Some thoughts on definition of "Chinese materia medica components" / 中草药

ABSTRACT

"Chinese materia medica component" is one of the core concepts involved in the study of component-based Chinese medicine. The difference and connection among concepts of "Chinese materia medica component", "active ingredients", "active parts", and "extracts" are the first issue to be solved in the study of component-based Chinese medicine. According to the literature about Chinese materia medica components from 1999 to 2017, we try to define its concept. Chinese materia medica component is the basic unit of component compatibility, which comes from the effective part (s), and it is a group of components with high homogeneity or a certain proportion of the composition. Its chemical composition can be identified, and the proportion of each component is relatively fixed, and its activity is generally characterized and repeatable. Chinese materia medica components, active ingredients, effective parts, and extracts are all different forms of describing the efficacy substances of traditional Chinese medicines. The difference and connection between Chinese materia medica components and related concepts were also discussed. Hence, we hope that the results of this study may provide a reference for the researchers and experts in order to promote the further development of component-based Chinese medicine.