East Wind, West Wind: Toward the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has used herbal remedies for more than 2,000 years. The use of complimentary therapies has increased dramatically during the last years, especially in the West, and the incorporation and modernization of TCM in current medical practice is gaining momentum. We reflect on the main bottlenecks in the modernization of arcane Chinese herbal medicine: lack of standardization, safety concerns and poor quality of clinical trials, as well as the ways these are being overcome. Progress in these areas will facilitate the implementation of an efficacy approach, in which only successful clinical trials lead to the molecular characterization of active compounds and their mechanism of action. Traditional pharmacological methodologies will produce novel leads and drugs, and we describe TCM successes such as the discovery of artemisinin as well as many others still in the pipeline. Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease are the main cause of mortality in the Western world and, with an increasing old population in South East Asia, this trend will also increase in the Far East. TCM has been used for long time for treating these diseases in China and other East Asian countries. However, the holistic nature of TCM requires a paradigm shift. By changing our way of thinking, from "one-target, one-drug" to "network-target, multiple-component-therapeutics," network pharmacology, together with other system biology methodologies, will pave the way toward TCM modernization.

Progress in the Mechanism of Autophagy and Traditional Chinese Medicine Herb Involved in Dementia

Dementias is a kind of neurodegenerative disease, which occurs among the aging population. Current therapeutic outcome for dementia is limited. The medical use of herbal plant has a rich history in traditional Chinese medicine practice for thousands of years. Herbal medicine (HM) may provide a positive effect for prevention and treatment in dementia. As an alternative treatment to dementia, there has been a growing interest in HM extracts in scientific community as a result of its promising study results, mainly in animal experiment. At the molecular level, HM extracts trigger autophagy and reduce generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) while inhibiting inflammation and reduce neurotoxicity. Experiments both in vivo and in vitro have identified certain potential of HM extracts and natural products as an important regulator factor in mediating autophagy, which might contribute to the improvement of dementia. This brief review not only summarizes the mechanism of autophagy in dementia but also offers a general understanding of the therapeutic mechanism of HM extracts in treating dementia and evaluates the potential clinical practice of HM in general.

Preventing Dementia Using Saffron, The Kampo Medicine, Kamiuntanto, and Their Combination, Kamiuntantokabankoka

The objective of this review is to evaluate the anti-dementia activities of saffron and its combination with Kampo medicine. The Kampo formula Kamiuntanto composed of 13 crude drugs is well known for its anti-dementia activity. A significant increase in choline acetyltransferase activity and mRNA levels were observed. Polygala radix was identified as the most essential component drug in Kamiuntanto, probably due to the saponins, tenuifolin, and sinapinic acid. Ginseng was also identified as an essential Kamiuntanto component in terms of its synergistic functions with Polygala radix. Saffron, which was recommended in the Bencao Gangmu for memory and dementia, and is used as an anti-spasmodic, anti-catarrhal, and sedative herbal drug. Saffron and its major constituent, crocin were shown to enhance learning-memory, non-rapid eye movement (rem) sleep, and inhibit depression and neuronal cell death due to strong anti-oxidant and anti-inflammation activities. In addition based on the epidemiological studies such as the treatment of sleeping disorders and the clinical trials of saffron for Alzheimer patients, we demonstrated the indirect and direct anti-dementia activities of crocin and saffron.