• Journal of Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

While herbal medicine including mineral herbal medicine mostly provides microelements to the human body thanks to abundant metallic elements, its harmfulness has been raised due to elements of heavy metals. Harmfulness of mineral herbal medicine needs to be analyzed quantitatively as well as qualitatively so that specificity of herbal medicine including mineral herbal medicine can be reflected. Consequently, the following aims should be set up to mineral herbal medicine, REALGAR, standard processing of REALGAR and the standards of processed drugs should be secured. On the basis of the results of this study, the reasonable measures to develop the processing method and the test method for heavy metals were presented. Such measures are expected to give the following results. First, consumers may take food and medicine without anxiety, and food and medicine may be effectively managed, and the national service may be improved, and also safety against heavy metals may be publicized. Second, as the principal ingredients and microelements of mineral herbal medicine are qualitatively analyzed, such results are expected to contribute to the advance of national analytics for herbal medicine.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.231-240
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• 2015

A total of 93 mineral medicines are mentioned in the Chinese Bonchodogam(本草圖鑑). In Donguibogam(東醫寶鑑), 77 mineral medicines are listed, where 18 are from soil origin, 4 from gem origin, and 55 mineral medicines were originated from stone. In the Herblogy(本草學), which is the textbook used in most oriental medicine colleges in Korea, a total of 23 mineral medicines are listed. Of those, Cinnabaris, Alumen, Melanteritum, Realgar, Orpimentum, Sulfur, Lime from Donguibogam, additional eight which are Talcum, Calomelas, Minium, Calamina, Stannum, Hydrargyrum, Lithargyrum, Hydrargyrum Chloratum from Bonchodogam and Gypsum, Natrii Sulfas, Talcum, Cinnabaris, Sulfur, Arsenicum Sublimatum, Realgar, Calomelas, Minium, Calamina, Borax, Aurum, Glauberitum from Herblogy were selected as the mineral medicine applicable as external atopic dermatitis treatment. Most of the mineral medicines were generally regarded as toxic materials, and therefore, they were elaborately processed to remove toxicity before use. In accordance, it is necessary to discuss how to effectively remove toxicity from toxic mineral medicines. In addition, detoxification can be applied to those mineral medicines classified based on the index material or high content compounds, and if efficacy can be evaluated through various analytical methods, this can be applied to diverse inflammatory diseases as well as atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2002

In the literal study of anti-tumor effects of Jakeumjung. the results were as follows. 1. Jakeumjung is a traditional oriental medical prescription which is composed of Cremastare appeniculatae tuber, Euphorbiae pekinensis radix, Toosendan fructus, Chinensis galla, Moschus, Realgar and Cinnabaris. 2. Jakeumjung is applied to patients by administering or external application. When it is administered for patients, pertinent dose is 0.6~1.5g twice or three times per one day. When it is applied by external application, we melt it by water or vinegar and apply it to patients. 3. Effects of Jakeumjung are expelling toxin and pestilence, counteracting pathogen and relieving stagnation, detumescence and stopping pain. So it is used for detoxification from ancient. In recent, it is often used for cancer such as breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, epigastric cancer, acute leukemia, lymphoma, thymus cancer and skin cancer. 4. From the various experiments, Jakeumjung has been proved to have antifungal and antitumor effects. It inhibits and kills L7212, L1210 cells of leukemia. Especially, it acts in S stage of cell period. 5. Jakeumjung includes mineral medicines such as Realgar, Cinnabaris. So if we execute progressive study for anticancer effects and safety, the boundary of oriental medicine of using mineral medicines for cancer therapy will magnify in the future.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.222-227
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• 2002

Although there are a few reports concerning the side effects and toxicity of herbal medicines, there has not yet been any report concerning their causes, mechanisms or prevention. We investigated the internal reports concerning the side effects and toxicity of herbal medicines. In the findings, liver disorder (hepatic injury) was found in 7 cases, kidney disorders (nephropathy) were found in 12 cases, heart disorders were found in 4 cases and mineral-caused diseases were found in 2 cases. Besides, we found the major cause of the side effects and toxicity was drug abuse, such as over-dosage and long term medication. So, we hope this report brings more attention to the safety and toxicity of herbal medicines.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.365-372
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• 2002

The mineral medicines mean a sort of mineral or rock for medical treatment and natural material using their chemical components and physical properties. In this study, it was apprehended the mineralogical characteristics of As-bearing group mineral medicines. The extraction test is an vitro test system for predicting the bioavailability of the major and minor elements from mineral medicines and incorporates gastrointestinal tract parameters representative of a human(including stomach and small intestinal pH, stomach mixing time and velocity). The results of the extraction test are used for reaction path modeling in human body. Reaction path modeling in human body can predict digestion with gastric juice as well as bioavailability, speciation. Also, it can predict accumulation of arsenic as pH condition. As the results of the extraction test for digestion, the amounts of Fe extraction was the highest, followed by As, Ca, Ni. In addition, as the results of the reaction path modeling between arsenic compounds and gastric juice using thermodynamic data, when absorbed, major species are followed by H₃As₃S/sub 6/(aq), As₃S/sub 6/ (aq), AsO/sup +/, H₂As₃S/sup 6-/, H₂AsO/sup 3-/, HAs₃S6/sup 2-/, HAsO/sub 3//sup 2-/ and AsO/sub 3//sup 3-/. Specifically the concentration of H₃As₃S/sub 6/(aq) is the highest. As pH increases, the concentration of H₂AsO/sup 3-/, HAsO/sub 3//sup 2-/, HAsO/sub 3//sup 3-/, HAs₃S/sub 6//sup 2-/, H₂As₃S/sup 6-/, and H₃As₃S/sub 6/ increases, whereas the concentration of H₃As₃S/sub 6/ and AsO/sup +/ decreases. On the results of this study, it is able to find out effective and toxic components of poisonous arsenic group of mineral medicines and expected to be widely used for the development of new medicines.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.480-486
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• 2008

