The History and Outlook of Animal Drugs Treating Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis, and Haze Episode-induced Respiratory Diseases
Pages 69-78
Xiumei Wu, Hairong Zhao, Junya Chen, Rui Feng, Chenggong Li, Zhixue Zhang, Chenggui Zhang, Guike Li and Yu Zhao

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1927-3037.2014.03.02.5

Published: 11 August 2014

Abstract: Animal drugs have been historically applied in Chinese remedies for more than two thousands. It was reported that Chinese medical animals consisting of 1,590 species took up 12.5% of the total number of all TCM resources. Those animal drugs such as, earthworm, gecko, periostracum cicadae, and scorpios, of commonly used in China, are very remarkable and traditional for the treatment of asthma or chronic bronchitis. This review presents research advance of animal drugs possessing significant implications for the development of novel anti-asthma or chronic bronchitis drugs. The experimental studies and clinical efficacies against asthma and chronic bronchitis of animal drugs were summarized herein. Moreover, the potential utilization of animal drugs on inhibiting haze/fog induced respiratory diseases was also discussed.