Book on Chinese patent medicines soon

BEIJING - Over 9,000 traditional medicines made from Chinese herbs will soon have a textbook that will provide details on each one of them.

The medicines, including pills, capsules, and ointments will be detailed in a book titled “Proper Use of Traditional Chinese Patent Medicine”, the Beijing Huimin Health and Medical Development Foundation said.

The textbook will seek to end the semi-anarchical state of traditional Chinese patent drugs by guiding the modern-day doctors to include them in their prescriptions, Hui Lusheng, chairman of the foundation, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

“Doctors, without a systematic understanding, usually prescribe them according to the instructions from drug makers,” Hui.

Over 9,000 traditional Chinese patent medicines will find mention in the book, Hui said.

Sun Xianze, an official with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), said traditional Chinese patent medicines, though mild and natural, can still have adverse drug reactions. Their improper use may do harm to patients or reduce the effectiveness of the mixtures.

The foundation has invited over 30 Chinese pharmaceutical and clinical specialists to participate in writing the textbook.

Liu Qingquan, an expert from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, who is assisting in compiling the book, said it would be both authoritative and easy to read.

“Doctors can use it as a reference book while ordinary patients, by reading it, can understand what they are taking,” Liu said.