Drug Discovery and Evaluation

Abstract

Today's medicine is based on traditional medicine. Traditional medicines exist in every continent of the globe and in every cultural area of the world. The most famous ones are traditional Chinese medicine in East Asia, Ayurvedic medicine in India, and formerly Galenic medicine in Europe, all of which have some resemblance to one other (Vogel 1991). Each of these traditional medicines has its own origins and an individual basic philosophy. The art of practicing Chinese medicine stretches back over several thousand years. The legendary culture hero, Shen-nong, is said to have tested many herbs for their medical properties. Pen-ts'ao, the first compilation of herbal medicines, is connected with his name (Un- schuld 1973, 1986). Since Ancient times, the Chi- nese have divided the world into five symbolic ele- ments:Wood, Fire, Earth,Metal andWater. Everything in the world is dominated by one of these elements, and their constant interplay, combined with those of yin and yang, explain all change and activity in na- ture. The positive, generative cycle proceeds as fol- lows:Wood burns to generate Fire; Fire produces ashes which generate Earth; Earth generates Metal, which can be mined from the ground;when heated Metal be- comes molten like Water; Water promotes the growth of plants, thereby generatingWood. The negative sub- jugable cycle is complementary to the positive, gen- erative one. Chinese medical views regarding the vi- tal internal organs are based on the theories of yin and yang, the five elements (which are each related to body organs and colors), and themeridians.With medicines consisting mainly of herbal drugs and minerals, Chi- nese doctors manipulate these natural relationships to adjust energy imbalances caused by the excess or defi- ciency of these forces in the body. Chinese physicians and philosophers developed a special system of phys- iology describing vital organs as storage houses and vital connections as meridians that became the basis of acupuncture (Porkert 1973). In India Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems of medicine provide healthcare for a large part of the population. The word Ayurveda is composed of two parts: Ayu (= life) and Veda (= knowledge). Schol- ars of Ayurveda had placed the origins of this sci- ence of life at some time around 6000 BC.They were orally transmitted by successive generations. The prin- ciples were recorded in great detail in compendia, which are called Samhitas (Dash and Junius 1987;Dahanukar and Thatte…