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[2006.10.05]African genesis 非洲药材的起步
[2006.10.05]African genesis 非洲药材的起步
A pharmacopoeia for Africa
一部非洲药典
IT IS easy to forget that the pharmaceutical industry has its roots in the ancient art of botanising. That was the name apothecaries gave to the activity of collecting plants that time and tradition had shown possessed useful medical properties. Even the first synthetic blockbuster drugs, Bayer's aspirin and heroin, were minor modifications of molecules extracted from, respectively, willow bark and poppy seed-pods.
通过药剂学家在长年累月的药用植物采集过程中逐渐了解药物的特性，才有了今天的制药工业。但很少有人还记得制药工业起源于古代植物采集的技术。甚至最早引起轰动的合成药物，Bayer发明的阿司匹林和海洛因也不过是对把杨树皮和罂粟种子的提取物加以化学修饰之后所得到的产物。
Much of the world still relies on herbs for its medicines. Used correctly, they can be extremely effective. The twin problems of herbal medicine, though, are ignorance about what truly works and what does not, and quality control of a product that is not the result of standard production methods. To help overcome those deficiencies in a continent that is particularly dependent on herbal medicine, a group of researchers is assembling a pan-African pharmacopoeia—a database of plants with medicinal properties.
很多国家现在还主要依赖天然植物药物。如果使用方法正确，这些药物十分有效。但植物药物有两个问题，我们至今对于天然药用植物哪些成分有效，那些成分无效仍没有一个明确的认识，因此随之而来的问题是通过标准的生产方法无法对这些药物的质量进行控制。为了帮助那些基本依靠天然植物来医治疾患的国家解决这两个问题，一些研究者正致力于建立一个非洲药典——天然医药资源数据库。
The Association for African Medicinal Plants Standards, a collaboration of medicinal-plant scientists from 14 countries, plans to launch the first edition of this database by December. It will contain detailed profiles of 23 plants, including devil's claw, which is used to treat rheumatism; red stinkwood, whose bark provides an ingredient for prostate-cancer drugs; and African ginger, which is good for relieving headaches. The association's members plan to add another 30 plants early next year.
聚集14个国家的药用植物科学家，非洲药用植物标准组织计划于12月展开药典第一版的编纂工作。第一版将涵盖23种植物详细的介绍，其中包括用于治疗风湿病的爪钩草；树皮中含有治疗前列腺癌药物有效成分的非洲红臭木；具有缓解头痛功用的非洲姜。这个组织将于明年把30种植物加入药典。
Each profile will contain descriptions of the plant itself, of its medical properties, and of chemical tests that can be used to identify it. Not only will this information help local healthworkers, by winnowing what works from what does not, it may also increase international trade in African herbal medicines.
每一种植物的介绍包括，对植物本身的描述，药理特性，化学检验法。这不仅能帮助当地的卫生工作者，还通过分类天然植物的有效成分和无效成分可能在无形中为非洲药用植物打开了国际市场。
According to the World Health Organisation, the global market for medicinal plants exceeds $60 billion a year. Most of this, though, is in plants from Asia. Increasing Africa's slice would be a useful boost to the continent's international trade. At the moment, African medicinal plants are often ignored because foreign buyers have no guarantee of the quality of the materials they are purchasing. The hope is that by telling buyers which herbs are valuable for what, which characteristics to seek when making a purchase, and which chemical tests identify active ingredients, the new pharmacopoeia will provide that boost. The pharmacopoeia, in other words, would create a set of standards that all parties could work towards.
据世界卫生组织，每年药用植物的国际市场总额超过了600亿美元。尽管其中大多数来自亚洲。但非洲逐渐增多的市场份额将会有效地刺激非洲的国际贸易。非洲药用植物没有市场的原因在于国外买家无法确定他们所购买的药材质量。寄希望于新的药典能让买家弄清楚天然药材的药理特性，从而买家可以通过化学方法确定有效成分，然后根据需求购买非洲的天然药材。换句话说，这部药典将建立一整套植物药材的标准。
Pharmacopoeias have been used to control the quality of medicines for centuries. England's first one appeared in 1618. Today, though, most of them focus on factory-made drugs. It seems unlikely that the association's efforts will launch another Bayer. But if they make African medicine more effective and boost trade to boot, that will be no mean achievement.
长时间以来很多国家都应用药典来控制药品质量。英格兰于1618年颁布第一部药典。尽管今天大多致力于合成药物的研发，而且并不是要通过建立药典来模仿Bayer。但至少会让非洲的药物更有效，并推动当地的贸易，而这将会是个伟大的成就。
[ 本帖最后由 mickey2050 于 2006-10-11 22:57 编辑 ] |
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发表于 2006-10-9 21:04
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发表于 2006-10-11 10:35
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