, J (2001 a) Chemical modifications of the (1-3) - α- d -glucan from spores of Ganoderma lucidum and investigation of their physiochemical properties and immunological activity. Carbohydr Res 336, 127–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bao, X, Liu, C, Fang, J & Li, X (2001 b) Structural and immunological studies of a major polysaccharide from spores of Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst. Carbohydr Res 332, 67–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodeker, G (2001) Lessons on integration from the developing world's experience. Br Med J 322, 164–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brooks, PM & Lowenthal, RM (1977) Chinese herbal arthritis cure and agranulocytosis. Med J Aust 2, 860–861.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
But, P & Chang, C (1996) Chinese herbal medicines in the treatment of asthma and allergies. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol 14, 253–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
But, PP (1994) Herbal poisoning caused by adulterants or erroneous substitutes. J Trop Med Hyg 97, 371–374.Google ScholarPubMed
Chan, TY, Chan, JC, Tomlinson, B & Critchley, JA (1993) Chinese herbal medicines revisited: a Hong Kong perspective. Lancet 342, 1532–1534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, TY & Critchley, JA (1996) Usage and adverse effect of Chinese herbal medicines. Hum Exp Toxicol 15, 5–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, L-C, Chen, Y-F, Chou, M-H, Lin, M-F, Yang, L-L & Yen, K-Y (2002) Pharmacokinetic interactions between carbamazepine and the traditional Chinese medicine Paeoniae Radix. Biol Pharm Bull 25, 532–535.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chiu, SW, Wang, ZM, Leung, TM & Moore, D (2000) Nutritional value of Ganoderma extract and assessment of its genotoxicity and antigenotoxicity using comet assays of mouse lymphocytes. Food Chem Toxicol 38, 173–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Claman, HN (2002) Glucocorticoids in herbal formulas? J Allergy Clin Immunol 109, 1038.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ernst, E (2000) Herbal medicines: where is the evidence? Growing evidence of effectiveness is counterbalanced by inadequate regulation. Br Med J 321, 395–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ernst, E (2001) Herbal medicinal products: an overview of systematic reviews and meta analyses. Perfusion 14, 398–401.Google Scholar
Ernst, E (2003) Herbal medicines put into context. Br Med J 327, 881–882.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fugh-Berman, A (2000) Herb-drug interactions. Lancet 355, 134–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hesketh, T & Zhu, WX (1997) Health in China: traditional Chinese medicine: one country, two systems. Br Med J 315, 115–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jong, SC & Birmingham, JM (1992) Medicinal benefits of the mushroom Ganoderma. Adv Appl Microbiol 37, 101–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kawagishi, H, Mitsunaga, S-I, Yamawaki, M, Ido, M, Shimada, A, Kinoshita, T, Murata, T, Usui, T, Kimura, A & Chiba, S (1997) A lectin from mycelia of the fungus Ganoderma lucidum. Phytochemistry 44, 7–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keane, FM, Munn, SE, du Vivier, WP, Taylor, NF & Higgins, EM (1999) Analysis of Chinese herbal creams prescribed for dermatological conditions. Br Med J 318, 563–564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koren, G, Randor, S, Martin, S & Dannerman, D (1990) Maternal ginseng use associated with neonatal androgenisation. JAMA 264, 2866.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koyama, K, Imaizumi, T, Akiba, M, Kinoshita, K, Takahashi, K, Suzuki, A, Yano, S, Horie, S, Watanabe, K & Naoi, Y (1997) Antinociceptive components of Ganoderma lucidum. Planta Med 63, 224–227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, X-M, Huang, C-K, Zhang, T-F, Teper, AA, Srivastava, K, Schofield, BH & Sampson, HA (2000) The Chinese herbal medicine formula MSSM-002 suppresses allergic airway hyperactivity and modulates T H 1/T H 2 responses in a murine model of allergic asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 106, 660–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, X-M & Sampson, HA (2003) FAHF-1 purporting to block peanut-induced anaphylaxis: reply. J Allergy Clin Immunol 111, 1140–1141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, X-M, Zhang, T-F, Huang, C-K, Srivastava, K, Teper, AA, Zhang, L, Schofield, BH & Sampson, HA (2001) Food Allergy Herbal Formula-1 (FAHF-1) blocks peanut-induced anaphylaxis in a murine model. J Allergy Clin Immunol 108, 639–646.