ABSTRACT
For the purpose of establishing a method for evaluation of crude drugs, we demon strated the effect of aqueous extracts from the roots of seven different (types of) <i>Angelicae</i> (“Toki”) and rhizomes of seven different (types of) <i>Atractylodes</i> (<i>lancea</i>) (“Jutsu”) on the binding of immune complexes to macrophages. Among the extracts from “Toki”, extract of <i>Angelica acutiloba</i> Kitagawa (harvested in Nara Prefecture and the Hokuriku district in Japan) had the most potent enhancing activity on the binding. Among the extracts from “Juste”, extract of Atractylodes lancea DC, (An Hui Sheng in China) had the most potent enhancing activity. However, when the extracts were made from the codecoction of <i>Angelica</i> and <i>Atractylodes lancea</i>, the enhancing activities were varied. These results suggest that the combination of crude drugs tays an important role in the appearance of the pharmacological activities.