A study of the tendency of anti-cancer experimental study using herbal medicines

한약(韓藥)을 이용(利用)한 항암(抗癌) 실험연구(實驗硏究)의 경향(傾向)에 관(關)한 고찰(考察)

  • Kim, Hyung-A (Dept. of Oriental Internal Medicine, the College of Oriental Medicine, DongGook University) ;
  • Lim, Sung-Woo (Dept. of Oriental Internal Medicine, the College of Oriental Medicine, DongGook University) ;
  • Lee, Won-Chul (Dept. of Oriental Internal Medicine, the College of Oriental Medicine, DongGook University)
  • Published : 1998.12.21

Abstract

Because there were lots of side effects and tolerances to the existing anticancer therapeutics, the experiment extracting the anticancer effect from medicinal herbs is in progress liviely. Therefore the purpose of this study were to research the tendency and the course of anticancer studies. To research the tendency of anticancer studies, medicinal herbs of fifty three experimental papers were analyzed and to examine the course of studies, anticancer papers in the medical world were used. The obtained results were as follows: Methods of herbal medicinal treatments were elimination the pathogenic factor(祛邪) and supporting healthy energy(扶正) method used. In this study, immediately tumor bearing and immune response were the most important point. The subject of immediately tumor bearing was not in the specific cancer but in the influence on the life span of general cencerous cells. In the experimental study of immune response, the effect on NK cell activity of medicinal herbs most studied. The combined usage of medicinal herbs and anticancer agent mostly intended to know whether it inhibits the tumor cell growth. The serum test and blood cell number test show if medicinal herbs inhibit side effect of anticancer agent. More than 80 percents of used medicinal herbs, there were anticancer activities. However anticancer experimental studies using medicinal herbs two weak points. The one, it was difficult to choose a prescription according to differentiation of symptoms and signs(辨證論) of the Oriental Medicine, because we put to the test not a man but a mouse. The other, as we observed the indirect effect of the whole physiological regulation caused by synergic effects of the complex prescription, we don't understand the detailed mechanism of the herb. Therefore, if the anticancer effect of the herb is proved the experiment, we should research the concrete medical action of medicinal herbs and immunological analysis of herbal medicines to the body.

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