Classification of herbal drugs used in traditional chinese medicine

Primjena ljekovitih droga biljnog, životinjskog i mineralnog porijekla predstavlja temeljnu metodu prevencije i liječenja bolesti u tradicionalnoj kineskoj medicini. U ovom radu objedinjene su dosadašnje spoznaje o klasifikaciji kineskih ljekovitih droga zasnovanoj na osnovnim načelima tradicionalne kineske medicine te su upotpunjene primjerima najdjelotvornijih i najčešće korištenih droga. Kineske droge tradicionalno se mogu podijeliti prema svojoj prirodi (temperaturi), okusu, toksičnosti, smjeru djelovanja te povezanosti s kanalima i organima. Navedena svojstva su zbog svoje važnosti sastavni dio monografija droga u Kineskoj farmakopeji. TakoĎer predstavljaju osnovu za tradicionalnu klasifikaciju droga u osamnaest kliničkih skupina. Provedeno istraživanje doprinosi usvajanju novih znanja i širenju kompetencija farmaceuta u području fitofarmacije uslijed sve većeg zanimanja za kineske ljekovite droge u europskim zemljama. Tradicionalna znanja o djelovanju i indikacijama za primjenu kineskih droga takoĎer su vrlo korisna i znanstvenicima koji traže znanstvene dokaze o utemeljenosti tradicionalne primjene ili pak tragaju za novim lijekovima koristeći vrijedne etnofarmakološke podatke.The use of Chinese drugs of plant, animal and mineral origin represents the main treatment method in traditional Chinese medicine system. This thesis provides an overview of the recent knowledge about the classification of Chinese herbal drugs based on the basic principles of traditional Chinese medicine and it is being complemented with examples of the most effective and commonly used drugs. Chinese drugs can traditionally be categorized according to their nature (temperature), taste, toxicity, mode of action, as well as organ and channel relationship. Because of their importance, these properties are an integral part of the monographs of drugs in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. They are also the basis for the traditional classification of drugs in eighteen clinical groups. The present study contributes to the acquisition of new knowledge and expanding competencies of pharmacists in the field of phytopharmacy due to the growing interest in Chinese herbal medicines in European countries. Traditional knowledge of the action and indications of Chinese drugs is also very useful to scientists who seek scientific evidence for their traditional use or are searching for new drugs using valuable ethnopharmacological data