This paper reports on the monitoring results of some heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As and Hg) in oriental mineral medicines. Levels of Pb, Cd and As were determined using the acid digestion method and ICP-MS. Hg levels were determined using the gold amalgamation method and Automatic mercury analyzer (AMA). The results indicated that, in the case of Pb, 25.81% (24 cases) of the samples were over MRL (5 mg/kg). Pb levels in Calamina, Pumex, and Cinnabaris exceeded MRL (5 mg/kg). In the case of Cd, 9.68% (17cases) of the samples were over MRL (0.3 mg/kg). Cd levels in Calamina, Pumex and Cinnabaris were exceeded MRL (0.3 mg/kg). In case of As, 24.73% (23 cases) of samples exceeded MRL (3 mg/kg). As levels in Calamina, Lithargyrum, Vermilionum, Cinnabaris and Chalcocitum exceeded MRL (3 mg/kg). In the case of Hg, it was shown that the 76.34% (78 cases) of the samples exceeded MRL (0.2 mg/kg). Hg levels in almost all the samples exceeded MRL (0.2 mg/kg). These results led us to recommend that the domestic commercial law to be legislated to ensure the quality estimation and safety of oriental mineral medicines.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.187-197
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• 2015

Oriental mineral medicines are single or mixture of more than one mineral species or rock/fossil which are used to treat disease. Mineral medicines remove harmful or useless substances to decrease toxicity and secondary effects, and cause the manufacture of medical compounds with increased efficacy. The extraction test is an accepted in vitro system to predict the bioaccessibility of major and minor elements from mineral medicine. It incorporates gastrointerstinal tract parameters representative of a human body that including stomach and small intestinal pH which are the same as digestion condition. The bioaccessibility of a mineral medicine is the fraction that is soluble in the gastrointestinal environment and is available for absorption. Reaction path modeling in the human body can predict digestion with gastric fluid as well as absorption in the small intestine, existence in body fluids and reaction progress of the exhaust process according to pH conditions in body. Also reaction path modeling can predict bioavailability, which is equal to existence rate in the body and the form and amount of a medicine in the body after intake. The study results from predicating the existence form mineral medicines in the body, and proving the effective ingredient using bioaccessibitily and human risk assessment, suggest these that should be necessary data for new medicine development.

• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 2008

Infantile convulsion has always been the subject of concern as it is a common yet fatal disease among infants. During the Koryo dynasty and the early years of Chosun dynasty animal and mineral medicinal materials were used to relieve heat. These are replaced with more subtle medicinal materials later on in the Chosun dynasty when differentiation of chronic and acute infantile convulsion first emerged. As such, perception on appropriate medicinal materials is constantly renovated in the course of time.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.89-94
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• 2011

Objective : Kyenegum has been frequently used for characterizing digestive symptoms in the traditional and oriental medicines. This study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of extracts from velvet antlers using the 4 different kinds of extracting methods. Methods : The extracts of velvet antlers were extracted using a $65^{\circ}C$ DW (9hrs), a Kyenegum crude enzyme, a $121^{\circ}C$ DW (2hrs), and a Kyenegum protease. To evaluate the characteristic of velvet antler extracts, we examined the brix, soluble solid, amino acid, mineral composition, and collagen protein. Results : As a result of the comparisons of velvet antlers extracted by the traditional extraction and the crude enzyme of kyenegum, the brix and soluble solid showed the higher contents for kyenegum enzymes. Also, mineral contents of the extracted velvet antlers were higher, particularly in Ca and P for those. The contents of collagen protein, hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine, were found to be more than twice in kyenegum protease compared with other extracting methods. Conclusion : These results indicated that the Kyenegum crude enzyme and protease are very effective to extract of velvet antlers.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.12-35
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• 2011

Objectives: The two criteria to clarify the toxicity of a herbal diet are well known. Although mechanical analysis of effective ingredients, a western approach, is widely used, the toxicity presence classification through the herbal analysis from a viewpoint of a theory of the herbal medicine properties has been disregarded. This study is for the safe use of a herbal diet through classification and study of toxicity presence in the herbal diet from the view of a theory of herbal medicine properties, one of the methods of Oriental Medicine. Methods: We classified and studied the toxicity presence in four kinds of herbal diets, waters and grains, animals groups, fruits and vegetables, and herbs and trees, excluding mineral natural drugs, of 1,400 kinds of medicines in 16 chapters of Tang-aec-pyeon, Dong-ui-bo-gam, for which the herbal analysis from a viewpoint of the theory of the herbal medicine properties has been used. The criteria of the toxicity presence in the herbal diet have been largely classified into the toxicant and the non-toxicant, and the toxicant is in turn classified into the insignificant, the medium and the significant. The category to clarify herbal diet has been limited to simultaneous utilization of food and natural drugs. The main text is Dong-ui-bo-gam, although diverse other references have also been used. Results: There are toxicant diets: a kind of tortoise meat of animals groups; five kinds of grains part in fruits and vegetables: aengdo, peach, oyat, small apple and gingko nut; and 12 kinds of vegetables part in fruits and vegetables: ginger, oriental cabbage, lettuce, chongbaek, onion, garlic, leek, fern, houttuynia cordata (myeol), pyeongji, geundae, and spinach, which should be prohibited from long-term use both as food and medicine. Conclusion: If herbal diet is used as health food supplements or food, the toxicity presence should be considered on the grounds of an Oriental Medicine theory of the herbal medicine properties.