Sho-Saiko-To: Scientific Evaluation and Clinical Applications (Traditional Herbal Medicines for Modern Times, V. 4)

Kampo medicine is a traditional medicine that originated from China over two thousand years ago. It was adopted by the Japanese and remained there for many years until modern times. Kampo medicine is now becoming increasingly recognized as an important therapeutic method alongside Western practice. In Japan itself, every principal hospital uses Kampo formulae as a means of treatment. This volume uses Sho-Saiko-To, made from a combination of seven natural medicinal drugs and an important example of the Kampo formulae, to illustrate how these traditional medicines can be utilized in a variety of medical practices with the correct expert guidance.Sho-Saiko-To provides a comprehensive review of this medicinal formulae: from its historical use, cultivation of the constituent materials, production, chemistry and pharmacology, quality assurance and clinical testing of safety, and its use as a biological response modifier for the prevention and treatment of a variety of liver diseases. It serves as a reference for researchers and practitioners who wish to gain a scientific understanding of Sho-Saiko-To and discover how this and other Kampo medicines may be effectively integrated into Western medicine. Book Cover 1 Title 4 Contents 5 List of figures 8 List of tables 11 List of contributors 12 Preface 13 Introduction 14 Traditional usage and therapeutic indication 26 Crude drugs I: taxonomical items, collection and cultivation, production etc. 35 Crude drugs II: phytochemical studies of ingredients and analytical evaluation 53 Crude drugs III: structural transformation of ingredients 74 Crude drugs IV: pharmacological and biochemical studies of medicinal plants of Sho-saiko-to 90 Formulation I: quality assessment, manufacturing technology and quality control of Sho-saiko-to extract formulation 135 Formulation II: pharmacokinetics, toxicology and pharmacology of Sho-saiko-to 149 Clinical studies 188 Recent topics on Sho-saiko-to and other Kampo medicines 208 Index 228 Bioscience & Clinical Medicine Today, as we feel the limits of Western medicine, there is a trend throughout the world to reconsider traditional medicine.