- Email: [email protected]
The database of ready-prepared Chinese medicine
The database of readyprepared Chinese medicine Yan Li, Xinjian Yan, Guirong Xie, Pingan Liu, Wucheng Tang, Jiaju Zhou Ready-prepared Chinese medicine is one of the key components of traditional Chinese medicine. A database of ready-prepared Chinese medicines was developed for rationally using and effectively studying traditional Chinese medicine.This database contains detailed descriptions on 885 of the most famous and frequently used readyprepared Chinese medicines in China, 120 most important officinal plants, 150 diseases and corresponding treatments. A relationship was established between diseases and ready-prepared Chinese medicines in the database. A user-friendly interface was programmed so that users could search the database easily. Application examples of the database were provided. © 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd
INTRODUCTION
Yan Li, Xinjian Yan, Guirong Xie, Pingan Liu, Wucheng Tang, Jiaju Zhou, Laboratory of Computer Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Metallurgy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 353, Beijing 100080, P. R. China. Corresponence to: Dr Xinjian Yan, Physical and Chemical Properties Division, Building 2, Room 1022, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328 USA. Tel.: +1303 497 4164; Fax: +1303 497 5044; E-mail: [email protected]
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved with Chinese civilization for thousands of years.1 Ready-prepared Chinese medicine (RPCM), also called Chinese patent medicine, or proprietary Chinese medicine, is the main way that TCM has been administered in the cities of China.2–5 RPCMs are produced based on formulas, and available in the forms of pills, powder, plaster, wine, syrups, etc. Therefore, they are more convenient to take than medicine in the form of teas (decoctions), and may be more effective and economical. The use of RPCM has a long history. The earliest record on formula medicines is the Wu Shi Er Bing Fang (Prescriptions for Fifty-two Diseases),1 written between 770 and 221 BC. It described 52 diseases, 283 formulas, and more than 10 ready-prepared forms. The earliest book of traditional Chinese medicines is the Huang Di Nei Jing (Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor), compiled around 220 BC).1 It contains 13 formulas and nine ready-prepared forms. The most important early books on formulas and readyprepared medicines are Shang Han Lun (On Cold Damage), and Jin Gui Yao Lue Fang Lun (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer) by Zhang Zhongjing (150–219 AD).1 The former collected 112 formulas, and 11 ready-prepared medicines. The
latter contains 258 formulas, and 50 ready-prepared medicines in more than 10 forms. Since then, readyprepared medicines have become widely accepted, and a great number of formulas have been developed. For example, Sun Si Miao (581–682 AD) collected 5300 formulas in the book entitled Qian Jin Yao Fang (Thousand Golden Essential Formulas), and 2000 formulas in Qian Jin Yi Fang.2 In 992 AD, the Song Dynasty government published Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang (Great Harmony Sagely Benefit Formulas),2 which collected 16,834 formulas in 100 volumes. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Tun et al. published Pu Ji Fang (Prescriptions for Healing the Masses), which contains 61,739 formulas (1406 AD).1,2 Li Shi Zhen described 1892 herbal, animal, or mineral drugs, and 11,000 formulas in the book Ben Cao Gang Mu (Comprehensive Herbal Foundation, 1596 AD).1,2 According to an investigation in 1995, there are more than 100,000 formulas used in China. Generally, a formula contains several plants (here the plants include herbs, animals, minerals, fungi, etc.), and each plant may contain hundreds of different molecules. The possible functions of each formula are very complex. A deeper understanding of TCM should be extremely important for rationally using TCM and developing new medicines. Because each famous formula was developed by the
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usage of many generations, TCM is not only very useful clinically but also contains a vast amount of information on the relationship between the human body and a large variety of natural medicines. In last three decades especially, most famous formulas have been studied with the Western medicinal methodology; many bioactive compounds have been isolated; and some mechanisms of TCM formula functions have been elucidated based on modern scientific experiments. The vast amount of TCM information from traditional and modern studies forms a good foundation of computer-aided usage and study of TCM. Computer-aided analysis of Chinese medicine is just beginning in China. Some researchers use fuzzy logic and pattern recognition methods to analyze the functions of Chinese medicines, or to identify different herbs.6,7 In order to study Chinese medicines systematically and provide reliable information to users, we developed a TCM database, which contains 6800 molecular structures isolated from TCM, and 1400 Chinese medicinal plants with brief descriptions on their natural sources, biological effects and indications.8–11 The structures in the database can be used to search for structures that are similar to Western medicines. More data are being added into the database. In this work, which is a part of our effort to develop computer-aided methods for using and studying Chinese medicines, we have developed a ready-prepared Chinese medicine database (RPCMD). This database contains detailed information on ready-prepared Chinese medicines, officinal plants (Chinese herb), diseases and corresponding medicines. Ingredients, pharmacological functions, and clinical applications of each ready-prepared Chinese medicine are described. Information is provided on the growth habits, pharmacology, and properties of each officinal plant. Analyses of syndrome, pathogenesis, and treatment of 150 diseases are included in the database.
and descriptions of medicines produced by the most famous companies in China.2,13–19 The database consists of the following three parts:
DATABASE DESIGN AND CONTENT
Producers
As described above, there are many TCM formulas in China; but, for common uses, the number of formulas is limited. In this work, we limit our collections on the most important RPCMs. The medicines in the RPCM database include famous ancient formulas, empirical formulas, secret formulas (developers have not published the components of the drugs), new formulas developed in recent years and used widely now. The data were mainly collected from Chinese medical journals, authoritative books
Part 1 Ready-prepared Chinese medicines (RPCMs), which contains information of 885 medicines, and includes the following five tables:
RPCM In this table, the functions, indications, pharmacology, clinical applications, toxicity, and side-effects of each ready-prepared medicine are described in detail.
RPCM names A ready-prepared medicine may have several names. There is no uniform regulation on the denomination of ready-prepared medicines. In this table, we plan to include all known names of each ready-prepared medicine.
Ingredients It contains ingredients for each ready-prepared medicine (for some ready-prepared medicines, their components have been kept secret, and we are unable to display them). Most of the ready-prepared medicines are composed of several plants. These plants are used together in order to achieve a stronger curative effect. This table references the table entitled Plants (see below).
Sources This table contains sources of ready-prepared Chinese medicines, which may come from ancient famous formulas, empirical formulas proved by famous doctors, folk empirical formulas, and secret formulas. For each formula the table specifies a source reference, and the approximate date of its first use.
This table contains information on manufacturers of ready-prepared medicines (including addresses and phone and fax numbers).
Part 2 Officinal plants: this part includes two tables – Plants and Plant Names.
Plants This table contains 120 of the most commonly used officinal plants. Each plant is provided with detailed
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information on its definitions, growth habits, collections, preparations, pharmacology, clinical applications and side-effects.
