How to transfer traditional knowledge about medicinal herbs? or TCM plants: a black box for modern oncologists
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE – CANCER RESEARCH
How to transfer traditional knowledge about medicinal herbs? or TCM plants: a black box for modern oncologists Judith Büntzel1 · Oliver Micke2 · Jens Büntzel3 Received: 6 June 2020 / Accepted: 28 September 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Objective How could we transfer knowledge about healing plants from other cultures? We analyzed the results of literature search in two exemplary fields—oral mucositis and polyneuropathy. Materials and methods In both systematic searches of existing literature, we found 57 studies investigating 68 plants from different traditional cultures (16 Western Medicine, 14 Persian Medicine, 9 Japanese, 10 Chinese, and 8 other sources). We analyzed studies regarding their ingredient plants and reproducibility in relation to the system of origin. Results Western and Persian Medicine trials investigate single plants, whereas Japanese and Chinese trials focus on mixtures and decoctions. European folk medicine knows of only 50% of plants used in both Asian cultures. The used ingredients and dosages were reproducible in all analyzed trials except TCM studies. Conclusions Herbal knowledge has been transferred from all folk medicines worldwide. However, Western oncologists should be aware that Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs are still a black box of knowledge for us until today. Keywords Medicinal plants · Traditional medical system · Oral mucositis · Polyneuropathy · Cancer patients
Introduction Depending on the population, about 40–90% of all cancer patients use approaches of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) additionally to oncological treatment. Among these approaches are acupuncture, homeopathy, phytodrugs, trace elements, and herbal mixtures (Huebner et al. 2014a; Micke et al. 2009; Molassiotis et al. 2005). In addition, more than 30% of all integrative oncology centres in Europe offer herbal treatment or Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to patients (Rossi et al. 2015). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-020-03415-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Jens Büntzel jens.buentzel@shk‑ndh.de 1
Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
2
Department of Radiooncology, Franziskus Hospital Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
3
Department of Palliative Medicine, Südharz-Klinikum Nordhausen, Dr.‑Robert‑Koch‑Str. 39, 99734 Nordhausen, Germany
However, more than two-thirds of patients using CAM do not inform their treating physician on their use. Even, if they search for special information on CAM, asking their pharmacist or general practitioner is more probable, than asking or informing the treating oncologist (Micke et al. 2009). While pharmacists and physicians should be well prepared to recommend and counsel their patients on CAM, most of them do not feel able to do so due to a lack of knowledge and the lack of evidence-based, p
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