The persistent use of neurasthenia in Asia, an out-dated diagnostic category in modern psychiatry, has confounded many psychiatrists from the 1960s. This paper attempts to understand the prevalence of neurasthenia among the lay public in post-World War II Hong Kong. It examines the social history of psychiatry and focuses on the roles of traditional Chinese medicine in shaping public perceptions and responses towards neurasthenia. This research reveals that, when psychiatrists discarded the term as an ineffective label in the 1950s, practitioners and pharmaceutical companies of Chinese medicine seized on the chance to reinvent themselves as experts in neurasthenia. By commericialising everyday distress, they provided affordable, accessible and culturally familiar healing options to the Chinese public. A case study of neurasthenia, therefore, is not simply about changing disease categories but an important example to illustrate the tensions between traditional medicine and Western psychiatry in Asia.

Breast cancer is a high-risk disease with a high mortality rate among women. Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of breast cancer. However, chemotherapy eventually results in tumours that are resistant to drugs. In recent years, many studies have revealed that the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling is crucial for the emergence and growth of breast tumours as well as the development of drug resistance. Additionally, drugs that target this pathway can reverse drug resistance in breast cancer therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine has the properties of multi-target and tenderness. Therefore, integrating traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine into chemotherapy provides a new strategy for reversing the drug resistance of breast tumours. This paper mainly reviews the possible mechanism of Wnt/β-catenin in promoting the process of breast tumour drug resistance, and the progress of alkaloids extracted from traditional Chinese medicine in the targeting of this pathway in order to reverse the drug resistance of breast cancer.

Wildlife trade policies in China and elsewhere have come under increased scrutiny following suggestions that the emergence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 may have been linked to trade in wild animals. The breeding of and trade in most terrestrial wild animal species for consumption as food were prohibited in China in February 2020, but trade for non-food purposes such as ornamental items or traditional medicine continues to be covered by provisions in the Wildlife Protection Law (WPL). While a superficial reading of the WPL could lead to the conclusion that commercial trade in nationally protected species is generally prohibited, in practice key language is interpreted to permit commercial trade in the parts and derivatives of protected wild animal species, including those subject to the most stringent protection within China and internationally, such as leopards and pangolins.

The field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) represents a vast and largely untapped resource for modern medicine. Exemplified by the success of the antimalarial artemisinin, the recent years have seen a rapid increase in the understanding and application of TCM-derived herbs and formulations for evidence-based therapy. In this review, we summarise and discuss the developmental history, clinical background and molecular basis of an action for several representative TCM-derived medicines, including artemisinin, arsenic trioxide, berberine and Salvia miltiorrhiza or Danshen. Through this, we highlight important examples of how TCM-derived medicines have already contributed to modern medicine, and discuss potential avenues for further research.

The Critically Endangered saiga antelope Saiga tatarica faces an uncertain future, with populations dwindling from epidemics in its range countries, and ongoing demand for its horns in the traditional Chinese medicine trade. Singapore is a major hub for the global trade in saiga horn and an important consumer country, with saiga horn products widely available in the domestic market. Despite this, little is known about the consumers that drive domestic demand. Before interventions are carried out, it is important to understand who the consumers are, and their motivations. We conducted an investigation into consumption prevalence and consumer demographics, knowledge and motivations. We surveyed 230 Chinese Singaporeans, through a combination of face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Recent consumption incidence (in the previous 12 months) was relatively high, at 13%. Younger respondents (18–35 years) had the highest prevalence of recent consumption (25%), often as a result of influence from an older family member or friend. Bottled saiga horn cooling water was the most popular product among recent users (50%), followed by horn shavings (31%) and tablets (13%). Awareness of conservation issues and regulations was uniformly low. Awareness raising may have an effect in reducing consumer demand in Singapore. However, given the exploratory nature of this study, it is best used to guide and inform future research underlying behavioural change interventions in a relatively understudied but important consumer group, Chinese Singaporeans.

Bear farms, established for the extraction of bile from live bears, have unknown effects on the conservation of bears in Asia. Whilst some major bile producing countries have tightened legislation on this practice, traders have responded by establishing bile extraction facilities in countries with weaker legislation. We conducted a survey of all known facilities in Lao PDR through direct observation or examination of governmental and non-governmental records, and documented the birth and rapid growth of this industry since the first farm was established in 2000. We also obtained trading values for gall bladders from wild bears in Lao PDR from literature, databases and direct observation. The number of farmed bears tripled from 2008 to 2012. In 2012 121 Asiatic black bears Ursus thibetanus and one sun bear Helarctos malayanus were kept on 11 commercial facilities. Evidence suggests that all bears were wild caught domestically or illegally imported internationally, in violation of national and international law. Moreover, some bile from these farms was being illegally exported internationally. Farmed bile availability has apparently not diminished the demand for wild bile, as the market value has increased dramatically since 2000. We suggest that bear farming in Lao PDR may be increasing the incentive to poach wild bears.