Plant names An officinal plant may be known by several common names. We plan to collect all known names into this table.
Part 3 Diseases and RPCM: this part includes descriptions and treatments for 150 diseases, and has the following three tables:
Diseases Includes 150 disease names.
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Ingredients contains plant names, by which readyprepared medicines are referenced to officinal plants. Figure 1 shows the frame of ready-prepared Chinese medicine database. Generally, ancients classified Chinese medicinal formulas based on their functions. Following this scheme, ready-prepared medicines in the database are classified into 16 classes, such as exterior resolution, clearing heat, draining precipitation, and so on. Each class may also be divided into several subclasses. For example, exterior resolution may be sub-classified into cool acrid exterior resolution, warm acrid exterior resolution, dual resolution of both exterior and interior, and supporting right and resolving the exterior. With this scheme, formulas can be found easily according to treatment methods. All these classes and subclasses are listed in Table 1 along with the number of RPCMs in each subclass.
Syndromes Includes detailed data on diagnosis, pathogenesis, and the principle of treatment for each disease.
RPCM disease Lists all the ready-prepared medicines that have a good curative effect on a specific disease. This table references the table RPCM, from which detailed information on each ready-prepared medicine can be retrieved. Among the above three parts, Part 1 is central: it directly connects with Parts 2 and 3. The table
RPCM names
RPCM sources
FUNCTIONS OF THE DATABASE Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 was used to develop the user interface of the RPCMD. ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) was used for accessing data in the database. Disorientation is one of the main problems that database users encounter when searching for information. The principle we adopted in developing the database was to guide users by graphics. Users can decide to search or browse the database through a graphical interface. In the browse mode of RPCMD, medicines are displayed in 16 classes. The query
Ingredients
Producers
885 RPCMs Functions, indications, clinical applications, pharmacology, toxicity, and side-effects
120 plants
150 diseases and RPCM effects on them
Information on syndrome analysis, pathogenesis and treatment principles Fig. 1 The frame of ready-prepared Chinese medicine database (RPCMD). Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (2001) 2, 209–217 © 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd
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Table 1
No
The 16 classes of RPCMs
Subclass
Number
A
Exterior resolution (Jie Biao)
Class
Cool acrid exterior resolution (Xin Liang Jie Biao) Warm acrid exterior resolution (Xin Wen Jie Biao) Dual resolution of both exterior and interior (Biao Li Shuang Jie) Supporting right and resolving the exterior (Fu Zheng Jie Biao)
16 15 14 11
B
Clearing heat (Qing Re)
Clearing Clearing Clearing Clearing
94 10 15 26
C
Draining precipitation (Xie Xia)
Cold precipitation (Han Xia) Moist precipitation (Run Xia) Expelling water (Zhu Shui)
12 11 8
D
Dispelling summerheat (Qu Shu)
Dispelling Dispelling Dispelling Dispelling
clearing heat (Qu Shu Qing Re) eliminating damp (Qu Shu Chu Shi) exterior resolution (Qu Shu Jie Biao) boosting Chi (Qu Shu Yi Qi)
8 13 8 34
E
Warming the center (Wen Li)
Warming the center and dissipating cold (Wen Zhong San Han) Returning Yang and stemming counterflow (Hui Yang Jiu Ni) Warming the channels and dissipating cold (Wen Jing San Han)
12 12 11
F
Quieting the spirit (An Shen)
Nourishing the blood and Quieting the spirit (Yang Xue An Shen) Settling the heart and Quieting the spirit (Zhen Xin An Shen)
17 11
G
Opening the orifices (Kai Qiao)
Cool opening (Liang Kai) Warm opening (Wen Kai)
13 10
H
Supplementing and boosting (Bu Yi)
Supplementing Chi (Bu Qi) Supplementing blood (Bu Xue) Supplementing both Chi and blood (Qi Xue Shuang Bu) Supplementing Yin (Bu Yin) Supplementing Yang (Bu Yang)
46 19 20 25 14
I
Securing and astringing (Gu Se)
Astringing essence and checking seminal emission and enuresis (Se Jing Zhi Yi) Astringing the intestines and stemming desertion (Se Chang Gu Tuo) Securing exterior and checking perspiration (Gu Biao Zhi Han) Stemming flooding and checking discharge (Gu Beng Zhi Dai)
heat and resolving toxin (Qing Re Jie Du) heat and cooling blood (Qing Re Liang Xue) heat and draining fire (Qing Re Xie Huo) bowel and visceral heat (Qing Zang Fu Re)
summerheat summerheat summerheat summerheat
and and and and
9 9 9 9
J
Rectifying Chi (Li Qi)
Moving Chi (Xing Qi) Downbearing Chi (Jiang Qi)
32 9
K
Rectifying the blood (Li Xue)
Quickening the blood and transforming stasis (Huo Xue Hua Yu) Stanching bleeding (Zhi Xue)
61 15
L
Dispelling phlegm (Qu Tan)
Drying dampness and dispelling phlegm (Zao Shi Hua Tan) Clearing heat and dispelling phlegm (Qing Re Hua Tan) Warming and transforming cold phlegm (Wen Hua Han Tan)
12 36 14
M
Dispelling dampness (Qu Shi)
Clearing heat and dispelling dampness (Qing Re Qu Shi) Disinhibiting water and percolating dampness (Li Shui Shen Shi) Dispelling wind and overcoming dampness (Qu Feng Sheng Shi) Warming and transforming water-damp (Wen Hua Shui Shi)
22 13 32 9
N
Abductive dispersion (Xiao Dao)
Dispersing food and abducting stagnation (Xiao Shi Dao Zhi) Dispersing glomus and transforming accumulations (Xiao Pi Hua Ji)
25 13
O
Dispelling wind (Qu Feng)
Coursing and dissipating external wind (Shu San Wai Feng) Calming and extinguishing internal wind (Ping Xi Nei Feng)
19 14
P
Expelling worms (Qu Chong)
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interfaces list all the query fields and key words to help users formulate a query. The interfaces for displaying information returned via browsing have a common style: a navigation bar, a title, and the information on the current subject (a ready-prepared medicine, a plant, or a disease). Examples related to the current subject are provided. After a search, only results are displayed. Complementary information is always accessible through buttons in a navigation bar. The following functions are included in the database:
and then, to determine an appreciate treatment. We established the relationships for some diseases on their patterns and treatment methods. When users click a disease name in a list, all related patterns will be displayed. When users click a pattern, all of the treatment methods that have been proven to be effective will be displayed.
