Dec 23

Chinese herb and swine flu

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A recent study has identified a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine as a possible treatment for the H1N1 flu.

Wang Chen, president of Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, said that Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang (known as Jin Hua) was the most effective herbal treatment for swine flu.

He said that the cost-effective remedy shortened the duration of the fever associated with swine flu, as well as improving overall respiratory health.

Zhao Jing, the director of the Beijing municipal administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that the Chinese municipal government gathered the most outstanding medical experts in the Chinese capital to develop the new remedy.

She said that more than 120 medical specialists participated in the study, which used mice and rabbits, and chose Jin Hua from among about 100 herbal anti-flu prescriptions.

Currently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends Swiss-based Roche’s antiviral Tamiflu to treat the pandemic flu.

Huang Luqi, vice president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said Jin Hua had been shown in tests on mice and rabbits to bring down a fever and help the body resist the influenza virus.

Local newspapers have hailed the remedy as the world’s first traditional Chinese medicine remedy for swine flu. Officials said it had been picked out of 100 classical medicinal herbal prescriptions from Chinese medicine, a tradition dating back to the earliest Chinese emperors.

The medication had also been tested on 410 moderately sick human A/H1N1 patients, according to the Beijing Daily newspaper.

A total of 11 hospitals nationwide had conducted clinical trials on Jin Hua and given positive assessments, and Chaoyang Hospital has said it will file patents for the drug both domestically and internationally.

Zhao said the hospital hoped to be able to offer an alternative treatment for pandemic influenza.

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Dec 17

Traditional Chinese medicine and the swine flu

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Tradtional Chinese medicine appears to be effective in treating the swine flu.

Some Beijing medical officials think so, at least for mild cases of the disease. On Thursday, Chinese medicine officials announced that a traditional formula called Jin Hua Qing Gan” (金花清感) has been designated as the world’s first “optimized effective agent” for alleviating the symptoms of the H1N1 virus.

“The clinical study showed that Jin Hua Qing Gan can shorten the duration of fever, alleviate respiratory tract symptoms like sore throat, coughing etc.,” said Zhao Jing, director of the Beijing Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the press conference where the finders were announced.

Currently, however, it’s unclear if Jin Hua Qing Gan would directly replace other Western medicines to treat H1N1, especially in serious cases. “This is indeed an issue, as the target of our research are all H1N1 patients with slight symptoms”, said Wang Chen, President of Chaoyang Hospital.

The formula was developed and tested at several Western and traditional medical institutes in Beijing over the past six months. It is based on two major components, both of which have been used for centuries to treat fevers. One is Ma Xing Shi Gan（麻杏石甘汤), which has been used in China for more than 2,000 years, and Yin Qiao San (powder of lonicera and forsythia — 银翘散), which has been used for over 200 years to reduce fever.

The researchers said no adverse reactions have been found so far in patients who took the formula from the 28 traditional hospitals in Beijing that have been using it. A course of treatment costs about 80 yuan ($11.72).

In the future, Zhao said the new formula will have to go through an approval process. A license could be granted in January and the formula could come on the market in Beijing then.

It’s not clear if the formula can be exported. Ma Xing Shi Gan Formula contains Ma Huang, (herba ephedrae). Although this herb is widely used to treat asthma in China, it was sold in the U.S. as a weight-loss product in dosages far higher than commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. After several highly publicized deaths, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned it in 2004.

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