East Wind, West Wind: Toward the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has used herbal remedies for more than 2,000 years. The use of complimentary therapies has increased dramatically during the last years, especially in the West, and the incorporation and modernization of TCM in current medical practice is gaining momentum. We reflect on the main bottlenecks in the modernization of arcane Chinese herbal medicine: lack of standardization, safety concerns and poor quality of clinical trials, as well as the ways these are being overcome. Progress in these areas will facilitate the implementation of an efficacy approach, in which only successful clinical trials lead to the molecular characterization of active compounds and their mechanism of action. Traditional pharmacological methodologies will produce novel leads and drugs, and we describe TCM successes such as the discovery of artemisinin as well as many others still in the pipeline. Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease are the main cause of mortality in the Western world and, with an increasing old population in South East Asia, this trend will also increase in the Far East. TCM has been used for long time for treating these diseases in China and other East Asian countries. However, the holistic nature of TCM requires a paradigm shift. By changing our way of thinking, from “one-target, one-drug” to “network-target, multiple-component-therapeutics,” network pharmacology, together with other system biology methodologies, will pave the way toward TCM modernization.

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“…Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a unique healthcare system with a long history in China and is gaining increasing recognition worldwide. [14,15] Chinese herbal medicines contain numerous plant-derived natural products, with multiple pharmaceutical applications. The chemical compounds of Chinese herbal medicines are the material basis for the efficacy, and differences in pharmacological activity and utility before and after processing are attributed to the changes in chemical composition.…”

Exploring the transformative impact of traditional Chinese medicine on depression: Insights from animal models

“…Most TCM preparations consist of Chinese patent medicine, TCM granules, and various TCM clinical preparations. Although acupuncture and herbal remedies have been used for at least 2,200 years, the first recorded account of Chinese Medicine is found in the Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic) from the third century BCE[ 12 ].…”

Lab-on-a-chip: an advanced technology for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine

“…The modernization of TCM aims to preserve, clarify, and promote the theories and practices of this ancient healing system. This involves enhancing research, exploration, production, management, and application of modern TCM by integrating traditional features and leveraging modern scientific technologies [ 21 , 22 ]. Over the past three decades, this strategy has been in place, encompassing diverse domains relevant to TCM, such as genetic resources, quality control, new drug development, and industrialization.…”