Classification and regional distribution of Chinese herbal medicine definitions

Chinese medicine (English name: Chinese Traditonal drug): Chinese medicine is mainly composed of plant medicine (root, stem, leaf, fruit), animal medicine (viscera, skin, bone, organs, etc.) and mineral medicine. Because herbal medicines account for the majority of traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine is also called Chinese herbal medicine. There are about 5,000 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines used in various parts of China. There are numerous prescriptions that can be combined with various medicinal materials. After thousands of years of research, an independent science - the theory of herbal medicine was formed. Now all medical schools in China have set up a course on natural medicine. The content they talk about is the generic Chinese herbal medicine.

Chinese medicines include Chinese herbal medicines, decoction pieces and proprietary Chinese medicines, and Chinese herbal medicines are raw materials for decoction pieces and proprietary Chinese medicines. According to the survey, there are more than 1,000 to 1200 kinds of medicinal materials used in the decoction pieces and proprietary Chinese medicines, of which wild medicinal materials account for about 80%; cultivated medicinal materials account for about 20%. Among the Chinese herbal medicines applied throughout the country, there are 800-900 kinds of botanical herbs, accounting for 90%; more than 100 animal medicines; and 70-80 kinds of mineral medicines. Among the plant herbs, there are 200 to 250 species of roots and rhizomes, 180 to 230 species of fruit seeds, 180 to 180 species of whole plant herbs, 60 to 60 species of flower herbs, and 50 to 60 species of leaf herbs. There are 30 to 40 kinds of skin medicines, 40 to 50 kinds of rattan wood medicines, 20 kinds of bacteria and algae medicines, and 20 to 25 kinds of plant medicines such as Dannanxing, Qingjing and Zhuru. Among animal medicines, there are 30-40 kinds of invertebrate medicinal materials such as purple tip flowers and sea pumice; 30 to 40 kinds of insect medicines; 40 to 60 kinds of fish amphibians and reptiles; about 60 kinds of animal medicines .

(1) Types of Traditional Chinese Medicines Produced and Managed in Various Regions The remarkable regional nature of traditional Chinese medicine resources determines that the types of medicinal materials produced and acquired in different parts of the country are different. The local medicine habits are different, and the types and quantities of Chinese herbal medicines that are operated are also different. The types of Chinese herbal medicines produced and acquired throughout the country have their own characteristics and constitute the regionalization pattern of Chinese herbal medicines. In the vast area north of the Yellow River in China, roots and rhizomes that are cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and saline-alkali resistant are the most common, followed by fruit and medicinal herbs. The majority of areas in the Yangtze River basin and southern China are warm, happy, wet, and the proportion of leafy, whole grass, flowers, rattan, leather, and animal medicines is relatively large. The number of home and wild medicinal herbs purchased by provinces and districts in northern China is generally between 200 and 1,300; and the number of home and wild herbs purchased by provinces and districts in the south is about 300 to 400. The cultivation (feeding) species in the northeast region is represented by ginseng, pilose antler, and asarum. The wild species are represented by cork, windbreak, gentian, eucalyptus, etc.; the cultivation species in North China are Codonopsis, Astragalus, Rehmannia, yam, and honeysuckle. Representative, the wild species are represented by Astragalus, Bupleurum, Polygala, Anemarrhena, Suanzaoren, Forsythia, etc.; the cultivated species in East China are represented by Fritillaria, honeysuckle, Corydalis, Paeonia, Magnolia, Atractylodes, and moutan. The wild species are represented by gardenia, snakes, prunella, osmanthus, and boziren; the cultivated species in Huazhong region are represented by alfalfa, hawthorn, magnolia, turf, dipsaci, and oyster shells; wild species are pupa and turtle shells. The representative species in southern China are represented by Amomum vulgare, Areca catechu, Zhizhi, Bergamot, and Patchouli; the wild species are root fleece-flower root, anti-herb, grass fruit, sarcophagus, pangolin, quail, etc. Representative; cultivated species in southwest China are represented by Coptis chinensis, Eucommia ulmoides, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Fuzi, Panax notoginseng, turmeric, Ophiopogon japonicus, etc.; wild species are Musk, Fritillaria cirrhosa, Cordyceps militaris , Notopterygium represented; cultivated species Northwest Tianma, Eucommia, Angelica, Codonopsis, medlar as the representative; species of wild places licorice, ephedra, rhubarb, Gentiana, Cistanche, Cynomorium represented. Marine drugs are represented by kelp, seaweed, cassia, oysters, and hippocampus. The main products of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Most varieties of Chinese herbal medicines are distributed throughout the country, and the national herbal medicine system is held every year to exchange herbal medicine products. The number of Chinese herbal medicines exchanged at the national exchange conference is generally 800 to 1,000, up to several thousand. There are about 500 to 600 kinds of medicinal materials commonly used in medicinal herbs nationwide. There are about 200 kinds of commonly used medicinal materials, and about 100 kinds of medicinal materials are not commonly used. There are also a few cold medicines. Judging from the scale of operations, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other large cities are generally 700-800, and small and medium-sized cities are generally 500-600, and counties and counties are 300-400. Shanghai is an area where there are many varieties of medicinal herbs in China. According to records, up to several thousand species can be found.