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lin, J-M, Lin, C-C, Chen, M-F, Ujiie, T & Takada, A (1995) Radical scavenger and antihepatotoxic activity of Ganoderma formosanum, Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma neo-japonicum. J Ethnopharmacol 47, 33–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, X, Yuan, J-P, Chung, C-K & Chen, X-C (2002) Antitumour activity of the sporoderm-broken germinating spores of Ganoderma lucidum. Cancer Lett 182, 155–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lord, GM, Tagore, R, Cook, T, Gower, P & Pusey, CD (1999) Nephropathy caused by Chinese herbs in the UK. Lancet 354, 481–482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mills, SY (2001) Regulation in complementary and alternative medicine. Br Med J 322, 158–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nortier, JL, Martinez, M-CM, Schmeiser, HH, Arlt, VA, Bieler, CA, Petein, M, Depirreux, MF, Pauw, LD, Abramowicz, D, Vereerstraeten, P & Vanherweghem, J-L (2000) Urothelial carcinoma associated with the use of a Chinese herb (Aristolochia fangchi). N Engl J Med 342, 1686–1692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, GJ-H, Mann, SP & Ngu, MC (2001) Acute hepatitis induced by Shou-Wu-Pian, a herbal product derived from Polygomum multiflorum. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 16, 115–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheid, V (2000) The globalization of Chinese medicine. Lancet 354, Suppl. 4, SIV10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, J-L, Zhan, S-Y & Ernst, E (1999) Review of randomised controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine. Br Med J 319, 160–161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Towers, GHN (2003) FAFH-1 purporting to block peanut-induced anaphylaxis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 111, 1140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Unschuld, PU (1999) The past 1000 years of Chinese medicine. Lancet 354, Suppl. 4, SIV9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vanherweghem, J-L, Depierreux, M, Tielemans, C et al. (1993) Rapidly progressive interstitial renal fibrosis in young women, association with slimming regimen including Chinese herbs. Lancet 341, 387–391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wachtel-Galor, S, Szeto, YT, Tomlison, B & Benzie, IFF (2004 a) Ganoderma lucidum (‘Lingzhi’): acute and short-term biomarker response to supplementation. Int J Food Sci Nutr 55, 75–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wachtel-Galor, S, Tomlinson, B & Benzie, IFF (2004 b) Ganoderma lucidum (‘Lingzhi’), a Chinese medicinal mushroom: biomarker responses in a controlled human supplementation study. Br J Nutr 91, 263–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, SY, Hsu, ML, Tzeng, CH, Lee, SS, Shiao, MS & Ho, CK (1997) The anti-tumour effect of Ganoderma lucidum is mediated by cytokines released from activated macrophages and T lymphocytes. Int J Cancer 70, 699–705.3.0.CO;2-5>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Y-Y, Khoo, K-H, Chen, S-T, Lin, C-C, Wong, C-H & Lin, C-H (2002) Studies on the immunomodulating and antitumor activities of Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) polysaccharides: functional and proteomic analyses of a fucose-containing glycoprotein fraction responsible for the activities. Bioorg Med Chem 10, 1057–1062.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, ZG & Ren, J (2002) Current status and future direction of Chinese herbal medicine. Trends Pharmacol Sci 23, 347–348.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wasser, SP & Weis, AL (1999) Therapeutic effects of substances occurring in higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms: a modern perspective. Crit Rev Immunol 19, 65–96.Google ScholarPubMed
Wong, MK, Tan, P & Wee, YC (1993) Heavy metals in some Chinese herbal plants. Biol Trace Elem Res 36, 135–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xu, QF, Fang, XL & Chen, DF (2003) Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of ginsenoside Rb1 and Rg1 from Panax notogeniseng in rats. J Ethnopharmacol 84, 187–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed