Open AccessA study on Dowager Cixi’s Yanling-Yishou-Dan of Qing Dynasty in a Japanese laboratory of biochemistry and molecular biology in 1990s: An attempt for TCM modernization
Author(s) -
Jiankang Liu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
traditional medicine and modern medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2575-9019
pISSN - 2575-9000
DOI - 10.1142/s2575900020500135
Subject(s) - in vivo , traditional chinese medicine , antioxidant , chemistry , oxidative stress , modernization theory , microsome , traditional medicine , in vitro , pharmacology , medicine , biochemistry , biology , political science , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , alternative medicine , law
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) modernization has been proposed for many years, but the progress is still slow due to both ideological and technical obstacles. When I went to Japan in 1989, I found Japan has made a great progress on TCM by using modern technology. Therefore, I have studied a fine extract prepared from medicinal herbs (renamed Yi-Zhi-Yi-Shou, YZYS), a prescription of Dowager Cixi’s Yanling-Yishou-Dan of Qing Dynasty, with the current drug investigation strategies. I examined its antioxidant activity both in vitro and in vivo. The in-vitro studies found that YZYS possesses strong antioxidant capacity, such as scavenging various kinds of free radicals, and inhibits free radical-induced peroxidation of brain homogenate, microsomes, mitochondria, amino acids, deoxyribose and DNA. The in-vivo study with immobilization-induced emotional stress in rats, showed that YZYS effectively inhibits stress-induced stomach ulcers and oxidative damage in plasma and the brain. In addition, YZYS is shown to be non-toxic in both acute and chronic toxicity tests. These studies demonstrate that YZYS is a potent natural antioxidant and offer theoretical evidence for the beneficial effect of YZYS on health and brain functions, and that TCM prescriptions can be studied scientifically as modern medical drugs.