(2) The categories of Chinese medicinal materials contained in the “Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China”, “Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China”, are the national drug standards of China. The "People's Republic of China Drug Administration Law" stipulates that medicines must meet the national drug standards or the drug standards of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities (referred to as local standards). Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 6th edition of the "People's Republic of China Pharmacopoeia" has been promulgated. From the second edition of the "People's Republic of China Pharmacopoeia" in 1963 to the 1995 edition, the types of medicinal herbs collected have increased significantly.

In the 1985 edition of the Pharmacopoeia, 446 kinds of herbs were actually collected, of which 383 were plant herbs, accounting for 86%, and 9% were animal medicines, and 21 were mineral medicines, accounting for 5%. Among the three types of herbs, the source of plant and animal medicines is more complex, mainly in two aspects: First, multiple sources of one drug, among the 425 kinds of plants and animal medicines collected in the 1985 edition of the Pharmacopoeia, 81 kinds of two sources, 3 Thirty-two sources, nine sources of four sources, three sources of five sources, and one source of six sources. The second is a multi-drug-one source. There are 42 species in this case, and the two herbs belong to the same source. The 38 kinds of 3 kinds of medicines belong to the same source and the 2 types of 4 kinds of medicines belong to the same source. Therefore, according to the statistics of Jiyuan, 425 plant and animal medicines come from 536 animal and plant species and belong to 160 families.

The Pharmacopoeia of 1990 included 509 Chinese herbal medicines and vegetable oils, including 439 botanical herbs, 47 animal medicines, and 23 mineral medicines, involving 627 primordial species (not including appendices), of which 557 species were mostly plant species. 70 kinds of animals. The primordial composition is as follows: one original 373 species, two original species 88 species, three original species 36 species, four original species seven species, five original species six species, and six original one species. Multi-source herbs are: three original rhubarb, shiitake mushrooms, horse ebony, Araceae, coriander seeds, gallnut, cohosh, leeks, licorice, Shiwei, Lily, Baibu, Zhuru, Ibero, Wujing, oysters , Green Barley, Yu Li Ren, Asarum, Pearl, Amomum villosum, Clematis, Ezhu, Codonopsis, Sea Dragon, Sicaria, Predicted Mulberry, Mulberry, Coptis, Huang Jing, Snake Eel, Ephedra, Lithospermum, Orange, Musk; Four original Chuanmu Fritillaria, gentian, bitter almond, turmeric, Gentiana, Qinpi, honeysuckle; five original Dendrobium, tangerine peel, Citrus aurantium, Uncaria, hippocampus, epimedium; six original Cassia.

(3) Types of medicinal herbs included in local standards Local standards are local pharmaceutical regulations. They are the implementation or supplements of the “Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China.” Traditionally, local medicinal herbs are included. For example, the pharmacopoeia contains the seeds of the Solanaceae plant, while Guangdong, Jiangxi and other places use the seeds of the water plants of the Acipenseraceae plant and call it the “Southern Fairy”. According to statistics, there are regional differences in the use habits of about 200 kinds of medicinal materials in the country. The most common ones are Didi, Pulsatilla, Guanzhong, Speranskia, Daqingye.

