Analysis of Pharmacovigilance Thoughts in Herbal Masterpieces of Ming Dynasty / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Based on the pharmacovigilance thoughts of Chinese medicine of cognition, application, prevention and rescue of drug toxicity, to sort out the pharmacovigilance information in representative herbal works of the Ming dynasty, and to analyze the characteristics of the pharmacovigilance thoughts of the Ming dynasty, so as to provide reference for rational drug use in modern clinical practice. Taking Bencao Pinhui Jingyao, Bencao Gangmu, Paozhi Dafa, Bencao Shengya Banjie, Bencao Mengquan as the blueprints, and taking the traditional Chinese medicines in these books as the research objects, the text information was extracted from the four aspects of drug identification, drug use, drug prevention and detoxification, and the idea of pharmacovigilance was summarized. In Ming dynasty, pharmacovigilance had a systematic understanding, and cognition of drug toxicity was clear in identifying poison and correcting the mistakes of predecessors, in the aspects of using and preventing poisons, the use of poisons was prominent, the compatibility and process of poisons were emphasized, and the methods and mechanism of poison relief were clear in detoxification. Ming dynasty has initially formed the whole pharmacovigilance theoretical frame of cognition, application, prevention and rescue of drug toxicity, which has certain guiding and reference significance for modern clinical rational drug use.

Louis XIV's Ginseng: Shaping of Knowledge on an Herbal Medicine in the Late 17th and the Early 18th Century France / 의사학

This article aims to investigate the shaping of knowledge and discourse on ginseng, especially among physicians and botanists, since its introduction to France from the 17th century until the early 18th century. In France, knowledge on herbal medicine, including that of ginseng, was shaped under the influence of the modern state's policy and institution: mercantilism and the Académie royale des sciences. The knowledge of herbal medicine developed as an important part of the mercantilist policy supported systematically by the Académie. The East Asian ginseng, renowned as a panacea, was first introduced into France in the 17th century, initially in a roundabout way through transportation and English and Dutch publications of travel tales from various foreign countries. The publication activity was mainly conducted by Thévenot company with the intention to meet the needs of French mercantilism promoted by Colbert. It also implied interests on medicine in order to bolster the people's health. The Thévenot company's activity thus offered vital information on plants and herbs abroad, one of which was ginseng. Furthermore, with Louis XIV's dispatching of the Jesuit missionaries to East Asia, the Frenchmen were able to directly gather information on ginseng. These information became a basis for research of the Académie. In the Académie, founded in 1666 by Colbert, the king's physicians and botanists systematically and collectively studied on exotic plants and medical herbs including ginseng. They were also key figures of the Jardin du Roi. These institutions bore a striking contrast to the faculty of medicine at the University of Paris which has been a center of the traditional Galenic medicine. The research of the Académie on ginseng was greatly advanced, owing much to the reports and samples sent from China and Canada by Jartoux, Sarrazin, and Lapitau. From the early 18th century, the conservative attitude of the University of Paris, which was a stronghold of conservative Galenic Medicine, began to change with its new interest on foreign medicine herbs, including Chinese medicine. In our opinion, this change is exemplified in a paper, that is to say in a thése de licence or thése quolibétique in French, submitted to the Faculty of Medicine in 1736 by Folliot de Saint-Vast under the direction of Jacques-François Vendermonde. During this period, the knowledge of Chinese Materia Medica was introduced, despite of textual adaptation and interpolation, through the "translation" of Chinese medicale books such as Bencao Gangmu. The Chinese medical books were presented to the French academic public by doctors and Jesuit missionaries active in China. The assessment of the ginseng was generally favorable yet, although physicians and doctors began to take more caution on considering it as a panacea.

Editing style of Imwon Gyeongjeji / Inje-ji and inclusion of the medicinal knowledge of the late period of Joseon: Comparing mainly with Dongui-Bogam / 의사학

ImwonGyeongjeji which was created by Seo Yu-gu in the first half of the 19th century is a encyclopedia of practical use in rural life. It consists of 113 volumes, 16 fields, and 2.52 million total characters. Of these, the field of medicine comes 11th of the contents covering 28 volumes and 1.1 million characters. Its name is Inje-ji. This paper examines the academic background of Seo Yu-gu and his life work briefly, and investigates the characteristics of medical knowledge of late Joseon period contained in the Imwon Gyeongjeji / Inje-ji. Here, we made key comparisons especially with Dongui-bogam, Joseon's leading medical book. Of the pioneers of medical history studies of Joseon, a Japanese researcher Miki Sakae has made a negative evaluation to Inje-ji. But after concrete investigation we have come to conclude as follows. First, familial ancestors of Seo Yu-gu were engaged in the introduction of foreign-language books, so Seo Yu-gu as a officer of proof-reading and editing of the various books, also had a lot of knowledge on the medical books ever in history. On this background and experience, for over 36 years from 1806 retirement from official position to his death, he had compiled and edited Imwon Gyeongjeji. Second, unlike Dongui-bogam which included improving health skill, Inje-ji focused on curing medicine readily accessible from the major population of that time. Its main features are as follows: i) prescriptions directly linked to the diseases and symptoms, ii) greatly increased medicinal knowledge especially on infectious diseases and trauma, iii) detailed index easy to look up for prescription and iv) his 'own opinions'[an-seol] which can indicate relevant contents within the book and organically combines the whole knowledge in it. Third, "Inje-ji" utilizing medical books in China and Korea even those of Japan, collected more massively almost all the medical knowledge, new illness, herbs of local area, private prescription. Meanwhile Inje-ji modified the errors of the older medical books like Dongui Bogam or Bencao Gangmu, expressed its own subjective views about controversial topics. In summary "Inje-ji" can be the last general medical book which collected and edited almost all the medical knowledge of the period in the East Asia with its own editing format. In addition it is recognized that it pursued an evidence-based medicine and the practical medicine relieving the people, rather than medico-philosophical theories in oriental traditional medicine which was criticized by many critical intellectuals afterwards. Given the scrutiny, it seems that evaluation of the "Inje-ji" by Miki Sakae should be revised by thorough investigations. We are just on the starting line of the Inje-ji research in earnest meaning, and expect this research would give more fruitful and deep perspective in the area of Korea history of medicine.