Pharmacological Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Summary
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is founded on millennia of empirical practice and encompasses a diverse array of herbal formulations, animal-derived products and mineral substances. Contemporary pharmacological evaluation aims to elucidate active constituents, mechanisms of action and safety profiles through standardised assays and modern analytical technologies. High-throughput screening, omics platforms and network pharmacology strategies have enabled the systematic identification of bioactive phytochemicals and their molecular targets. Rigorous investigations of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics inform dosage optimisation and minimise toxicity. Quality control measures such as fingerprint profiling, chromatographic analysis and genomic authentication ensure consistency across batches. In vivo models and clinical trials further validate therapeutic efficacy and safety, bridging traditional knowledge with evidence-based medicine. Such integrative approaches have broad relevance for drug discovery, offering novel leads for inflammation, metabolic disorders and cancer and supporting global healthcare integration.
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Pharmacological Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine publication trend
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Technical terms
Pharmacokinetics: Study of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.
Adverse drug reaction (ADR): Unintended harmful response to a medication at normal doses.
Network pharmacology: Systems-level approach connecting bioactive compounds with molecular targets and pathways.
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC): Analytical technique for separating and quantifying components in complex mixtures.
Randomised controlled trial (RCT): Study design allocating participants by chance to compare the effects of interventions.
References
- Traditional Chinese medicine injections: where we are after 80-year development. Chinese Medicine (2022).
- The Incidence and Risk Factors for Adverse Drug Reactions Related to Tanreqing Injection: A Large Population-Based Study in China. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2020).
- A meta-analysis of the clinical efficacy of Tanreqing injection combined with antibiotics vs antibiotics alone for treating pulmonary infection secondary to intracerebral hemorrhage. Medicine (2021).
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