In the last class, we introduced basic information and structure of this course From this class we'll come to the detailed contents The first unit is called 'The concept of Chinese Herbal Medicine and its culture attribute' In another word, what is Chinese herbal medicine Regarding the term of Chinese herbal medicine if you ask around Just ask what is Chinese herbal medicine people may think your question is weird because it's almost not a question at all for common Chinese people But if you keep on asking about the history of this title how long has it been in use how it obtained its name Very few people can answer Each time I give lecture to students major in Chinese Materia Medica I'll always ask the same question the anwer varies in students Some would say 'Since Chinese Herbal Medicine is part of Chinese culture a culture with a history of 5,000 years this title must have been used for 5,000 years He is not wrong but he is not accurate either Some would think from the formation of the theoretical system of Chinese Herbal Medicine the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Sheng Nong's Herbal Classic) From that time to this day it has been over 2,000 years So the title of Chinese Herbal Medicine must have been used for over 2,000 years Likewise, this answer is not accurate either Actually, from our standpoint Originally, Chinese Herbal Medicine did not contain the word 'Chinese' it just means 'medicine' or "toxic medicine" Of course, the 'toxic' with a quotation mark Broadly speaking all medicines are somehow toxic All medicines that can treat diseases can be called toxic medicines Ever since when we started to call them Chinese herbal medicine Obviously, it has something to do with the introduction of Western Medicine to China We know the it has been only 200 years since the Western medicine has been introduced to China Western Medicine practitioners need to precribe medicine just like Chinese medical doctors do In order to avoid any unnecessary confusion and distinguish one from the other We inserted 'Chinese' into the original herbal medicine which later became a brand new name... Chinese herbal medicine From that perspective it is a general title for traditional medicine But this title has lasted for only 200 years That is the first concept I want to mention Secondly I'd like to introduce the definition of Chinese Herbal Medicine How will you define Chinese herbal medicine? Right on it there are a lot of misunderstandings The most popular, the most common misunderstandings lie in two areas One is related to the geographical origin Another is related to the species it is also related to the source As for the geographical origin whenever we say Chinese herbal medicine (Zhong Yao) You may think the word 'Zhong' means 'Chinese' thenn you may take it for granted that Chinese herbal medicine are planted in China and used in China Actually, this is not accurate We can't deny that the reason why China is the birth place of Chinese herbal medicine primarily correlates with the fact that 70% of them originated in China However, not all herbs produced in China are categorized as Chinese herbal medicine Even those herbs that have been used in China can't be named as Chinese herbal medicine This is related to their use On the other hand herbs from China can be exported to the overseas market One example Berberine, a medicine indicated for diarrhea a component extracted from Huang Lian (Rhizoma Coptidis) also known as berberine hydrochloride But when we use berberine now few people will realize it comes from a Chinese herb It is not named as a herbal medicine but just a extracted component from Huang Lian (Rhizoma Coptidis) This is one fact we have to admit For another thing known to all we also have a extensively used herb for cancer treatment Bai Hua She She Cao (Herba Hedyotis diffusa) Its anti-tumor efficacy has been recognised and accepted internationally The real purpose for importing this herb from China is not for clinical use or anti-cancer treatment The real purpuse is to extract the effiective components in the laboratory and to study this specific anti-tumor component Once the component is found in anti-tumor effect the product will no longer be labelled as Chinese herb This is a status we need to be well aware of On the other hand we need to be aware that more than 30% of herbs are non-original to China but overseas There are two different forms One type is the new species introduced and successfully cultivated to China take American ginseng for an example As the name implies, Amercan Ginseng is mainly from the USA and Canada But it's been introduced and successfully cultivated in China its output has remained high But we can't name it an original species of China Some Chinese herbs need to be imported from other countries Therefore majority of Chinese herbs are from but not limited to China Another thing we have to face Herbs used in China are not necessariy Chinese herbs They may also be used in other countries but sometimes are still known as Chinese herbs This depends on the theoretical system This is the first trap in understanding What is the second one It's the assumption that Chinese herbs are plants or Chinese herbs are natural medicine It is both right and wrong We call them herbs why because