Earticle

I visited Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Kerala Forest Research Institute and AICRP on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Kerala Agricultural University at southwest part of India and investigated medicinal plants. From the 3 botanical gardens, 160 species in 67 family of plants were identified by taking photos. The most abundant plant family in the 3 places was Leguminosae, followed by Apocynaceae, Lamiaceae, Acanthaceae, and Rutaceae. Clinacanthus nutans, Kaempferia galanga, Pandanus amaryllifolius, and Terminalia bellirica were found in the 3 places in common.

I investigated medicinal plant through photographing at Royal Botanical Garden, Seethawaka Botanical Garden and Henarathgoda Botanical Garden in Sri Lanka. From the 3 botanical gardens 245 species in 77 family of plants were investigated. The most cultivated plant family in the 3 places was Leguminosae, followed by Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Rutaceae, Rubiaceae, Acanthaceae, Compositae and Lamiaceae. Abrus precatorius, Cissus quadrangularis, Erythroxylum moonii and Plumbago indica were found in the 3 places in common.

This study was aimed to study medicinal actions of Ephedrae Herba (EH) through actions (效能) and indications (主治) in literature. A hundred or so classics from Qin-Han to Qing dynasty were mentioned in the books and a journal about the lineage of herbology. To select collectible literature in the country, we searched the national library, the national assembly library, central libraries of Wonkwang and Kyunghee university and private collections. Finally, 42 classics were selected as references. In Qin-Han dynasty, EH was recognized to have a diaphoretic and cold-dispersing effect (發汗散寒), and used for the dual disease of the exterior and interior. In Tang-Song dynasty, diseases having pathomechanism of cold-damage were noted in the indication as ever, also medical and nonmedical parts of EH were distinct from each other. In Jin-Yuan dynasty, the actions; diaphoretic action to release the exterior and calming panting action by diffusing the lung, were linked with the meridian tropism, qi and flavor, and the shape of herb to give an account of medicinal actions. In Ming dynasty, the indication was clarified to the exterior syndrome and included edema, while the dispersing action was explained by pungent flavor. In Qing dynasty, the diaphoretic mechanism was suggested as similar as the pharmacological action related to a sympathetic system. Also, diuretic action of EH in formulas was deeper understood. EH has been a sweat-promoting, panting-calming, and water-draining herbal medicine and since Ming dynasty, pungent-bitter flavor (辛苦味) was related with medicinal actions and indications of EH.

The standards of medicinal herbs are provided differently in each nations. So the dissimilarity of the standards should be verified for the standardization of medicinal herbs. The requirements of ‘longan aril’ were compared among the Korean Pharmacopoeia (KP), the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (JP), Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China (ChP), Vietnamese Pharmacopoeia (VP), the Pharmacopoeia of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DP), and Thai Agricultural Standard (TAS). There were different requirements of longan aril among the pharmacopoeias, such as the name, morphological description, identification, purity, loss on drying, ash content, extract content, and so on. The differences of standards among northeast-asian countries should be investigated thoroughly in terms of efficacy and safety. This study would be a helpful reference for the revision of the regulation on herbal medicine.