• Users can query the database by ready-prepared medicine names, functions, indications, etc., and apply conditional operators (AND or OR) to queries • Users can construct a search based on the results of a previous query. Voluminous data may be returned from one search. Users can add restrictions and execute another search on the data set of previous results • The interfaces for search results are also consistent, regardless of the specific query. Links are provided to allow the user to directly display each set of results • The information interface provides a template to display one subject in detail. The contents are dynamically supplied by query results. The navigation bar provides links to more examples and experimental data • To treat a patient, a TCM doctor needs, first, to determine what disease the patient has; second, to identify which pattern the disease belongs to;
APPLICATIONS OF THE DATABASE
Table 2
From the RPCMD, users can obtain helpful information on RPCM and official plants. They can also find relationships among medicines, official plants, and diseases. Several examples follow of using the RPCMD.
RPCM for rheumatic heart disease This example shows how to find ready-prepared Chinese medicines that can treat rheumatic heart disease. ‘Rheumatic heart disease’ was used as the keyword to search the field of Disease Name. It was found that there were three types of rheumatic heart diseases and corresponding treatment methods, as shown in Table 2. The ready-prepared medicines that are effective for treating the rheumatic heart diseases are listed in Table 3. Actually, in Table 2, Spleen-Returning Pill and Ginseng Spleen-Invigorating Bolus are two differ-
Types of rheumatic heart disease and the corresponding method of treatment
Type of rheumatic heart disease Insufficiency of heart Chi Stagnation of the heart blood Insufficiency of heart Yin
Table 3
ID M054 N018 N018 N072 M070 M056 M059
Method of treatment Yang-warming and Chi-tonifying Quickening the blood and transforming stasis Yin-nourishing and blood-tonifying
Ready-prepared Chinese medicines that are effective for rheumatic heart disease
Ready-prepared Chinese medicines Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan) Spleen-Returning Pill (Gui Pi Wan) Ginseng Spleen-Invigorating Bolus (Ren Shen Gui Pi Wan) Compound Tablet of Red Sage Root (Fu Fang Dan Shen Pian) Storax Pill for Treating Coronary Heart Disease (Guan Xin Su He Wan) Celestial Emperor Heart-Supplementing Elixir (Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan) Cinnabar Sedative Pill (Zhu Sha An Shen Wan)
Type of rheumatic heart disease Insufficiency of heart Chi Insufficiency of heart Chi Insufficiency of heart Chi Stagnation of the heart blood Stagnation of the heart blood Insufficiency of heart Yin Insufficiency of heart Yin
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ent names for the same medicine. Their IDs are identical. A ready-prepared medicine may have several names. Therefore, we give a unique ID to each ready-prepared medicine, so that each medicine can be uniquely identified. The following example shows the information that can be obtained for the first RPCM, Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan), from the RPCMD.
of 885 RPCMs contain Astragalus hoangtchy. These 122 RPCMs are distributed in 12 RPCM classes. The distribution of them in the 16 RPCM classes is shown in Table 5. It is interesting to know that which is the most frequently used medicinal plant in the 885 readyprepared Chinese medicines. By searching the database, it was found that Gan Cao (Licorice) is the one. It exists in 169 medicines among 885. Table 6 lists the top ten of the most frequently occurring plants.
Detailed presentation of RPCM Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan) is a famous Chinese medicine. In order to obtain its full description, we use ‘Biota Seed HeartNourishing Pill’ as the keyword to search the field of RPCM Name in the database. The Information Interface displays related data in detail, including ingredients, the functions and indications, pharmacology, clinical applications, toxicities, and known side-effects. The field of Ingredients indicates that this medicine consists of 13 Chinese herbs (Table 4). The detailed information for these 13 Chinese herbal medicines can be searched for and displayed in Part 2 (officinal plants) of the database. The data from the Clinical Applications field show that this medicine is used in clinical treatment of four symptoms (Table 4). The function, indication, pharmacology, and toxicity of the medicine are also listed in Table 4.
RPCM involved with Astragalus hoangtchy Astragalus hoangtchy is one of the most frequently used Chinese herbs. For finding how many RPCMs in the database contain this herb, ‘Astragalus hoangtchy’ was used as the keyword to search the field of Ingredients. The result showed that 122 out
Table 4
Detailed presentation of officinal plant Astragalus hoangtchy (the root of Astragalus) is used very frequently in China. Here, we illustrate how to find information about it. ‘Astragalus hoangtchy’ was used as the keyword to search the field of Plant. The results of this query include information about plants, pharmacology, properties, function, indication, clinical applications and sideeffects of Astragalus hoangtchy. There are two kinds of Astragalus (Table 7) according to its native habitat. In the clinical applications field, we can see that this herb may be effective in prevention and cure of the following diseases (Table 7). The pharmacology, properties, function, indication and side-effects are also shown. At present, all information in the database is in Chinese.
SUMMARY Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for thousands of years. Ready-prepared Chinese medicine (RPCM), also called Chinese patent medicine, or, proprietary Chinese medicine,
The information about Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan)
Ingredient
Seed of Chinese arborvitae (Bo Zi Ren), Pinellia tuber leaven (Ban Xia Qu), Rhizome of Sichuan lovage (Chuang Xiong), Chinese angelica (Dang Gui), Root of Co donopsis Pilosula (Dang Shen), Tuckahoe (Fu Ling), Liquorice (Gan Cao), Astragalus root (Huang Qi), Cinnamon (Rou Gui), Seed of wild jujude (Suan Zao Ren), Chinese magnoliaving (Wu Wei Zi), Milkwort (Yuan Zhi), Vermilion (Zhu Sha).
Function
Quieting the heart and nourishing the blood, supplementing Chi and the blood, quieting the spirit.
Indication
Heart palpitations and susceptibility to fright, essence-spirit abstraction, insomnia and profuse dreaming, poor memory.
Pharmacology
Sedation, hypnogenesis, anticonvulsive.
Clinical applications
Heart diseases, panasthenia, cardiopalmus, asomnia.
Toxicity
LD50 > 37.5 g/kg.
