Traditional Chinese medicine has been used for thousands of years by a large population. It is currently still serving many of the health needs of the Chinese people; and still enjoying their confi dence it is practised in China in parallel with modern Western medical treatment. In addition to scientific organisations dedi cated to modern Western medicine, e. g. the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and various medical schools, a series of parallel institutions have been established in China to promote traditional Chinese medicine, such as the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and training institutions. Almost all hospitals in China have a department of traditional medicine. Furthermore, a large number of scientific journals are dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine, covering both experimental and clinical investigations. Medicinal materials constitute a key topic in the treatment of disease according to traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia (1985 edition) is therefore divided into two sepa rate volumes, Volume I containing traditional Chinese medicinal materials and preparations and Volume II containing pharmaceu tics of Western medicine. The oldest Chinese review of medicinal materials, Shennong Bencao Jing (100-200 A. D. ), covered 365 herbal drugs. The clas sic compilation in this field, Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), was published in 1578 by Li Shi-zhen and recorded as many as 1898 crude drugs of plant, animal and min eral origin.

The "First International Conference on Traditional Chinese Medicine: Science, Regulation and Globalization" was held from August 30 to September 2, 2000 at the University of Maryland at College Park, Maryland. There were approximately 250 participants from the Peoples Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States. This objective of this conference was to promote international collaboration for the modernization of Traditional Chinese herbal medicines (TCM) and their introduction into the global health care system. It was mainly sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China and the NllI National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). It was organized by Dr. William Tai, then director of the Institute of Global Chinese Affairs at the University of Maryland and Dr. Yuan Lin, president of Marco Polo Technologies, Bethesda, MD. This conference was conceived by Dr. Tai two years earlier recognizing that this was an appropriate time and also the unique location of the University of Maryland. Today, there is a growing recognition of the of alternative medicine in modem societies and the rapid loss of importance knowledge about traditional methods for the treatment of the multitude of human illnesses found throughout the world. TCM has been in common use in China for thousands of years; and many of its formulations are well defined.

Chinese Materia Medica - Chemistry, Pharmacology and Applications provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on the chemistry and pharmacology of commonly-used Chinese herbs. It gives an in-depth profile of the traditional experience of Chinese materia medica with modern scientific explanations. It also features the theories and concepts of Chinese materia medica from the Western medical perspectives, and the sources, production and quality control of Chinese materia medica. This book can be used both as a reference book and a textbook for specialized university and on-the-job training courses. It is essential reading for all students and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. It should also be of interest to those in education and research in natural products, pharmaceutical sciences and medicine.

Synergizing herbal medicine with clinical science, this two-volume guide combines the medicinal applications of a comprehensive range of herbs from traditional Chinese medicine with modern day scientific information. In a rapid access, A-Z format, this ready reference contains more than 300 chemical structures of active ingredients, supported by chemical, pharmacological and toxicological data, and backed by some 8,000 literature citations. With its listing of the complete Materia Medica of plant origin from the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, this work is highly relevant to experimental practitioners in the medicinal and pharmaceutical fields and the only one to provide such a wealth of chemical data.

Synergizing herbal medicine with clinical science, this two-volume guide combines the medicinal applications of a comprehensive range of herbs from traditional Chinese medicine with modern day scientific information. In a rapid access, A-Z format, this ready reference contains more than 300 chemical structures of active ingredients, supported by chemical, pharmacological and toxicological data, and backed by some 8,000 literature citations. With its listing of the complete Materia Medica of plant origin from the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, this work is highly relevant to experimental practitioners in the medicinal and pharmaceutical fields and the only one to provide such a wealth of chemical data.

This book is the first volume of a comprehensive 2-volume book covering modern pharmacological and clinical studies of the most commonly used Chinese herbal drugs. It contains monographs of 250 kinds of the most commonly used Chinese Materia Medica. The information on each herb was compiled by a research specialist active in the scientific investigation of that particular type of herb. The description on each drug includes an introduction (source, character and taste, actions and indications according to traditional Chinese medicine etc.), chemical composition, pharmacology, clinical studies, adverse effects and references. The translation of the book into English was done by qualified professionals in the field and the terms used are consistent with those used in Index Medicus, Chemical Abstracts and Botanical journals.