New Drug Development using Korean Herbal Formulae: A model role study

  • Cho, Jung-Hyo (Liver-Immune Department of Oriental Medicine College, Daejeon University) ;
  • Wang, Jing-Hua (Liver-Immune Department of Oriental Medicine College, Daejeon University) ;
  • Son, Chang-Gue (Liver-Immune Department of Oriental Medicine College, Daejeon University)
  • Published : 2009.11.30

Abstract

Objectives: Traditional Korean herbal formulae are composed of multiple medicinal plants. This situation of multiple-ingredient mixtures has been considered as a major obstacle to new drug development using herbal formulae in the world market, despite the effectiveness of such mixtures. This study reviewed Liv-52 as a representative model of successful drug development using a multiple-herb mixture. Methods: All articles for Liv-52 were collected from the PubMed database. The history, composition of Liv-52, its pharmaceutical efficacy and mechanisms, and data from clinical studies including its market size were analyzed. Results: Liv-52 is composed of seven herbal plants and it is the best known in Ayurvedic medicine for treating liver disorders. Since its 1955 introduction, forty four international papers have been published based on pre-clinical and clinical trials. The efficacy and mechanisms of Liv-52 were intensively studied. Currently, Liv-52 is one of the top-selling products, with over 10 million dollars sales annually, in the world market. Conclusions: These results indicate that Korean herbal formulae could be new global drugs if scientific evidence for efficacy and standardization are produced via literature researches.

Keywords

References

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