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Database of ready-prepared Chinese medicine Table 5
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Distribution of 122 RPCMs in the 16 RPCM classes
No
Subclass
Number
B
Clearing heat (Qing Re)
Class
Clearing heat and resolving toxin (Qing Re Jie Du) Clearing heat and draining fire (Qing Re Xie Huo) Clearing bowel and visceral heat (Qing Zang Fu Re)
6 4 4
C
Draining precipitation (Xie Xia)
Cold precipitation (Han Xia)
4
D
Dispelling summerheat (Qu Shu)
Dispelling summerheat and boosting Chi (Qu Shu Yi Qi)
4
E
Warming the center (Wen Li)
Warming the center and dissipating cold (Wen Zhong San Han) Returning Yang and stemming counterflow (Hui Yang Jiu Ni) Warming the channels and dissipating cold (Wen Jing San Han)
4
F
Quieting the spirit (An Shen)
Nourishing the blood and Quieting the spirit (Yang Xue An Shen)
H
Supplementing and boosting (Bu Yi)
Supplementing Chi (Bu Qi) Supplementing blood (Bu Xue) Supplementing both Chi and blood (Qi Xue Shuang Bu) Supplementing Yang (Bu Yang)
I
Securing and astringing (Gu Se)
5 6 4 16 6 14 4
Astringing the intestines and stemming desertion (Se Chang Gu Tuo) Securing exterior and checking perspiration (Gu Biao Zhi Han)
4 5
J
Rectifying Chi (Li Qi)
Moving Chi (Xing Qi)
6
K
Rectifying the blood (Li Xue)
Quickening the blood and transforming stasis (Huo Xue Hua Yu)
7
M
Dispelling dampness (Qu Shi)
Disinhibiting water and percolating dampness (Li Shui Shen Shi)
5
N
Abductive dispersion (Xiao Dao)
Dispersing food and abducting stagnation (Xiao Shi Dao Zhi)
5
O
Dispelling wind (Qu Feng)
Coursing and dissipating external wind (Shu San Wai Feng) Calming and extinguishing internal wind (Ping Xi Nei Feng)
5
Table 6
No
The top ten of the most frequently used medicinal plants in 885 ready-prepared Chinese medicines (medicinal plant names in TCM, English, Latin, and the number of occurrences in the 885 medicines for each plant)
TCM name
English name
Latin name
RPCM number
Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. Ligusticum wallichii Franch. (= Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort) Pericarpium citri reticulatae Paeoniae radix alba
169 126 122
1 2 3
GAN CAO DANG GUI HUANG QI
Licorice Chinese Angelica Membranous Milkvetch
4 5 6 7 8
FU LING HUANG QIN BAI ZHU REN SHEN CHUAN XIONG
Indian Bread Baikal Skullcap Largehead Atractylodes Ginseng Chuanxiong (Wallich Ligusticum) Tangerine Pericarp Common peony
9 10
4
CHEN PI BAI SHAO
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95 93 89 80 79 68 63
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Table 7
Presentation of Astragalus
Plants
Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. Var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. [Phaca membranacea Fisch.]
Pharmacology
Having influence over immune system, organism metabolism, hematopoiesis, cardiovascular system, anti-virus, anticancer
Properties
Sweet flavor, warm nature, liver channel entry and spleen channel entry
Function
Boosting Chi and returning Yang, stemming exterior and checking perspiration, disinhibiting water, eliminating toxin and engendering flesh
Indication
Internal damage and taxation fatigue, spleen vacuity diarrhea, lung vacuity cough, anal desertion, prolapse of the uterus, spontaneous sweating, blood ejection, bloody stool, flooding and spotting, night sweating, water swelling, blood impediment, Chi vacuity and blood depletion
Clinical applications
Cold, Chronic nephritis, Virus myocarditis, Chronic type B hepatitis, Rhinitis, Epidemic hemorrhagic fever, Terminal schistosomiasis
Side-effects
LD50 = 40 g/kg
is the major way that TCM has been administered in the cities of China. The RPCM formulas are available in the forms of pills, powder, plaster, wine, syrups, etc. Generally, a RPCM contains several plants (or, herbs, animals, minerals, fungi, etc.), and each plant may contain hundreds of different compounds. The possible functions of each RPCM are very complex. Therefore, the detailed information of ingredients, pharmacological functions, clinical applications, toxicities, etc., of ready-prepared Chinese medicines is extremely important. With the aim of establishing a computer-aided information system for rationally using and effectively studying TCM, we developed a database of ready-prepared Chinese medicines. This database includes 885 of the most frequently used readyprepared Chinese medicines, 120 most important Chinese medicinal plants, 150 diseases and corresponding treatments. We established relationships between ready-prepared Chinese medicines and officinal plants, and plan to provide comprehensive information for each medicine and officinal plant. We also established relationships between diseases and ready-prepared Chinese medicines. A readyprepared Chinese medicine may be able to cure several different diseases, and a disease may be treated by several different ready-prepared medicines. We established the relationship for the former case. Users can easily find how many diseases a ready-prepared medicine can treat and what these diseases are. We have also completed part of the latter case. For most diseases, users can find which ready-prepared medicines may be useful. A set of user-friendly interfaces was developed for users to query and display information. Several examples were provided showing how to use the database. One example shows that the top ten of the most fre-
quently used medicinal plants based on the 885 ready-prepared Chinese medicines are GAN CAO, DANG GUI, HUANG QI, FU LING, HUANG QIN, BAI ZHU, REN SHEN, CHUAN XIONG, CHEN PI, BAI SHAO YAO. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This project was supported in part by ACER Company. We are indebted to Dr Gary Hardin for revising this paper. REFERENCE 1. Shi L. The history of traditional Chinese medicine. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese), 1996. 2. Chen Q. (Chief Editor). The pharmacology and application of famous prescription of Chinese patent medicine. Beijing: People’s Health Press (in Chinese), 1998. 3. Sun X. Therapeutics principle of Chinese medicine. Sichan: Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1990. 4. Fang W., Song Ch., Zhou L. (Chief Editors). Medical pharmacology of traditional Chinese drugs. Beijing: People’s Health Press (in Chinese), 1998. 5. Chinese Materia Medica Editing Committee of the National Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology Bureau. Chinese materia medica. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1998. 6. Su W. Computer-aided analysis of Chinese materia medica. China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 1997;22(2):186. 7. Xiong W., Liu Y. The application of computers in identification of Chinese materia medica. China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 1998;23(2):124. 8. Yan X.J., Zhou J.J., Xu Z.H. Concept design of computer-aided study on traditional Chinese drug. J Chem Inf Comput Sci 1999;39(1):86. 9. Yan X.J., Zhou J.J., Xie G.R., Milne G.W.A. Traditional Chinese medicines: molecular structures, natural sources and applications. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999. 10. He M., Shen M., Zhou J.J. Design and development of traditional Chinese medicine database. Computers and Applied Chemistry (in Chinese) 1999;16:363.
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Database of ready-prepared Chinese medicine 11. He M., Yan X.J., Zhou J.J., Xie G.R. Traditional Chinese medicine database and application on the web. J Chem Inf Comput Sci 2001;41(2):273. 12. Francois M. et al. Modeling and implementing a database on drugs into a hospital intranet. Computers in Biology and Medicine 1998;28:553. 13. Editorial Board of Pharmacopoeia, Ministry of Health, P.R. China. Pharmacopoeia of People’s Republic of China. Beijing: Chemical Engineering Press, Guangdong: Guangdong Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1995. 14. Editorial Board of ‘Zhong Hua Ben Cao’, National Administration of Chinese Medicine and Herbs. Zhong Hua Ben Cao. Shanghai: Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1998. 15. Yin J., Guo L. Modern study of Chinese drugs and clinical applications (1). Beijing: Xueyuan Press (in Chinese), 1993.
