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The use of traditional Chinese medicine is exploding around the world. People are attracted to this system because it offers a safe, effective and natural alternative to "Western" or modern medicine. This article will explain what traditional Chinese medicine is and discuss some of issues around the use of endangered species animal parts in its practice. Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the assumption that vital energy (Qi) must flow smoothly through the body to maintain health. Illness and chronic injuries will result if there are imbalances in the flow of energy. These ailments get better once the proper flow is restored. Injuries will heal quickly if energy is flowing properly to and through the injury site. Restoring proper energy flow is the art of Chinese medicine which has been studied and practiced extensively for the last 2,000 years. Yin and Yang From the Chinese medicine perspective, the body is viewed as an interaction of forces. These forces are differentiated by the practitioner as Yin or Yang, weak or strong, as part of the process of understanding the disease. Each internal organ is related to functions outside the body and problems anywhere in the body can influence an organ. Heat, cold, dampness, foods or chemicals can upset the balance of the body and create a wide variety of problems. Emotions, tensions and stress can also block or upset this balance. Chinese medicine theory offers a very clear understanding of how these different forces influence the body, and how to bring the body back into balance The principal modalities used in Chinese medicine are acupuncture and its related physical medicine treatments of electrical stimulation, acupressure, cupping and moxibustion, Chinese herbs, diet and lifestyle guidance and energy work such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong: * Acupuncture involves inserting hair-like needles in certain points along lines of energy flow on the body. Electrical Stimulation through the needles opens energy conducting pathways. This is very effective for pain control and releasing muscle spasms. * Acupressure (massage on specific points) and cupping (the use of glass cups suctioned on parts of the body after acupuncture) helps to promote circulation and to relax muscle spasms. * Moxibustion is a form of heat therapy using the moxa herb to improve circulation along the energy pathway, as well as to warm an area and relax the muscles. * Chinese herbs are very effective at strengthening and regulating flows of energy throughout the body. These herbs work in ways that are not generally understood within the framework of modern Western medicine, because they are used mostly in combination with each other, creating a complex set of biochemical interactions in the body. Most efforts in pharmacology center on understanding the actions of isolated compounds in individual plants, rather than comprehending interactions between them. Herbology Of the most commonly used Chinese herbs, many are household names either because they are highly effective or they are common in the West. These include ginseng, dang gui (dong quoi) and astragalus. In all of Chinese herbology, the most commonly used herbs are licorice root and poria, a type of fungus. The term "Chinese herbs" denotes a collection of approximately 400 medicinal substances whose use has developed in China over the centuries. The vast majority of these are plant parts such as roots, leaves, twigs or berries. However, some important Chinese herbs are from other natural substances such as rocks and minerals, sea life, and animals and animal by-products, including fossilized bone, oyster shell, bear bile, tiger bone, seal penis and rhinoceros horn. The traditional use of these animal products has come under fierce criticism lately due to the endangered state of the source species and the manner in which the remaining numbers are being killed to supply demand. Within the Chinese medicine community, this is a complex issue which is gradually being addressed.
Animals and Chinese Medicine For quite some time, substitutes have been available for these animal-derived medicinals. Some substitutes are the same material but from domesticated animals; cow or pig bile in place of bear bile, cat or dog bone in place of tiger bone, dog penis in place of seal penis, and water buffalo horn in place of rhinoceros horn. Further, there has almost always been a faction in Chinese medicine which has shunned the use of any animal products, instead finding plant substances which could accomplish the same ends. Most of these animal products are taken in either pill or liquid form and have therefore been available as over-the-counter patent remedies throughout Asia and in Asian communities worldwide. Several prevailing attitudes around the use of these remedies have permitted the continued use of endangered species in them and caused problems in eliminating their use. First, there has always been a notion that the more expensive or rare Chinese medicines are, the more effective they are as remedies. Some patients demand the more exclusive remedies. In our own society, this same attitude may be seen concerning some drugs. While this has led not only to an intense demand for endangered species medicinals, it has also led manufacturers to mislabel their products as containing endangered species when in fact they do not, but merely contain some sort of substitute. The laws governing such matters in the jurisdictions where the medicines were produced (mostly China and Hong Kong) either are not very stringent or not well enforced. The same may be said of the avenues of supply of endangered species parts in China, Taiwan and the rest of Asia. Alternatives As a result of increased awareness about the use of endangered species in Chinese remedies, a concerted effort has been mounted to persuade governments and businesses to remedy this problem. While some of this effort is directed at law enforcement, that alone will not end the demand for endangered species. For this reason, the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco is joining with the World Wild Fund for Nature in a worldwide education campaign targeting the traditional Chinese medical community. The aim of the campaign is to educate the community on the need to end the use of tiger bone, and of acceptable substitutes. The campaign intends to recruit respected leaders in the community to get the message across. The use of tiger bone has been specifically targeted as there are very few tigers left in the wild and the appetite for tiger bone remedies is considered one of the greatest threats to the remaining population. The first meetings between environmentalists and Chinese herbal medicine suppliers and practitioners have already taken place, and there are the beginnings of support in the herbal medicine community for the protection of endangered species. At this time, there are several large makers of Chinese herbal remedies in the United States. These manufacturers import most of their herbs from Asia and prepare the medicines here. Because they must conform to U.S. manufacturing and labeling standards and they are sensitive to the concerns of consumers, many of them use no animal ingredients at all, and of course no endangered species. Andrew Fitzcharles, L.
Ac. is an Associate Professor at the American College of Traditional
Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, California. He maintains a private
practice as an acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese herbology in
Los Gatos, California.
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