Established for domestic resource development that contributes to improving the self-sufficiency rate of herbal medicines for Kampo

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K06730
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 47050:Environmental and natural pharmaceutical resources-related
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: Sasaki Yohei 金沢大学, 薬学系, 教授 (10366833)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 国産生薬 / 栽培と加工 / 当帰 / 芍薬 / 地黄 / 川キュウ / 附子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The production of herbal medicine consists of both cultivation methods of original plants and processing methods of harvests technique. The purpose of this research is to "establish a processing technique for herbal medicine suitable for the Japanese environment.
Although the processing is an important process that affects the quality of herbal medicines, there are no established processing conditions in Japan, and the current situation is that private companies and farmers process them by their own methods. Therefore, I focus on five typical Chinese herbal medicines with different processing methods (Angelicae Acutilobae Radix, Peoniae Radix, Rehmanniae Radix, Cnidium Rhizoma, and Aconiti Radix Processa), I determine the optimum conditions based on scientific evidence after field investigation about China. This will be the foundation for the development of the improvement of the self-sufficiency rate of herbal medicines produced in Japan.

Free Research Field

生薬学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本の伝統医学である漢方は今や医師の89％が処方しており，現在の医療に欠かすことができない医療になっている。しかしその治療薬である漢方薬は，その原料の約９割を海外からの輸入品に依存している。長らく輸入品に依存しきた品目は日本には生産するための技術がない。また日本で生産技術が残っている品目も，従事者の高齢化など消失は時間の問題である。そこで筆者は日本で重要な生薬品目のうち，加工方法が異なる５品目に着目し，条件と品質の関係を明らかにする研究に着手した。安定した漢方治療の持続には生薬の安定供給は必須であり，本研究の意義は非常に大きい。