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16. Ji Y. (Chief Editor). Pharmacological action and application of available composition of traditional Chinese medicine. Heilongjiang: Heilongjiang Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1995. 17. Li H., Teng W. (Chief Editor). Handbook of autodiagnosis and autotherapy. Guangzhou: South China University of Technology Press (in Chinese), 1998. 18. Jiangsu New Medical College. Comprehensive dictionary of traditional Chinese medicine. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 2000. 19. Important journals in China, such as: Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica, China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica, Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs, Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal, etc.
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INTRODUCTION
Yan Li, Xinjian Yan, Guirong Xie, Pingan Liu, Wucheng Tang, Jiaju Zhou, Laboratory of Computer Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Metallurgy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 353, Beijing 100080, P. R. China. Corresponence to: Dr Xinjian Yan, Physical and Chemical Properties Division, Building 2, Room 1022, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328 USA. Tel.: +1303 497 4164; Fax: +1303 497 5044; E-mail: [email protected]
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved with Chinese civilization for thousands of years.1 Ready-prepared Chinese medicine (RPCM), also called Chinese patent medicine, or proprietary Chinese medicine, is the main way that TCM has been administered in the cities of China.2–5 RPCMs are produced based on formulas, and available in the forms of pills, powder, plaster, wine, syrups, etc. Therefore, they are more convenient to take than medicine in the form of teas (decoctions), and may be more effective and economical. The use of RPCM has a long history. The earliest record on formula medicines is the Wu Shi Er Bing Fang (Prescriptions for Fifty-two Diseases),1 written between 770 and 221 BC. It described 52 diseases, 283 formulas, and more than 10 ready-prepared forms. The earliest book of traditional Chinese medicines is the Huang Di Nei Jing (Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor), compiled around 220 BC).1 It contains 13 formulas and nine ready-prepared forms. The most important early books on formulas and readyprepared medicines are Shang Han Lun (On Cold Damage), and Jin Gui Yao Lue Fang Lun (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer) by Zhang Zhongjing (150–219 AD).1 The former collected 112 formulas, and 11 ready-prepared medicines. The
latter contains 258 formulas, and 50 ready-prepared medicines in more than 10 forms. Since then, readyprepared medicines have become widely accepted, and a great number of formulas have been developed. For example, Sun Si Miao (581–682 AD) collected 5300 formulas in the book entitled Qian Jin Yao Fang (Thousand Golden Essential Formulas), and 2000 formulas in Qian Jin Yi Fang.2 In 992 AD, the Song Dynasty government published Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang (Great Harmony Sagely Benefit Formulas),2 which collected 16,834 formulas in 100 volumes. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Tun et al. published Pu Ji Fang (Prescriptions for Healing the Masses), which contains 61,739 formulas (1406 AD).1,2 Li Shi Zhen described 1892 herbal, animal, or mineral drugs, and 11,000 formulas in the book Ben Cao Gang Mu (Comprehensive Herbal Foundation, 1596 AD).1,2 According to an investigation in 1995, there are more than 100,000 formulas used in China. Generally, a formula contains several plants (here the plants include herbs, animals, minerals, fungi, etc.), and each plant may contain hundreds of different molecules. The possible functions of each formula are very complex. A deeper understanding of TCM should be extremely important for rationally using TCM and developing new medicines. Because each famous formula was developed by the
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usage of many generations, TCM is not only very useful clinically but also contains a vast amount of information on the relationship between the human body and a large variety of natural medicines. In last three decades especially, most famous formulas have been studied with the Western medicinal methodology; many bioactive compounds have been isolated; and some mechanisms of TCM formula functions have been elucidated based on modern scientific experiments. The vast amount of TCM information from traditional and modern studies forms a good foundation of computer-aided usage and study of TCM. Computer-aided analysis of Chinese medicine is just beginning in China. Some researchers use fuzzy logic and pattern recognition methods to analyze the functions of Chinese medicines, or to identify different herbs.6,7 In order to study Chinese medicines systematically and provide reliable information to users, we developed a TCM database, which contains 6800 molecular structures isolated from TCM, and 1400 Chinese medicinal plants with brief descriptions on their natural sources, biological effects and indications.8–11 The structures in the database can be used to search for structures that are similar to Western medicines. More data are being added into the database. In this work, which is a part of our effort to develop computer-aided methods for using and studying Chinese medicines, we have developed a ready-prepared Chinese medicine database (RPCMD). This database contains detailed information on ready-prepared Chinese medicines, officinal plants (Chinese herb), diseases and corresponding medicines. Ingredients, pharmacological functions, and clinical applications of each ready-prepared Chinese medicine are described. Information is provided on the growth habits, pharmacology, and properties of each officinal plant. Analyses of syndrome, pathogenesis, and treatment of 150 diseases are included in the database.
and descriptions of medicines produced by the most famous companies in China.2,13–19 The database consists of the following three parts:
DATABASE DESIGN AND CONTENT
Producers
As described above, there are many TCM formulas in China; but, for common uses, the number of formulas is limited. In this work, we limit our collections on the most important RPCMs. The medicines in the RPCM database include famous ancient formulas, empirical formulas, secret formulas (developers have not published the components of the drugs), new formulas developed in recent years and used widely now. The data were mainly collected from Chinese medical journals, authoritative books
Part 1 Ready-prepared Chinese medicines (RPCMs), which contains information of 885 medicines, and includes the following five tables:
RPCM In this table, the functions, indications, pharmacology, clinical applications, toxicity, and side-effects of each ready-prepared medicine are described in detail.
RPCM names A ready-prepared medicine may have several names. There is no uniform regulation on the denomination of ready-prepared medicines. In this table, we plan to include all known names of each ready-prepared medicine.
Ingredients It contains ingredients for each ready-prepared medicine (for some ready-prepared medicines, their components have been kept secret, and we are unable to display them). Most of the ready-prepared medicines are composed of several plants. These plants are used together in order to achieve a stronger curative effect. This table references the table entitled Plants (see below).
Sources This table contains sources of ready-prepared Chinese medicines, which may come from ancient famous formulas, empirical formulas proved by famous doctors, folk empirical formulas, and secret formulas. For each formula the table specifies a source reference, and the approximate date of its first use.
This table contains information on manufacturers of ready-prepared medicines (including addresses and phone and fax numbers).
Part 2 Officinal plants: this part includes two tables – Plants and Plant Names.
Plants This table contains 120 of the most commonly used officinal plants. Each plant is provided with detailed
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Database of ready-prepared Chinese medicine
information on its definitions, growth habits, collections, preparations, pharmacology, clinical applications and side-effects.
Plant names An officinal plant may be known by several common names. We plan to collect all known names into this table.
