Effective use and conservation of medicinal resources in the Pan-Japan Sea area
Masayuki
Mikage, Ph. D., Professor |
 |
The traditional Chinese medicine has been commonly used in the Pan-Japan Sea area including the modern Chinese Medicine in China, the Korean Medicine in Korean Peninsula, and the Kampo Medicine in Japan. It arose more than 2000 years ago in the mainland China and dispersed to surrounding countries in the ancient time. Herbal drugs used in the original medication have been transformed to suit respective flora of each country, and many alternative resources were characteristically developed. These medicinal resources having long histories are indeed the treasures of the human beings, and we have to transmit this accumulated knowledge through centuries to the future generations.
We have been studying the botanical origins and variation of medicinal resources used in these countries. The results show that the resources apparently reduced in these days mainly because of overexploitation and destruction of land and natural resources. For example, the resources of Ephedra plants have been rapidly reduced by reclamation of land in these 10 to 15 years. Additionally, reclamation of the Ephedra field in a loess land increases bai, a yellow-sand storm, in recent years.
Kampo Medicine, as well as our folk medicines, has been greatly influenced by the medicinal knowledge in China or Korean peninsula since the ancient period. Destruction of the medicinal resources has a direct impact on our health problems today. The members of Pan-Japan Sea area should establish a collaborative study on the effective use and conservation of the medicinal resources in this area.
Ephedra intermedia in fruiting |
Reclamation of Ephedra growing field |
