Herbal medicine revisited: science looks anew at ancient Chinese pharmacology.

There is now increasing evidence that significant advances have been made in herbal medicine during the past 20-25 years since the official policy of China was established that encouraged a blend of Western and Chinese traditional medicine. Scientific studies in China and the United States as well as other countries are directed at collecting and cataloguing a great variety of the herbs listed in the folk pharmacopias. 1 of the most significant single agents identified recently is isodamine an alkaloid isolated from the solancea plant. Its formula pharmacological action and clinical effects are very similar to those of atropine. On the basis of experimental and clinical studies Chinese scientists report that anisodamine is a better spasmolytic agent than atropine by virtue of its milder activity on the salivary glands the pupils and the central nervous system. Several herbal drugs have recently been developed and subjected to successful clinical trials. These drugs tend to be combinations of herbs. The Chinese have made progress recently in the treatment of burns with herbal medicine. 1 of the reasons given for past failures of Western investigators to identify the medicinal properties of Chinese medications is that the research usually began with the isolation of individual chemical compounds. New studies in the U.S. are focusing on single ingredients entire herbal concoctions and the use of herbal medicines in conjunction with Western drug products. Virtually every city in the U.S. with a sizable Chinese ethnic community has 1 or more herbal "pharmacies."