A new approach to the standardisation of medicinal plants
2000
Hylands, Peter J., Oxford Natural Products plc, 1 St. Giles, Oxford OX1 3JS, UK/Department of Pharmacy, Franklin-Wilkins Building, King's College London, University of London, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 8WA (United Kingdom)
The standardisation of medicinal plants has never been more important. Misidentification and adulteration have led to and are continuing to cause serious toxic side effects. Yet, at the same time, more and more evidence is validating the usefulness of plant medicines, including the substantiation of synergism, where the clinical effect is more efficacious, less toxic or both than the isolated ingredients. This is reflected in a huge increase in the consumption of plant materials worldwide. The value of these materials is well demonstrated by the increasing incorporation of traditional Chinese medicines into the reimbursable health care systems of a number of Asian countries. Existing attempts at standardisation have been largely confined to reductionist approaches, based on the identification and quantification of selected 'active ingredients' and perhaps a single mechanism of action. Yet these approaches belie the observed value of synergism and are applicable only for those materials that have been very well studied in the laboratory. The presentation will present on alternative approach that allows highly precise standardisation both chemically and biologically without reliance on single active ingredients or mechanisms of action. Moreover, the approach can also find application in the quality control of mixtures of plant extracts, such as those used in traditional Chinese medicine.
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