The current status of old traditional medicine introduced from Persia to China

Jinmin Shi; Yifan Yang; Xinxin Zhou; Lijun Zhao; Xiaohua Li; Abdullah Yusuf; Mohaddeseh S M Z Hosseini; Fatemeh Sefidkon; Xuebo Hu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.953352

The current status of old traditional medicine introduced from Persia to China

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Sep 14:13:953352. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.953352. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jinmin Shi^{1

2}, Yifan Yang¹, Xinxin Zhou¹, Lijun Zhao², Xiaohua Li¹, Abdullah Yusuf³, Mohaddeseh S M Z Hosseini¹, Fatemeh Sefidkon⁴, Xuebo Hu¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Plant Science and Technology, Innovation Academy of International Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials, National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center in Hubei for Medicinal Plant Breeding and Cultivation, Medicinal Plant Engineering Research Center of Hubei Province, Institute for Medicinal Plants, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Pharmacy, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.
³ College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Laboratory of Xinjiang Native Medicinal and Edible Plant Resources Chemistry. Kashi University, Kashgar, China.
⁴ Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) includes over ten thousand herbal medicines, some of which were introduced from outside countries and territories. The Silk Road enabled the exchange of merchandise such as teas, silks, carpets, and medicines between the East and West of the Eurasia continent. During this time, the 'Compendium of Materia Medica' (CMM) was composed by a traditional medicine practitioner, Shizhen Li (1,518-1,593) of the Ming Dynasty. This epoch-making masterpiece collected knowledge of traditional medical materials and treatments in China from the 16th century and before in utmost detail, including the origin where a material was obtained. Of 1892 medical materials from the CMM, 46 came from Persia (now Iran). In this study, the basic information of these 46 materials, including the time of introduction, the medicinal value in TCM theory, together with the current status of these medicines in China and Iran, are summarized. It is found that 20 herbs and four stones out of the 46 materials are registered as medicinal materials in the latest China Pharmacopoeia. Now most of these herbs and stones are distributed in China or replacements are available but saffron, ferula, myrrh, and olibanum are still highly dependent on imports. This study may contribute to the further development, exchange, and internationalization of traditional medicine of various backgrounds in the world, given the barriers of transportation and language are largely eased in nowadays.

Keywords: Chinese herbal medicine; Compendium of Materia Medica; Iran; Persian; the Silk Road; traditional Chinese medicine.

Publication types

Review