more than 70% of them are associated with plants 70%- 80%, that is really a large percentage But we should also be aware that at least 30% are not plants such as animals like the earthworm, scorpio the testudinis, and the tortoise shell They are all Chinese medicine but not plants but animals some are minerals such as gypsum, mirabilite, and mica colorata all these are minerals this is one thing we need to be clear but there is another thing we need to know Chemical refining and synthesizing technologies have been well deveopled in China long time ago to prepare for medicine This can be traced back as early as the Qin Dynasty, the emperor and his loyal people pursued immortality by alchemy which is the chemical preparation of medicine The agent we still use today for example, Shen Qu (Massa Medicata Fermentata) is a chemical synthetic drug So we should not take it for granted that Chinse herbs are natural plants I'd like to say more about natural medicine in a real sense natural medicine are wild including plants, animals, and minerals But we now know that absolutly natural products today are very rare no matter plants or animals. We have Turtle Pellets made from turtle carapace and tortoise plastron actually tortoise and turtle But the raw material, turtles are mostly artificial breeding ones not natural Historically, things were different from today most herbs were natural undoubtedly But as a rare case ginseng's artificial cultivation was recorded since the Tang Dynasty(618–907 AD) Therefore, no matter natural or plants are not absolute you may wonder neither this nor that is Chinese herb then what is Let's give Chinese herb a definition It refers to herbs used under the guidance of traditional Chinese medical theory This definition is important As for the theory of Chinese herbal medicine we'll talk about later I'll also introduce fundamental theories of Chinese medicine Here is an example for it When we treat patients some of them may ask about their body constitution heat constitution or cold constitution some may ask 'Can I take American ginseng?' or 'Can I take Steamed ginseng?' and etc Actually, we need to combine basic knowledge about Chinese medicine to answer these questions Patients do not know how to use these knowledge Why According to fundamental theories of Chinese medicine we treat problems according to the principle of 'using cold-property herbs for heat syndrome and vice versa' That is, if you have a heat constitution or your condition is diagnosed as heat we'll adopt a cooling method by using cool-property herbs For example, if one patient complained of restlessness, a dry mouth dry stools, bloody stools a very red tongue We can diagnose him as a heat constitution or heat syndrome. As for the treatment cold or cool-property herbs are used Of these cold or cool-property herbs I'd like to give you an example American ginseng American ginseng and steamed ginseng are both regarded as ginseng however, they are different in properties patients with a heat constitution should be treated with cold or cool-property herbs Therefore, between the two, the correct choice is American ginseng, because cold-natured American ginseng is cold in property. After taking American ginseng The patient's symptoms (dry mouth and dry stools) allevaited his restlessness disappeared Here comes the thing If steamed ginseng is used for patients with a heat constitution we do have some patients, saying 'Hi, Dr. Yang! After taking steamed ginseng I've become more and more restless my nose bleeds and my blood pressure is elevated Why Because it's like 'adding fuel to flame' He should have taken the cool-property American ginseng Instead, he took the warm-property steamed ginseng wrong choice This is what we say the theroetial guidance Here we will see another patient He complained of severe cold intolerance and cold hands lassitude profuse urine and loose stools We can conclude that the patient has a cold constitution or cold syndrome According to the fundamental theory of Chinese medicine we should treat cold problems using warm-property herbs Cold constitution or cold sydnrome needs to be treated with a warm method or warm-property herbs This time, when you are asked to choose between steamed ginseng and American ginseng Of course the steamed ginseng because it is warm in nature Quite possibly, steamed ginseng may work well for this patient the cold intolerance alleviated his hands became warm, and his stools also became normal The good outcome is all based on the correct treatment But if American ginseng is used instead of steamed ginseng you can imagine the result It is more like 'adding insult to injury' Therefore, sometimes we hear people complaining after taking American ginseng They became cold intolerant and experience abdominal pain and increased bowel movements That indicates a wrong use of American ginseng From all of the above the practice of Chinese herbal medicine should always be guided by the theory What theory the theory about Chinese medicine The contents of this class seems easy but is truly the core of Chinese medicine Future application of Chinese herbs to health cultivation and disease prevention and treatment has to be guided by Chinese medical theory This is what I want to emphasize That is all for today Thank you
