Studies on elucidation of action mechanisms and active ingredients of Kampo medicines by basic research

Abstract

As medical science has progressed, the profile of illness has changed greatly : disease related to aging and inappropriate lifestyles is increasing. Because it is difficult to cure patients with these diseases using only modern medicine, Kampo medicine, which tends to regulate homeostasis, has an increasing role in medical practice in Japan.
Although Kampo medicines have had a long clinical history to support their efficacies and safety, efficacy of Kampo medicine requires scientific clarification of action mechanism and active ingredients in nonclinical studies and objective clinical evaluations as an evidence-based medicine. Because Kampo medicines contain many active ingredients due to the several component herbs, clarification of such combination effects, and standardization are also very important in order to understand the mechanism of action and supply quality-controlled materials. In this review, our basic approaches on elucidation of action mechanism and active ingredients of Kampo medicines are described.