綜覽草藥在美國的研究進展

Recent Development of Herbal Medicine in USA: A Survey

隨著七十年代在中國直接觀察到針灸在手術中的應用和中美之間的學術交流，傳統中醫藥的重要性越來越受到美國和其它西方國家的重視。為進一步提高替代醫藥的研究，美國國家健康研究所(NIH)於1992年成立了替代醫學處(OAM)，美國國會也在1994年通過了營養健康與教育法案(DSHEA)。這篇綜述簡要闡述了我們實驗室近年來在傳統中醫藥理論與實驗方面的研究進展，揭示了傳統中醫藥發揮效用的免疫與生化機制。論文概括了陰－－陽理論在化學及五行在傳統中醫藥方面的應用與解釋，並在傳統五行圖解中增加了中樞神經系統，免疫系統和骨髓的定位。同時也闡述了扶正固本草藥和β－內啡呔的促進免疫和延年益壽作用。我們用現代生體外醫學技術證實了田七人參的免疫刺激作用。用物化性質和分子模型方法，我們比較了據有植物雌激素作用的異類黃酮和抗雌激素作用的類黃酮化合物的結構差異。應用定量構效關係和分子模型分法，我們發現木酚素(lignans)和單寧酸(tannins)在抑制HIV反轉酶和人類DNAα－多聚酶具有不同的結構要求。我們真誠希望具有幾千年歷史的傳統中醫藥寶藏能夠被系統地加以研究分析，從而為老藥新用和發現新的導向藥物發揮作用。

Following the first hand observation of the use of acupuncture in surgical procedures in China during the 1970's, and the subsequent exchange visits of scholarly groups between US and China, there has been an increased awareness of the importance of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the US and other Western countries. This is further enhanced by the establishment of the Office of Alternative Medicine in NIH in 1992, and the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) by the US Congress in 1994. In this survey, the authors will summarize recent theoretical and experimental studies undertaken in our laboratories to support the immunological and biochemical bases of Chinese herbal medicine, including the concept of Yin-Yang in chemistry and five elements in TCM, and the addition of the CNS, immune system and bone marrow to the classical chart. The involvement of Fu-Zhen herbs and β-en-dorphin in immune enhancement and longevity promotion, and scientific validation of the in vitro immunostimulation properties of Panax notoginseng will be presented. The structural differences among phytoestrogenic isoflavonoids and antiestrogenic flavonoids are compared by using physicochemical properties and molecular modeling (MM). Different structural requirements for lignans and tannins acting on HIV reverse transcriptase and human DNA polymerase-αare illustrated by quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) and MM approaches. It is hoped that the wealth of TCM accumulated over millennia can be subjected to systematic investigation and will continue to provide new applications of old drugs and novel leads in new drug development.