Part 3 Diseases and RPCM: this part includes descriptions and treatments for 150 diseases, and has the following three tables:
Diseases Includes 150 disease names.
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Ingredients contains plant names, by which readyprepared medicines are referenced to officinal plants. Figure 1 shows the frame of ready-prepared Chinese medicine database. Generally, ancients classified Chinese medicinal formulas based on their functions. Following this scheme, ready-prepared medicines in the database are classified into 16 classes, such as exterior resolution, clearing heat, draining precipitation, and so on. Each class may also be divided into several subclasses. For example, exterior resolution may be sub-classified into cool acrid exterior resolution, warm acrid exterior resolution, dual resolution of both exterior and interior, and supporting right and resolving the exterior. With this scheme, formulas can be found easily according to treatment methods. All these classes and subclasses are listed in Table 1 along with the number of RPCMs in each subclass.
Syndromes Includes detailed data on diagnosis, pathogenesis, and the principle of treatment for each disease.
RPCM disease Lists all the ready-prepared medicines that have a good curative effect on a specific disease. This table references the table RPCM, from which detailed information on each ready-prepared medicine can be retrieved. Among the above three parts, Part 1 is central: it directly connects with Parts 2 and 3. The table
RPCM names
RPCM sources
FUNCTIONS OF THE DATABASE Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 was used to develop the user interface of the RPCMD. ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) was used for accessing data in the database. Disorientation is one of the main problems that database users encounter when searching for information. The principle we adopted in developing the database was to guide users by graphics. Users can decide to search or browse the database through a graphical interface. In the browse mode of RPCMD, medicines are displayed in 16 classes. The query
Ingredients
Producers
885 RPCMs Functions, indications, clinical applications, pharmacology, toxicity, and side-effects
120 plants
150 diseases and RPCM effects on them
Information on syndrome analysis, pathogenesis and treatment principles Fig. 1 The frame of ready-prepared Chinese medicine database (RPCMD). Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (2001) 2, 209–217 © 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd
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Table 1
No
The 16 classes of RPCMs
Subclass
Number
A
Exterior resolution (Jie Biao)
Class
Cool acrid exterior resolution (Xin Liang Jie Biao) Warm acrid exterior resolution (Xin Wen Jie Biao) Dual resolution of both exterior and interior (Biao Li Shuang Jie) Supporting right and resolving the exterior (Fu Zheng Jie Biao)
16 15 14 11
B
Clearing heat (Qing Re)
Clearing Clearing Clearing Clearing
94 10 15 26
C
Draining precipitation (Xie Xia)
Cold precipitation (Han Xia) Moist precipitation (Run Xia) Expelling water (Zhu Shui)
12 11 8
D
Dispelling summerheat (Qu Shu)
Dispelling Dispelling Dispelling Dispelling
clearing heat (Qu Shu Qing Re) eliminating damp (Qu Shu Chu Shi) exterior resolution (Qu Shu Jie Biao) boosting Chi (Qu Shu Yi Qi)
8 13 8 34
E
Warming the center (Wen Li)
Warming the center and dissipating cold (Wen Zhong San Han) Returning Yang and stemming counterflow (Hui Yang Jiu Ni) Warming the channels and dissipating cold (Wen Jing San Han)
12 12 11
F
Quieting the spirit (An Shen)
Nourishing the blood and Quieting the spirit (Yang Xue An Shen) Settling the heart and Quieting the spirit (Zhen Xin An Shen)
17 11
G
Opening the orifices (Kai Qiao)
Cool opening (Liang Kai) Warm opening (Wen Kai)
13 10
H
Supplementing and boosting (Bu Yi)
Supplementing Chi (Bu Qi) Supplementing blood (Bu Xue) Supplementing both Chi and blood (Qi Xue Shuang Bu) Supplementing Yin (Bu Yin) Supplementing Yang (Bu Yang)
46 19 20 25 14
I
Securing and astringing (Gu Se)
Astringing essence and checking seminal emission and enuresis (Se Jing Zhi Yi) Astringing the intestines and stemming desertion (Se Chang Gu Tuo) Securing exterior and checking perspiration (Gu Biao Zhi Han) Stemming flooding and checking discharge (Gu Beng Zhi Dai)
heat and resolving toxin (Qing Re Jie Du) heat and cooling blood (Qing Re Liang Xue) heat and draining fire (Qing Re Xie Huo) bowel and visceral heat (Qing Zang Fu Re)
summerheat summerheat summerheat summerheat
and and and and
9 9 9 9
J
Rectifying Chi (Li Qi)
Moving Chi (Xing Qi) Downbearing Chi (Jiang Qi)
32 9
K
Rectifying the blood (Li Xue)
Quickening the blood and transforming stasis (Huo Xue Hua Yu) Stanching bleeding (Zhi Xue)
61 15
L
Dispelling phlegm (Qu Tan)
Drying dampness and dispelling phlegm (Zao Shi Hua Tan) Clearing heat and dispelling phlegm (Qing Re Hua Tan) Warming and transforming cold phlegm (Wen Hua Han Tan)
12 36 14
M
Dispelling dampness (Qu Shi)
Clearing heat and dispelling dampness (Qing Re Qu Shi) Disinhibiting water and percolating dampness (Li Shui Shen Shi) Dispelling wind and overcoming dampness (Qu Feng Sheng Shi) Warming and transforming water-damp (Wen Hua Shui Shi)
22 13 32 9
N
Abductive dispersion (Xiao Dao)
Dispersing food and abducting stagnation (Xiao Shi Dao Zhi) Dispersing glomus and transforming accumulations (Xiao Pi Hua Ji)
25 13
O
Dispelling wind (Qu Feng)
Coursing and dissipating external wind (Shu San Wai Feng) Calming and extinguishing internal wind (Ping Xi Nei Feng)
19 14
P
Expelling worms (Qu Chong)
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interfaces list all the query fields and key words to help users formulate a query. The interfaces for displaying information returned via browsing have a common style: a navigation bar, a title, and the information on the current subject (a ready-prepared medicine, a plant, or a disease). Examples related to the current subject are provided. After a search, only results are displayed. Complementary information is always accessible through buttons in a navigation bar. The following functions are included in the database:
and then, to determine an appreciate treatment. We established the relationships for some diseases on their patterns and treatment methods. When users click a disease name in a list, all related patterns will be displayed. When users click a pattern, all of the treatment methods that have been proven to be effective will be displayed.
• Users can query the database by ready-prepared medicine names, functions, indications, etc., and apply conditional operators (AND or OR) to queries • Users can construct a search based on the results of a previous query. Voluminous data may be returned from one search. Users can add restrictions and execute another search on the data set of previous results • The interfaces for search results are also consistent, regardless of the specific query. Links are provided to allow the user to directly display each set of results • The information interface provides a template to display one subject in detail. The contents are dynamically supplied by query results. The navigation bar provides links to more examples and experimental data • To treat a patient, a TCM doctor needs, first, to determine what disease the patient has; second, to identify which pattern the disease belongs to;
APPLICATIONS OF THE DATABASE
Table 2
From the RPCMD, users can obtain helpful information on RPCM and official plants. They can also find relationships among medicines, official plants, and diseases. Several examples follow of using the RPCMD.