Concerns regarding the sustainability of the seahorse Hippocampus spp. trade led to their listing on CITES Appendix II in 2002, with implementation in 2004. In 2007 we interviewed wholesale traders of seahorses in Hong Kong, China, seeking indications of the effects of the CITES listing on the seahorse trade. We cross-validated traders’ perspectives with government trade statistics (1998–2007) from Hong Kong and Taiwan. We also compared these data with trade statistics for pipefish, which are related species with similar medicinal uses but are not CITES-listed. Both the interviews and government statistics indicated reduced volumes of seahorses traded through Hong Kong, changes in source countries, and price increases post-implementation. Traders suggested that these changes were largely a result of the CITES listing. However, data indicate that other factors such as shifts in domestic policies and local demand may also have affected the trade. By cross-validating the perspectives of local stakeholders with trade statistics in a wildlife trading hub we were able to explore hypotheses on the local and global impacts of CITES. Such approaches are especially important for CITES-listed species because often there is no single data source that is complete and wholly reliable.

X-ray powder diffraction was used to analyze and evaluate 11 samples of traditional Chinese medicine, Costustoot, found at various locations in China. A reference fingerprint pattern with 48 characteristic peaks for Costustoot was obtained from X-ray diffraction patterns of six Costustoots from the rhizomes of Aucklandia lappa Decne. The reference fingerprint pattern with 48 characteristic peaks for Costustoot was then used to evaluate the remaining five Costustoot materials. X-ray diffraction results show that the X-ray diffraction Fourier fingerprint pattern method can be used for rapid classification, identification, and quality control of Costustoots.

Variations in health and medication use exist across cultures. Medication use among Chinese-Canadian older persons is complicated by many factors including combined use of Western and traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). There is little research on health, psycho-social and cultural determinants of medication use in the Chinese. A cross-sectional census study of community-based Chinese-Canadian older persons in the Kitchener/Waterloo area was conducted using the Minimum Data Set for Home Care and a supplementary questionnaire for cultural issues. The response rate was 89.1 per cent with 106 participants using face-to-face assessments. Socio-demographic and cultural variables were summarized. The multivariate logistic model for TCM use included pain symptoms and being hospitalized, and a curvilinear association between TCM use and health beliefs. For combined medicine use, living with a child, pain symptoms, hospitalization, and social isolation problems were the main effects. Living with a child, physical health problems and number of diseases were associated with Western medicine use. Health, psycho-social and cultural factors were significant determinants for medication use. Education programs for both Chinese-Canadian older persons and health care providers are necessary to understand the appropriate use of Western and TCM treatments.

Objective. This paper assessed the potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations for using as environmentally acceptable and alternative commercial acaricides. Methods. 22 kinds of TCM, which contained abundant essential oils and showed insecticidal effects, were collected. Samples extracted with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol were tested against house dust mites Dermatophagoides farinae and their toxicity assessed. Results. The results showed that 3 TCM of Cinnamonum cassia, Eugenia caryophyllata and Pogostemon cablin have higher activity, and the parallel tests showed that the petroleum ether extract had higher activities (0·0046 mg/cm2, 0·005 mg/cm2 and 0·006 mg/cm2 respectively, 24 h, LD50) than the extracts of ethyl acetate and methanol. The acaricidal activity of the ethyl acetate extracts from C. cassia, P. cablin and Asarum sieboldii (0·00144 mg/cm2, 0·00347 mg/cm2 and 0·05521 mg/cm2 respectively, 24 h, LD50) were almost comparable to that of benzyl benzoate and dibutyl phthalate. However, the methanolic extracts of were less effective. Conclusions. This study shows the use of extracts with petroleum ether of C. cassia, P. cablin and E. caryophyllata as eco-friendly biodegradable agents for the control of the house dust mite.

Recently, conservationists have debated whether consumers of animal and plant potency products used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) might be switching to Viagra, consequently consuming fewer of these animals and plants. To address this question, a survey examined the medical decisions of male consumers of TCM in Hong Kong who were over the age of 50. As predicted, these consumers reported selectively switching to Western medicines to treat ED, but not to treat other health ailments. These findings provide support for the possibility that Viagra may have conservation benefits for certain species.

Seahorses (genus Hippocampus) are traded globally for use in traditional medicines, souvenirs and as aquarium fishes. Indications that the trade was expanding geographically in response to increasing demand in consuming nations prompted this first study of the seahorse trade in Latin America. In 2000, over 400 people related to the seahorse trade in Mexico, Central America, Ecuador and Peru were interviewed. Customs data and other trade records from these and five additional countries or regions trading seahorses from Latin America were obtained. Dried seahorses were exported by almost every surveyed country at some point in the 1990s, with Ecuador, Peru and Mexico exporting hundreds of kg per year over multiple years, and the latter two nations both exporting tonnes of seahorses at least twice. The live seahorse trade was confined to Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Brazil; the last dominating this trade and exporting several thousand seahorses annually. Substantial declines in seahorse abundance, attributed primarily to incidental catches in shrimp trawl fisheries, were reported consistently by respondents in many regions. These data contributed to an Appendix II listing on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora of all seahorses, thereby requiring that the trade be monitored and controlled. Additional conservation measures are needed to address fishing pressure on seahorse populations.