ABSTRACT
In order to provide the basis for the development of famous classical formulas， the name， origin， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing of Eucommiae Cortex were systematically researched by consulting the ancient herbal and medical books， combining with the modern literature. According to the textual research， materia medica in the past dynasties used Eucommiae Cortex as the correct name. Combined with characteristics， origin and efficacy， Eucommiae Cortex in ancient times to the present is the dry bark of Eucommia ulmoides from family Eucommiaceae. The earliest producing areas of Eucommiae Cortex are Henan， Shanxi， Shaanxi and Sichuan. Since the Ming dynasty， the producing areas have expanded to most of the regions in the country， and Sichuan， Shaanxi， Chongqing， Guizhou and Hubei are regarded as the authentic producing areas. It has been concluded that the quality of Eucommiae Cortex is best if the bark has thick body， large block， scraped rough skin， multi silk section and dark purple internal surface. In ancient times， the processing methods of Eucommiae Cortex were mainly included removing rough bark and cutting for raw use， processing with auxiliary materials such as honey， ginger juice， salt water， wine， and so on. While in modern times， the processing methods have become increasingly simplified which are mainly cutting raw materials after cleansing and salt processing. It is need to excavate the connotation of different processed products and restore the traditional main processing methods through standards. Based on the requirement of Eucommiae Cortex in Sanbitang， it is suggested to use ginger-processed products according to the research results， which is used ginger juice as auxiliary material and processed with stir frying method according to the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
ABSTRACT
To explore the clinical effect of Sanbitang recipe in treatment for the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with kidney empty and cold-dampness symptom and its safety. A total 168 cases eligible patients were randomly divided into the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) group, the chemical medicine group and the TCM combined with chemical medicine group, with 56 cases in each group. The TCM group was treated with Sanbitang recipe; The chemical medicine group was given methotrexate tablets; And Sanbitang recipe and methotrexate tablets was adopted in the TCM combined with chemical medicine group. A course of treatment was 16 weeks. Health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), disease activity scores 28-joint counts (DAS28), visual analogue scale (VAS), TCM symptom, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), cyclic citrullinated peptides (CCP) and rheumatoid factor (RF) were detected. The efficiencies and incidence of adverse reactions in the three groups were compared. The total effective rate of the TCM combined with chemical medicine group was 92.7%, which was higher than 79.2% of the TCM group and 82.4% of the chemical medicine group (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the TCM group and the chemical medicine group. This suggested that Sanbitang recipe was effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with kidney empty and cold-dampness symptom. After treatment, the scores of HAQ, DAS28, VAS, ESR, CRP, CCP and RF of the TCM combined with chemical medicine group were significantly higher (P<0.05) among the three groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the TCM group and the chemical medicine group. This indicated that Sanbitang recipe could effectively alleviate the clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with kidney empty and cold-dampness symptom. In terms of efficiency and incidence of adverse reactions, the order from low to high was that the TCM group (3.8%, 2/53)<the TCM combined with chemical medicine group (16.4%, 9/55)<the chemical medicine group (33.9%, 18/53) (P<0.05). Sanbitang recipe is effective in treating RA with kidney empty and cold-dampness symptom, with no obvious difference from methotrexate tablets and a low incidence of adverse reactions. Sanbitang recipe shows a remarkable effect in treating RA with kidney empty and cold-dampness symptom.