RPCM for rheumatic heart disease This example shows how to find ready-prepared Chinese medicines that can treat rheumatic heart disease. ‘Rheumatic heart disease’ was used as the keyword to search the field of Disease Name. It was found that there were three types of rheumatic heart diseases and corresponding treatment methods, as shown in Table 2. The ready-prepared medicines that are effective for treating the rheumatic heart diseases are listed in Table 3. Actually, in Table 2, Spleen-Returning Pill and Ginseng Spleen-Invigorating Bolus are two differ-
Types of rheumatic heart disease and the corresponding method of treatment
Type of rheumatic heart disease Insufficiency of heart Chi Stagnation of the heart blood Insufficiency of heart Yin
Table 3
ID M054 N018 N018 N072 M070 M056 M059
Method of treatment Yang-warming and Chi-tonifying Quickening the blood and transforming stasis Yin-nourishing and blood-tonifying
Ready-prepared Chinese medicines that are effective for rheumatic heart disease
Ready-prepared Chinese medicines Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan) Spleen-Returning Pill (Gui Pi Wan) Ginseng Spleen-Invigorating Bolus (Ren Shen Gui Pi Wan) Compound Tablet of Red Sage Root (Fu Fang Dan Shen Pian) Storax Pill for Treating Coronary Heart Disease (Guan Xin Su He Wan) Celestial Emperor Heart-Supplementing Elixir (Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan) Cinnabar Sedative Pill (Zhu Sha An Shen Wan)
Type of rheumatic heart disease Insufficiency of heart Chi Insufficiency of heart Chi Insufficiency of heart Chi Stagnation of the heart blood Stagnation of the heart blood Insufficiency of heart Yin Insufficiency of heart Yin
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ent names for the same medicine. Their IDs are identical. A ready-prepared medicine may have several names. Therefore, we give a unique ID to each ready-prepared medicine, so that each medicine can be uniquely identified. The following example shows the information that can be obtained for the first RPCM, Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan), from the RPCMD.
of 885 RPCMs contain Astragalus hoangtchy. These 122 RPCMs are distributed in 12 RPCM classes. The distribution of them in the 16 RPCM classes is shown in Table 5. It is interesting to know that which is the most frequently used medicinal plant in the 885 readyprepared Chinese medicines. By searching the database, it was found that Gan Cao (Licorice) is the one. It exists in 169 medicines among 885. Table 6 lists the top ten of the most frequently occurring plants.
Detailed presentation of RPCM Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan) is a famous Chinese medicine. In order to obtain its full description, we use ‘Biota Seed HeartNourishing Pill’ as the keyword to search the field of RPCM Name in the database. The Information Interface displays related data in detail, including ingredients, the functions and indications, pharmacology, clinical applications, toxicities, and known side-effects. The field of Ingredients indicates that this medicine consists of 13 Chinese herbs (Table 4). The detailed information for these 13 Chinese herbal medicines can be searched for and displayed in Part 2 (officinal plants) of the database. The data from the Clinical Applications field show that this medicine is used in clinical treatment of four symptoms (Table 4). The function, indication, pharmacology, and toxicity of the medicine are also listed in Table 4.
RPCM involved with Astragalus hoangtchy Astragalus hoangtchy is one of the most frequently used Chinese herbs. For finding how many RPCMs in the database contain this herb, ‘Astragalus hoangtchy’ was used as the keyword to search the field of Ingredients. The result showed that 122 out
Table 4
Detailed presentation of officinal plant Astragalus hoangtchy (the root of Astragalus) is used very frequently in China. Here, we illustrate how to find information about it. ‘Astragalus hoangtchy’ was used as the keyword to search the field of Plant. The results of this query include information about plants, pharmacology, properties, function, indication, clinical applications and sideeffects of Astragalus hoangtchy. There are two kinds of Astragalus (Table 7) according to its native habitat. In the clinical applications field, we can see that this herb may be effective in prevention and cure of the following diseases (Table 7). The pharmacology, properties, function, indication and side-effects are also shown. At present, all information in the database is in Chinese.
SUMMARY Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for thousands of years. Ready-prepared Chinese medicine (RPCM), also called Chinese patent medicine, or, proprietary Chinese medicine,
The information about Biota Seed Heart-Nourishing Pill (Bo Zi Yang Xin Wan)
Ingredient
Seed of Chinese arborvitae (Bo Zi Ren), Pinellia tuber leaven (Ban Xia Qu), Rhizome of Sichuan lovage (Chuang Xiong), Chinese angelica (Dang Gui), Root of Co donopsis Pilosula (Dang Shen), Tuckahoe (Fu Ling), Liquorice (Gan Cao), Astragalus root (Huang Qi), Cinnamon (Rou Gui), Seed of wild jujude (Suan Zao Ren), Chinese magnoliaving (Wu Wei Zi), Milkwort (Yuan Zhi), Vermilion (Zhu Sha).
Function
Quieting the heart and nourishing the blood, supplementing Chi and the blood, quieting the spirit.
Indication
Heart palpitations and susceptibility to fright, essence-spirit abstraction, insomnia and profuse dreaming, poor memory.
Pharmacology
Sedation, hypnogenesis, anticonvulsive.
Clinical applications
Heart diseases, panasthenia, cardiopalmus, asomnia.
Toxicity
LD50 > 37.5 g/kg.
