The Medicinal Usage and Restriction of Ginseng in Britain and America, 1660-1900.

This article demonstrates the medicinal usage of ginseng in the West from 1660 to 1914. Asian[Korea] ginseng was first introduced into England in the early 17th century, and North American ginseng was found in the early 18th century. Starting from the late 17th century doctors prescribed ginseng to cure many different kinds of ailments and disease such as: fatigue general lethargy, fever, torpidity, trembling in the joints, nervous disorder, laughing and crying hysteria, scurvy, spermatic vessel infection, jaundice, leprosy, dry gripes and constipation, strangury, yellow fever, dysentery, infertility and addictions of alcohol, opium and tobacco, etc. In the mid-18th century Materia Medica began to specify medicinal properties of ginseng and the patent medicines containing ginseng were widely circulated. However, starting in the late 18th century the medicinal properties of ginseng began to be disparaged and major pharmacopoeias removed ginseng from their contents. The reform of the pharmacopoeia, influenced by Linnaeus in botany and Lavoisier in chemistry, introduced nomenclature that emphasized identifying ingredients and active constituents. Western medicine at this period, however, failed to identify and to extract the active constituents of ginseng. Apart from the technical underdevelopment of the period, the medical discourses reveal that the so-called chemical experiment of ginseng were conducted with unqualified materials and without proper differentiation of various species of ginseng.

Discovery of Bioactive Compounds by the UIC-ICBG Drug Discovery Program in the 18 Years Since 1998.

The International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) Program based at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is a program aimed to address the interdependent issues of inventory and conservation of biodiversity, drug discovery and sustained economic growth in both developing and developed countries. It is an interdisciplinary program involving the extensive synergies and collaborative efforts of botanists, chemists and biologists in the countries of Vietnam, Laos and the USA. The UIC-ICBG drug discovery efforts over the past 18 years have resulted in the collection of a cumulative total of more than 5500 plant samples (representing more than 2000 species), that were evaluated for their potential biological effects against cancer, HIV, bird flu, tuberculosis and malaria. The bioassay-guided fractionation and separation of the bioactive plant leads resulted in the isolation of approximately 300 compounds of varying degrees of structural complexity and/or biological activity. The present paper summarizes the significant drug discovery achievements made by the UIC-ICBG team of multidisciplinary collaborators in the project over the period of 1998-2012 and the projects carried on in the subsequent years by involving the researchers in Hong Kong.

Cardiovascular aspects of geriatric medicines in traditional Persian medicine; a review of phytochemistry and pharmacology.

BACKGROUND: Geriatrics are a group of patients over 65 years and with multiple comorbidities and different functional impairments. Apart from decline in body mass, presence of exhaustion and general fatigue, an aged person may also suffer from various disorders. Approximately, around 30% of geriatric subjects have significant cardiovascular ailments. Apart from the intensive management of cardiovascular aspects in elderly, monitoring of the complementary cardiac medicine in those people should be received more attention. PURPOSE: There are many management lines for a cardio-geriatric condition in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM). Accordingly, this paper aimed to deal with those medicaments as well as evidence-based clinical aspects and phytochemistry. METHODS: By searching through main pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine during 10th-18th centuries (A.D.), concurrently, natural medicines for geriatrics and remedies for cardiovascular ailments were derived. On the other side, related phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of those remedies were highlighted. RESULTS: In all, 38 cardiovascular and 34 geriatric medicaments were found in those manuscripts. Antihyperlipidemic and cholesterol lowering activities of those medicines were the most reported activities in current medicine. However, other pharmacological reports were related to hypotensive, coagulant, cardio-protective and cardiotonic activities. In regard of the chemical composition, medicaments were mainly of polyphenols and flavonoids and also most of the employed extracts and fractions were yielded from polar or semi-polar solvents. CONCLUSION: With reference to these findings, flavonoid-rich medicaments from Persian medicine may be selected as considerable herbs for geriatrics with cardiovascular ailments.

New drugs from ancient natural foods. Oleocanthal, the natural occurring spicy compound of olive oil: a brief history.

Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), a principal component of the Mediterranean diet (Med diet), is one of the most ancient known foods and has long been associated with health benefits. Many phenolic compounds extracted from Olea europea L. have attracted attention since their discovery. Among these phenolic constituents, oleocanthal has recently emerged as a potential therapeutic molecule for different diseases, showing relevant pharmacological properties in various pathogenic processes, including inflammation, cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we discuss and summarize the most recent pharmacological evidence for the medical relevance of oleocanthal, focusing our attention on its anti-inflammatory and chemotherapeutic roles.

Unique aspect of Tibetan medicine.

Tibetan medicine is known as the knowledge of healing in the Four Tantras, the main medical text studied by Tibetan doctors. In the 8th century, King Trisong Deutsen (718-785 CE) invited eminent physicians from India, China, Persia, East Turkestan, Mongolia, and Nepal for the First International Medical Symposium in Samye, Tibet and ordered his personal physician Elder Yuthog Yonten Gonpo (708-833 CE), who lived 125 years, and participated in this conference to summarize. By combining all the information available and presented during this symposium, he compiled the Four Tantras. He established the Tanadug medical school at Menlung in Kongpo, Southern Tibet in 763 CE, and worked for the propagation of Tibetan medicine. He is considered an emanation of Medicine Buddha, who is a symbol of mental and physical well being. In his left hand, the Medicine Buddha clasps a begging bowl with long-life nectar, signifying immortality, and in his right, the Chebulic myrobalan (Haritaki), a symbol of good health. Chebulic myrobalan, Belleric myrobalan, and Emblic myrobalan are together called the "3 Fruits" and are common ingredients in Tibetan medicines. Prof. Omura, Y of NY Medical College evaluated these "3 Fruits" and found that one of them available as a "Haritaki," had the highest normal cell telomere increasing effect by optimal dose, with improvement of circulation all over the body, which in turn inhibits cancer activity. He considered Tibetan medicine to be the most advanced medicine in the world before the 19th Century with its well-organized systematic method as described by colorful Tibetan medical paintings by Sangye Gyamtso (1653-1705 CE). During a typical diagnosis, the physician examines the patients' tongue, radial arteries for pulse beats by the index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands and the urine for features like color, vapor, and bubbles, etc.