At present, there are no uniform requirements for the local standards of various provinces (districts) in China. From the point of view of some local standards that have been published, their names and publication times are not consistent. Now we will make statistics on the varieties of Chinese herbal medicines included in the drug standards of some provinces and districts.

In the local standards, regionally-used medicinal herbs account for a large proportion. For example, only 11% of the “Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China” contained in the “Standards for Sichuan Traditional Chinese Medicines” accounted for only 11%, 89% belonged to species other than pharmacopoeia, and 72% of local varieties were included in the “Standards for Yunnan Traditional Medicinal Materials”. The medicinal herbs collected in local standards have very strong regional characteristics, such as Sichuan's Aba Angelica, Chuanzhongnanxing, Sichuan Codonopsis, Sichuan Peony, Kangding Yuzhu, and South Sichuan Aristolochia, etc.; Yunnan's Yunbai, Jintie, Zhuzishen, and Yam Wolfberry and Zao Ren et al.

(4) The types of medicinal materials in proprietary Chinese medicines and clinical prescriptions The proprietary Chinese medicines are fixed prescription preparations, and the herbs involved in their prescriptions are relatively extensive. "Chinese Basic Chinese Medicine" contains 700 kinds of proprietary Chinese medicines, involving 574 kinds of medicinal materials (excluding varieties of medicinal herbs prepared by different methods).

Most of the raw materials for proprietary Chinese medicines are traditionally used as herbal medicines, but many formulas have also absorbed some of the herbal medicines that are not yet available for distribution and belong to the category of folk medicines, such as dwarf tea, odoriferous 7 leaves, southern snake vine, water chestnut, Autumn pears, green radishes, onion heads, leeks, azalea leaves, white back stalks, gardenia sorghum, willow mushrooms, scallions, squid, squid, pork mandible, sheep cheekbones, chicken feet, sparrow brain, conch, iron filings , patina and incense ink.

Compared with Chinese medicine formulations, clinical prescriptions have great flexibility. It is understood that the types of medicinal herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions are mostly 250-300 species, and 400-500 species are more common, which are basically commercially available Chinese herbal medicines.

(5) Kinds of medicinal materials for export The Chinese medicinal materials have a long history of export. According to records, medicinal materials were exported from the Tang and Song dynasties. The varieties of medicinal herbs exported include: cinnabar, ginseng, bezoar, wolfberry, wolfberry, aconite, chuanchuanjiao, changshan, polygala, licorice, chuanxiong, atractylodes, windproof, almond, astragalus, rhubarb, white peony, cardamom, musk, antler, five Jiapi, mint, dried tangerine peel, cinnamon, angelica, ephedra, Chinese wolfberry, camphor, gall and sulfur.

So far, China is still the main country for the export of medicinal herbs. China's Chinese herbal medicine exports include more than 80 countries and regions such as Southeast Asia, Japan, the former Soviet Union, the United States, and Hong Kong and Macao.