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Database of ready-prepared Chinese medicine Table 5
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Distribution of 122 RPCMs in the 16 RPCM classes
No
Subclass
Number
B
Clearing heat (Qing Re)
Class
Clearing heat and resolving toxin (Qing Re Jie Du) Clearing heat and draining fire (Qing Re Xie Huo) Clearing bowel and visceral heat (Qing Zang Fu Re)
6 4 4
C
Draining precipitation (Xie Xia)
Cold precipitation (Han Xia)
4
D
Dispelling summerheat (Qu Shu)
Dispelling summerheat and boosting Chi (Qu Shu Yi Qi)
4
E
Warming the center (Wen Li)
Warming the center and dissipating cold (Wen Zhong San Han) Returning Yang and stemming counterflow (Hui Yang Jiu Ni) Warming the channels and dissipating cold (Wen Jing San Han)
4
F
Quieting the spirit (An Shen)
Nourishing the blood and Quieting the spirit (Yang Xue An Shen)
H
Supplementing and boosting (Bu Yi)
Supplementing Chi (Bu Qi) Supplementing blood (Bu Xue) Supplementing both Chi and blood (Qi Xue Shuang Bu) Supplementing Yang (Bu Yang)
I
Securing and astringing (Gu Se)
5 6 4 16 6 14 4
Astringing the intestines and stemming desertion (Se Chang Gu Tuo) Securing exterior and checking perspiration (Gu Biao Zhi Han)
4 5
J
Rectifying Chi (Li Qi)
Moving Chi (Xing Qi)
6
K
Rectifying the blood (Li Xue)
Quickening the blood and transforming stasis (Huo Xue Hua Yu)
7
M
Dispelling dampness (Qu Shi)
Disinhibiting water and percolating dampness (Li Shui Shen Shi)
5
N
Abductive dispersion (Xiao Dao)
Dispersing food and abducting stagnation (Xiao Shi Dao Zhi)
5
O
Dispelling wind (Qu Feng)
Coursing and dissipating external wind (Shu San Wai Feng) Calming and extinguishing internal wind (Ping Xi Nei Feng)
5
Table 6
No
The top ten of the most frequently used medicinal plants in 885 ready-prepared Chinese medicines (medicinal plant names in TCM, English, Latin, and the number of occurrences in the 885 medicines for each plant)
TCM name
English name
Latin name
RPCM number
Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. Ligusticum wallichii Franch. (= Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort) Pericarpium citri reticulatae Paeoniae radix alba
169 126 122
1 2 3
GAN CAO DANG GUI HUANG QI
Licorice Chinese Angelica Membranous Milkvetch
4 5 6 7 8
FU LING HUANG QIN BAI ZHU REN SHEN CHUAN XIONG
Indian Bread Baikal Skullcap Largehead Atractylodes Ginseng Chuanxiong (Wallich Ligusticum) Tangerine Pericarp Common peony
9 10
4
CHEN PI BAI SHAO
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95 93 89 80 79 68 63
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Table 7
Presentation of Astragalus
Plants
Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. Var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. [Phaca membranacea Fisch.]
Pharmacology
Having influence over immune system, organism metabolism, hematopoiesis, cardiovascular system, anti-virus, anticancer
Properties
Sweet flavor, warm nature, liver channel entry and spleen channel entry
Function
Boosting Chi and returning Yang, stemming exterior and checking perspiration, disinhibiting water, eliminating toxin and engendering flesh
Indication
Internal damage and taxation fatigue, spleen vacuity diarrhea, lung vacuity cough, anal desertion, prolapse of the uterus, spontaneous sweating, blood ejection, bloody stool, flooding and spotting, night sweating, water swelling, blood impediment, Chi vacuity and blood depletion
Clinical applications
Cold, Chronic nephritis, Virus myocarditis, Chronic type B hepatitis, Rhinitis, Epidemic hemorrhagic fever, Terminal schistosomiasis
Side-effects
LD50 = 40 g/kg
is the major way that TCM has been administered in the cities of China. The RPCM formulas are available in the forms of pills, powder, plaster, wine, syrups, etc. Generally, a RPCM contains several plants (or, herbs, animals, minerals, fungi, etc.), and each plant may contain hundreds of different compounds. The possible functions of each RPCM are very complex. Therefore, the detailed information of ingredients, pharmacological functions, clinical applications, toxicities, etc., of ready-prepared Chinese medicines is extremely important. With the aim of establishing a computer-aided information system for rationally using and effectively studying TCM, we developed a database of ready-prepared Chinese medicines. This database includes 885 of the most frequently used readyprepared Chinese medicines, 120 most important Chinese medicinal plants, 150 diseases and corresponding treatments. We established relationships between ready-prepared Chinese medicines and officinal plants, and plan to provide comprehensive information for each medicine and officinal plant. We also established relationships between diseases and ready-prepared Chinese medicines. A readyprepared Chinese medicine may be able to cure several different diseases, and a disease may be treated by several different ready-prepared medicines. We established the relationship for the former case. Users can easily find how many diseases a ready-prepared medicine can treat and what these diseases are. We have also completed part of the latter case. For most diseases, users can find which ready-prepared medicines may be useful. A set of user-friendly interfaces was developed for users to query and display information. Several examples were provided showing how to use the database. One example shows that the top ten of the most fre-
quently used medicinal plants based on the 885 ready-prepared Chinese medicines are GAN CAO, DANG GUI, HUANG QI, FU LING, HUANG QIN, BAI ZHU, REN SHEN, CHUAN XIONG, CHEN PI, BAI SHAO YAO. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This project was supported in part by ACER Company. We are indebted to Dr Gary Hardin for revising this paper. REFERENCE 1. Shi L. The history of traditional Chinese medicine. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese), 1996. 2. Chen Q. (Chief Editor). The pharmacology and application of famous prescription of Chinese patent medicine. Beijing: People’s Health Press (in Chinese), 1998. 3. Sun X. Therapeutics principle of Chinese medicine. Sichan: Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1990. 4. Fang W., Song Ch., Zhou L. (Chief Editors). Medical pharmacology of traditional Chinese drugs. Beijing: People’s Health Press (in Chinese), 1998. 5. Chinese Materia Medica Editing Committee of the National Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology Bureau. Chinese materia medica. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1998. 6. Su W. Computer-aided analysis of Chinese materia medica. China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 1997;22(2):186. 7. Xiong W., Liu Y. The application of computers in identification of Chinese materia medica. China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 1998;23(2):124. 8. Yan X.J., Zhou J.J., Xu Z.H. Concept design of computer-aided study on traditional Chinese drug. J Chem Inf Comput Sci 1999;39(1):86. 9. Yan X.J., Zhou J.J., Xie G.R., Milne G.W.A. Traditional Chinese medicines: molecular structures, natural sources and applications. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999. 10. He M., Shen M., Zhou J.J. Design and development of traditional Chinese medicine database. Computers and Applied Chemistry (in Chinese) 1999;16:363.
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Database of ready-prepared Chinese medicine 11. He M., Yan X.J., Zhou J.J., Xie G.R. Traditional Chinese medicine database and application on the web. J Chem Inf Comput Sci 2001;41(2):273. 12. Francois M. et al. Modeling and implementing a database on drugs into a hospital intranet. Computers in Biology and Medicine 1998;28:553. 13. Editorial Board of Pharmacopoeia, Ministry of Health, P.R. China. Pharmacopoeia of People’s Republic of China. Beijing: Chemical Engineering Press, Guangdong: Guangdong Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1995. 14. Editorial Board of ‘Zhong Hua Ben Cao’, National Administration of Chinese Medicine and Herbs. Zhong Hua Ben Cao. Shanghai: Science and Technology Press (in Chinese), 1998. 15. Yin J., Guo L. Modern study of Chinese drugs and clinical applications (1). Beijing: Xueyuan Press (in Chinese), 1993.
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