Kampō (or Kanpō, 漢方) medicine is the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese study and adaptation of

Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. Today in Japan,

kampo Kampo or , often known simply as , is the study of traditional medicine in Japan following its introduction, beginning in the 7th century. It was adapted and modified to suit Japanese culture and traditions. Traditional Japanese medicine us ...

is integrated into the national health care system. In 1967, the

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare The is a cabinet level ministry of the Japanese government. It is commonly known as in Japan. The ministry provides services on health, labour and welfare. It was formed with the merger of the former Ministry of Health and Welfare or and th ...

approved 4 kampo medicines for reimbursement under the National Health Insurance (NHI) program. In 1976, 82 kampo medicines were approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Currently, 148 kampo medicines are approved for reimbursement

Rather than modifying formulas as in Traditional Chinese medicine, the Japanese kampo tradition uses fixed combinations of herbs in standardized proportions according to the classical literature of Chinese medicine. kampo medicines are produced by various manufacturers. However, each medicine is composed of exactly the same ingredients under the ministry's standardization methodology. The medicines are therefore prepared under strict manufacturing conditions that rival pharmaceutical companies. Extensive modern scientific research in Japan has validated the effectiveness of kampo medicines. In October, 2000 a nationwide study was carried out that reported that 72% of registered

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

s prescribe kampo medicine

The two leading companies making kampo medicines are Tsumura (ツムラ) and Kracie (クラシエ) the former name Kanebō (カネボウ

The following list are the kampo medicines produced by Tsumura. Many

medicines were borrowed from China. The Chinese language, Chinese name for the formula the kampo medicine is based on is listed below. However, ''the formula usually doesn't completely match the original Chinese formula''. Often the proportions of the herbs were changed slightly. Also some

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

species of herbs were replaced with herbs found in Japan.

OTC kampo/quasi kampo

''Over the counter'' kampo (一般用医薬品 literally ''general use medicine'') include some kampo/quasi kampo formulations that can be obtained without going to a kampo speciality store and/or without a prescription from a doctor. They can be bought from any drugstore or even convenience stores. In Japan, there is a tendency to list all plants ingredients together as a formulation. This contrasts with the USA, where additional (and optional) plant ingredients in a formulation are listed separately as ''inactive ingredients'', and are not covered by a patent (only the ''active ingredient''). For example, some nasal sprays in USA with

oxymetazoline Oxymetazoline, sold under the brand name Afrin among others, is a topical decongestant and vasoconstrictor medication. It is available over-the-counter as a nasal spray to treat nasal congestion and nosebleeds, as eye drops to treat eye rednes ...

HCL (the active ingredient) contain

menthol Menthol is an organic compound, specifically a Monoterpene, monoterpenoid, that occurs naturally in the oils of several plants in the Mentha, mint family, such as Mentha arvensis, corn mint and peppermint. It is a white or clear waxy crystallin ...

and

eucalyptol Eucalyptol (also called cineole) is a monoterpenoid colorless liquid, and a bicyclic ether. It has a fresh camphor-like odor and a spicy, cooling taste. It is insoluble in water, but miscible with organic solvents. Eucalyptol makes up about ...

listed as ''inactive ingredients''. The addition of such ingredients does not constitute a novel formulation in US. There is no rule that states kampo must not be mixed with Western medicines in a single formulation. Additionally, things like

sustained release Modified-release dosage is a mechanism that (in contrast to immediate-release dosage) delivers a drug with a delay after its administration (delayed-release dosage) or for a prolonged period of time (extended-release R, XR, XLdosage) or to a spe ...

(徐放性製剤) have worked their way into the kampo and TCM worlds.

List

Takeda Pharmaceuticals The is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company. It is the third largest pharmaceutical company in Asia, behind Sinopharm and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, and one of the top 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue (to ...

br>Ichoyaku K
(胃腸薬K) formulation, It contains a blend of the traditional Chinese Koshaheiisan (香砂平胃散) and Chinese peony root, as one of 9 other plant ingredients. There are a few versions: powder form to be mixed with water, or for convenience tablet form, but also incorporates tablet making ingredients. *

Seirogan is a pharmaceutical drug marketed in Japan as a treatment for the digestive tract (especially as an antidiarrhoeal), whose main active ingredient is "wood creosote" (also wood-tar creosote, or beechwood creosote). The name is nominally a regi ...

(正露丸)

Herbs used in kampo medicines

The 14th edition of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (JP) (日本薬局方 Nihon yakkyokuhō) lists 165 herbal ingredients that are used in kampo

Tsumura (ツムラ) is the leading maker of kampo medicin

They make 128 of the 148 kampo medicines. The most common herb in kampo medicine is Glycyrrhiza, Glycyrrhizae Radix (Chinese liquorice root). It is in 94 of the 128 Tsumura formulas. Other common herbs are Zingiberis Rhizoma (ginger)medicines (51 of 128 formulas) and Paeoniae Radix (Chinese peony root) (44 of 128 formulas).

References

External links

Formula Catalog
at the

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

School of Medicine's Center for Kampo Medicine Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kampo List Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine

OTC kampo/quasi kampo

List

Herbs used in kampo medicines

See also

References

External links