The Oriental Materia Medica in viewpoint of natural products chem

천연물화학(天然物化學)에서 보는 동의약(東醫藥)

There are the Seven Effect of Drugs and unique processing methods in Chinese traditional medicine. The Seven Effects are single effrect(單行), additive effect(相加, 相須), synergic effect(上乘, 相使), antagonistic effect(相畏, 拮抗), inhibitory effect(相惡), neutralizing effect(相殺) and opposite effect(相反). We are interested in synergic effects of some drugs and components ; Addition of OLDENLANDIA DIFFUSA to Kilkyungtang combanation enhanced the cytotoxic activity of Kilkyungtang against A549 and B16-Fo eells by 20% and 50%, respectively. The Oldenlandia-added kilkyungtang also potentiated the cytotoxicities of mitomycine Cand 5-fluorouracil. ar-tunnerone. isolated from the root of Curcuma longa, potentiated the cytotoxic activity of sesquiphellandrene(isolated from the same root), aurapten(isolated from Aurantii semen)or cyclophosphamide by 10 times. The purpose of the processing(修治) of Chinese grugs is to remove unusable parts of plants and to eliminate toxicities as well as to produse new active components in drugs. On a occasion of study on the anthelmintic drugs against the chinese fluke(Clonorchis sinesis, (肝디스토마), we have observed that the processed mume fruit(鳥梅) possessed a very very potent clonorchicidal effect, while the methanol extract of the non-processed fruit inactive. The active component was isolated from the processed mume and identified as 5-hydroxymethylfurfuryl aldehyde. This substance dose not occur in the immature fruit and was found only in the processed one. Wehave heated the immature fruit in an oven at $90^{\circ}C$ for 52 hrs and found that the heated fruit eame clonorchidal. As demonstrated in these and other example cited in this presentation, the natural products chemistry is contributory to univeiling the drug effect ensued from the processing and the synergic effect of Oriental medical drug combinations, and to rationalization or modernization of the traditional medicine.