At present, there are about 500 kinds of medicinal materials exported from China, among which ginseng, licorice, astragalus, platycodon, gentian, Morinda officinalis, Aconitum, Bupleurum, wind-proof, purple grass, white peony root, Chinese angelica, Codonopsis pilosula Salvia miltiorrhiza, Scrophulariaceae, Radix Scrophulariae, Radix Rehmanniae, Radix Scutellariae, Achyranthes bidentata, Radix Sophorae, Ophiopogon japonicus, Radix Notoginseng, Radix Sophorae Radix, Radix Hedysari, Radix Polygoni multiflori, Radix, Fritillaria, Rhizoma Coptidis, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Anemarrhenae, Cimicifuga Turmeric, Atractylodes, Atractylodes, Arisaema, Corydalis, Guanzhong, Eucommia, Magnolia, Cork, Qinpi, Ishigaki, Uncaria, Mulberry, Zhuru, Mulberry, Artemisia, Leaves of Mahonia, Loquat Leaf, Light Bamboo, Red Flowers, Coltsfoot, Honeysuckle, Chrysanthemum, Rose, Buddleja, Pusan, Pine pollen, Ligustrum lucidum, Schisandra, Gorgon Fruit, Citrus aurantium, melon wilt, puzzle, papaya, villosum, cumin, ebony , Hawthorn, Gardenia, Hawthorn, Suanzaoren, Yulin Li, Mustard Seed, Gardenia, Ephedra, Capillaris, Motherwort, Asarum, Buckwheat, Cynomorium, Musk, Toon, Cordyceps, Poria, Porca, Puffball Lei Wan et al.; animal medicine mainly pilose antler Musk, gelatin, centipede, scorpion, toad oil, Sang cuttlebone, hives, turtle shells and the like; mineral ingredients mainly ocher, cinnabar, goose pipe stone, natural copper, amber keel and the like.

(6) Kinds of Valuable Herbs Valuable herbs are treasures in Chinese medicine. In 1981, the Ministry of Health, the State Administration of Drugs, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued notices on the varieties of valuable medicinal herbs, including musk, bezoar, ginseng, panax notoginseng, berberine, fritillaria, antler, cordyceps, gastrodia, pearls, and bear bile. Gardenia jasminoides, Eucommia ulmoides, Magnolia officinalis, Chrysanthemum, cinnamon, agarwood, hawthorn, osmanthus, honeysuckle, Morinda officinalis, donkey-hide gelatin, rhinoceros, broad-angle, antelope horn, frankincense, myrrh, dragon's blood, Amomum villosum, sandalwood, male cloves And 30 varieties of saffron are listed as valuable herbs.

The distribution of Chinese herbal medicines in China Due to the differences in historical culture and geographical environment, there are also great differences in the resources of Chinese medicines in various regions. The types of Chinese herbal medicines produced and acquired in different parts of the country have their own characteristics, which constitute the regionalization pattern of Chinese herbal medicines.

In the vast area north of the Yellow River in China, roots and rhizomes that are cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and salt-tolerant are the most common, followed by fruit and medicinal herbs. In the Yangtze River basin and southern China, most of the species are warm, happy, wet, and the proportions of leafy, whole grass, flowers, rattan, leather, and animal medicines are relatively large.

In North China, the cultivated species are represented by Astragalus membranaceus, Radix Rehmanniae, Chinese yam, Codonopsis pilosula, and honeysuckle. The wild species are represented by Astragalus membranaceus, Polygala, Bupleurum, Anemarrhenae, Suanzaoren, and Forsythia.

East China: The cultivated species are represented by fritillary, honeysuckle, corydalis, peony, honokiol, atractylodes, moutan, wild species such as scorpions, snakes, prunella, eucalyptus, and boziren.

In central China, the cultivation species are represented by scorpion, hawthorn, magnolia, eucalyptus, dipsacus, and oyster shells, while the wild species are represented by scorpion, turtle shell, armor, pinellia, and stem.

In southern China, the varieties of cultivation are represented by Amomum villosum, Betel nut, Yizhi, bergamot, and Patchouli, while the wild species are represented by Polygonum multiflorum, Radix Puerariae, Caoguo, Ishigaki, Pangolin, and Poria.

Southwest China: Cultivated species include Coptis chinensis, Eucommia ulmoides, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Fuzi, Panax notoginseng, turmeric, and Ophiopogon japonicus. Wild species are represented by musk, Fritillaria, Cordyceps sinensis, and alfalfa in the northwest region: cultivated species are Gastrodia elata, Eucommia ulmoides Representatives of Angelica, Danggui, Codonopsis pilosula, and Gardenia jasminoides represented wild species such as licorice, ephedra, rhubarb, gentiana, Cistanche, and Cynomorium. Marine drugs are represented by kelp, seaweed, cassia, oysters, and hippocampus.

The cultivation (feeding) species in the northeastern region is represented by ginseng, pilose antler, and asarum, while the wild species are represented by cork, windbreak, gentian, and husk oil.