Doença e cura em Moçambique nos relatórios dos serviços de saúde dos finais do século XIX / Disease and cure in Mozambican health service reports from the end of the nineteenth century

Nos finais do século XIX, os relatórios dos serviços de saúde compõem um repositório de informação sobre as principais enfermidades em Moçambique e os impactos da sua frequência, bem como sobre os procedimentos e métodos no combate à doença, num quadro regional cuja descrição remete para um conhecimento alargado das características e potencialidades dos vários distritos e das condições de vida da população. Este artigo evidencia que estes relatórios constituem um espaço privilegiado não só para o estudo do processo de implantação do poder colonial português em Moçambique, como para o estudo da medicina tropical numa perspetiva que tenha em conta as condições específicas do território e que enquadra historicamente a problemática da doença e da cura.

In the late nineteenth century, health service reports constituted a repository of information on the main diseases in Mozambique and the impacts of their frequency, as well as on the procedures and methods used to fight disease within a regional framework whose description indicates a broad knowledge of the characteristics and potentials of the various districts and of the living conditions of the people. The objective of this article is to highlight that these reports constitute a privileged source not only for the study of the process of cementing Portuguese colonial rule in Mozambique, but also for the study of tropical medicine from a perspective that takes into account the specific conditions of the region, and which provides historical information on the analysis of the problems related to disease and cure.

Phytotherapy: an introduction to its history, use and application / Fitoterapia: introdução a sua história, uso e aplicação

There has been a great advance in the pharmacognosy field, which has increased the use of medicinal plants by health professionals and practitioners of folk medicine. This systematic review explored the history and the present day application of phytotherapeutic medicines. We searched the databases Cochrane Library, Embase, Lilacs, PubMed, Scielo and a specialized bibliography. We concluded that there are many therapeutic potentialities in the use of phytotherapeutic medicines and medicinal plants. We also concluded that despite the increasing number of publications in the field each year, there is still a lack of reviews and meta-analyses that could promote a better integration of the knowledge produced. In addition, research about pharmacological interactions and multidisciplinary studies may promote a quicker and safer process from the workbench up to the clinical trials.

Diante do avanço que vem ocorrendo na área da farmacognosia, decorrente do aumento do uso de plantas medicinais na medicina popular e por profissionais da saúde, este trabalho apresenta uma revisão sistemática sobre a história dos fitoterápicos e sobre sua aplicação na atualidade. Foram realizadas buscas nas bases de dados Cochrane Library, Embase, Lilacs, PubMed, Scielo e em bibliografia especializada. Concluiu-se que, apesar da quantidade de estudos publicados crescer a cada ano, há ainda escassez de revisões e meta-análises que promovam melhor integração do conhecimento produzido. Pesquisas contemplando interações farmacológicas e trabalhos multidisciplinares podem acelerar os estudos em bases mais seguras, desde a bancada até os ensaios clínicos.

[The theriac Diatessaron; oligopharmacy against polypharmacy]. / La thériaque Diatessaron Oligopharmacie contre polypharmacie.

The theriac of Andromachus was the symbol of polypharmacy and the theriac Diatessaron was a product of oligopharmacy. The four substances that entered in its composition were gentian roots, aritolochia roots, sweet bays and myrrh. The excipient, honey, was sometimes replaced by peppermint syrup. It was possible to add juniper berries extract. Symbolic interest of number four was confirmed by a reference to the four elements of Empedocles. The pharmacological activity, which was attributed to the diaressaron, was not very different from those of the great theriac. Since the end of 18th century, this theriac began to loose its prestige.

Medicinal use of cannabis in the United States: historical perspectives, current trends, and future directions.

Cannabis (marijuana) has been used for medicinal purposes for millennia, said to be first noted by the Chinese in c. 2737 BCE. Medicinal cannabis arrived in the United States much later, burdened with a remarkably checkered, yet colorful, history. Despite early robust use, after the advent of opioids and aspirin, medicinal cannabis use faded. Cannabis was criminalized in the United States in 1937, against the advice of the American Medical Association submitted on record to Congress. The past few decades have seen renewed interest in medicinal cannabis, with the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Medicine, and the American College of Physicians, all issuing statements of support for further research and development. The recently discovered endocannabinoid system has greatly increased our understanding of the actions of exogenous cannabis. Endocannabinoids appear to control pain, muscle tone, mood state, appetite, and inflammation, among other effects. Cannabis contains more than 100 different cannabinoids and has the capacity for analgesia through neuromodulation in ascending and descending pain pathways, neuroprotection, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. This article reviews the current and emerging research on the physiological mechanisms of cannabinoids and their applications in managing chronic pain, muscle spasticity, cachexia, and other debilitating problems.