The traditional Tibetan drugs

The traditional Tibetan medicine is a special medical system, which extensively assimilated and mixed the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Indian medicine and Tazi medicine together by practice for a long time. As one of the more comprehensive and more effective national medicines it has a history over thousand years. There were many classical works of Tibetan medicine in history.

Yue Wang Yao Zhen was an early history book on the Tibetan drugs, in which 440 kinds of herbal drugs, 250 kinds of animal drugs, and 80 kinds of mineral drugs were recorded. More than 300 kinds of them belonged to special products from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, most of them are still being used now. They include Phlomis younghusbandii (Pangxiejia), Saxifraga stolonifera (Sangeng huercao), Oldenlandia auricularia (Ercao), Delphinium brunonianum (Nangju chuique), Aconitum naviculare (Chuanxing wutou), Mirabilis himalaica (Ximalaya zimoli), Veronica ciliata (Xianmao popona), Myricaria germanica (Shuibozhi), Pterocephalus hookeri (Yishoucao), Meconopsis integrifolia (Maoban luronghao), Gentiana urnula (Wunu longdan), Radix anisodi tangutici (Shanlangdang), Swertia pseudochinensis (Zangyacai), Avena nuda (Qingke), Fel ursi (Xiongdan), Yak butter (Maoniu shuyou), and Zhanba (Ciba).

Jing Zhu Ben Cao is a big classical book collected a lot of drugs with a wide range and showed strong characteristics of Tibet nationality. The book was called Ben Cao Gang Mu of the Tibet nationality. According to statistics 75% of the drugs collected in the book are still being used clinically now, and 30% of them are only used by trational Tibetan medical doctors, involving 1200 basic sources of animal and plant.

The regions in which Tibetan drugs are applicated include the Tibet Autonomous Region, as well as Qinhai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu. Most of Tibetan drugs are produce in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. According to some investigation there were 2436 kinds of resources of Tibetan drugs, 2172 kinds of them are herbs, 214 kinds animal, and 50 kinds mineral. There were 1294 kinds of medicinal resources came from the Qinhai Province, which is located northeast part of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, 1087 kinds of them are herbs, 150 kinds animal, 57 kinds to mineral. 70% of common used Tibetan drugs in Qinghai Province came from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. There were more than 1000 kinds of resources of Tibetsn drugs in the Aba Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province.There were 1127 kinds of Chinese medicinal resources and 23% of them were used by traditional Tibetan medical doctors in the Ganzi Autonomous Prefecture.

According to related data there were 3000 kinds of Tibetan medicines in China, which are originated in Tibet and used for a long time. Among them 360 kinds are commonly used in Tibet, origined mainly from the plants of families of Compositae, Scrophulariaceae, Cruciferae, and Liliaceae. The important medicinal plants include Meconopsis Vi Pedicularis L, C. edulis Maxim, Primula L, and Saxifraga L. 50% of common used Tibet drugs containe alkaloid which showed more biological activity. Those herbs are Aconitum L., Delphinium L., Thalictrum L., Hgoscgmus niger L., Sophora L., Gentiana L., Berberis L. For example, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei (Dahuang) is an important Tibetan drug in Tibet. There are 28 kinds plants belonged to Rheum family in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, and 21 kinds of them are used in Tibet. There are three categories of medicinal Rhubarb in Tibetan medicine: excellent (Jun Mu Zha), ordinary (Qu Shi Zha) and lower grade (Qu Ma Za). In addition to Rheum palmatum (Zhangye dahuang), Rheum tanguticim (Tanggute dahuang), the excellent one include Rheum emodi (Zangbian dahuang), (Ximalaya dahuang), (Tahuang), (Xizang dahuang), and (Buoye dahuang) used in Qinhai and Gansu Province. Those of the ordinary grade include Rheum spiciforme (Suihua dahuang), Rheum scaberrimum (Qisui dahuang), (Changsui dahuang), (Wangmai dahuang), (Xingye dahuang), Rumex obtusifolius or R. chalepensis (Hongmai dahuang), and (Ruanye dahuang). The lower grade (Qu Ma Za) includes (Xiao daihuang).

A unified standard for the use of Tibetan drugs was made. There are 227 kinds of Tibetan drugs collected in Zang Yao Biao Zhun (Standard for Tibet Drugs) edited by experts from Tibet, Qinhai, Sichuan, Ganshu, Yunnan, and Xinjian. 197 kinds of them are herbal medicines, 17 kinds are animal, and 13 kinds are mineral. The major kinds of drugs include Carum carvi (Zang huixiang), Radix anisodi tangutici (Shanlangdang), (Zang dangshen), Hookeri Clarke var. longiflorum (Zang zicao), Saussurea medusa (Shuimu xuelianhua), Rhodiola sacra (Tanggute hongjingtian), Kan Ba Se Bao (Artemisia adamsii [Ashigao]), Qu Ma Zi (Pyrethrum tatsienense [Dajianju]), Da Ma (Ninghua dujuan), wild ox's heart, Aquila chrysaetos kamtschatica (Tujiou), Lacca (Zicaorong), Laccifer lacca (Zijiaocong), etc.