Kampo
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kampo".

For other uses, see Kanpo (disambiguation).

Kampō (or Kanpō, 漢方) medicine is the Japanese study and adaptation of Traditional Chinese medicine. The basic works of Chinese medicine came to Japan between the 7th and 9th centuries. [1] Since then, the Japanese have created their own unique herbal medical system and diagnosis. Kampo uses most of the Chinese medical system including acupuncture and moxibustion but is primarily concerned with the study of herbs.

Unlike the United States, where most herbal preparations are regulated as dietary supplements (technically foods, not drugs), herbal medicines in Japan are regulated as pharmaceutical preparations. Both the industry and the government conduct extensive monitoring of agricultural and manufacturing processes as well as post-marketing surveillance to guarantee the safety of these preparations. Furthermore, access to Kampo herbal medicines is guaranteed as part of Japan’s national health plan for each of its citizens. In the West, however, Kampo still remains a secret to all but a few. Kampo, like the traditional medicines of modern China, Vietnam, and Korea, has roots that extend back to ancient China’s Han Dynasty (200 BCE to 220 CE). The term Kampo itself incorporates 2 characters: 漢 (kan) for the Han dynasty and 方 (po) denoting “way” or “method.” Thus, Kampo means “the way of the Han Dynasty.” Although Kampo has developed within Japan’s borders and within Japan’s culture over the past 1400 years, only recently have Kampo practitioners expressed interest in sharing Kampo’s unique insights with the world.

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Approved Kampo medicines

Main article: Kampo list

Today in Japan, Kampo is integrated into the national health care system. In 1967, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved four 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.[2]

Rather than modifying formulae 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 reported that 72% of registered physicians prescribe kampo medicines.[3]

Herbs used in kampo medicines

Main article: Kampo herb list

The 14th edition of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (JP) (日本薬局方 Nihon yakkyokuhō) lists 165 herbal ingredients that are used in kampo medicines.[4]

Kampo herbs manufactured in Japan offer unrivaled high standards, from selection of the highest grade materials to perfection of proprietary processing techniques that ensure maximum quality, efficacy and safety. Every lot of the Kampo product is routinely tested for heavy metals, purity, and microbial content to eliminate any contaminant. Most important of all, Kampo medicines are tested for the levels of key chemical constituents as markers for quality control on every formula. This is carried out from the blending of the raw herbs to the end product according to the Ministry’s pharmaceutical standards.

Kampo outside Japan

In the United States, kampo is practiced mostly by acupuncturists, Chinese medicine practitioners, naturopath physicians, and other alternative medicine professionals. The only available brand of the products in the US is under Honso® distributed by Honso USA, Inc. out of Phoenix, Arizona. In year 2002, Honso USA revealed its professional Kampo herbal formulas to licensed healthcare professionals in the US. These products have been used by Japanese physicians under prescription for many decades. Kampo herbal formulae are studied under clinical trials, such as the clinical study of Honso® Sho-saiko-to (H09) for treatment of hepatitis C at New York Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C at UCSD Liver Center. Both clinical trials are sponsored by Honso USA, Inc., a branch of Honso Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Nagoya, Japan.

The Kampo herbal combination Sho-saiko-to (SST) has been used extensively in China and Japan to treat chronic liver disease and other inflammatory diseases. Over 200 research papers has demonstrated SST's therapeutic roles of anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and chemopreventive properties that both pre-clinical and clinical research suggest are effective for various forms of liver diseases, including chronic hepatitis.

References

See also

External links

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