Ethical prescribing

[Guest guest]

<<if practitioners are not

the appropriate people to consider the ethical prescribing of Chinese

medicinals then who is?>>

 

I agree, Derek, and the consciousness of what we deal with needs to be

addressed at various levels.

 

Both Bensky and my herb classes teach the use of rhinocerous horn,

endangered antelope horn and bear gall bladder in great detail with only

parenthetical discussions of the substitutes. Books and classes should

teach the replacements with parenthetical notes about the historical or

endangered or tortously acquired animal parts. Herbs that are endangered

are rarely specified as such. How are practicioners to know whether

something is to be avoided?

 

When I buy Western herbs I can readily find suppliers who refuse

wildcrafted echinacea or goldenseal, suggest substitutes for trillium and

certify that their herbs are grown organically or harvested sustainably.

I haven't seen much of that from suppliers of Chinese herbs.

 

If China leads the world in species extinction, then we are part of the

problem until we develop mechanisms to choose ethically, monitor species,

encourage sustainable agriculture and to teach responsibility in

prescription.

 

Karen Vaughan

CreationsGarden

***************************************

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" Medicine...the only profession that labours incessantly to destroy the

reason for its existence. " James Bryce 1914

 

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[Guest guest]

The bear gall issue is one of cruelty. whether one defends the use

of

animals for medicine or food or not, no one can defend barbaric

cruelty. As to the the question of rhino and antelope horn, they are

not used by american practitioners, despite being listed in Bensky.

I

don't think this issue was glossed over in my classes, if anything,

it

has been hyped by the World Wildlife Federation.

 

In their zeal to demonize China over the very real exploitation of

animals, WWF released a report five years ago also listing many plant

species being used in TCM as being illegal endangered species. It

later was shown that the herbs in question were ALL cultivated,

rather

than gathered from the wild and had been so for hundreds of years.

WWF

never retracted their report, anyway. It is not illegal to cultivate

endangered species.

 

No american herb supplier even deals in rhino or antelope and the

claims about the endangered plants appear to be largely erroneous

(confirmed to me by stephen foster, author of herbal emissaries,

BTW).

So we must be precise in our critique of chinese practices. If we

fan

these flames without cause, we raise another red flag against chinese

herbs. You all know I think there are real problems, here, but the

issue of endangered plant use seems to be specious. I have asked

Andy

Ellis to comment.

 

, Karen S Vaughan <

creationsgarden@j...> wrote:

> <<if practitioners are not

> the appropriate people to consider the ethical prescribing of

Chinese

> medicinals then who is?>>

>

> I agree, Derek, and the consciousness of what we deal with needs to

be

> addressed at various levels.

>

> Both Bensky and my herb classes teach the use of rhinocerous horn,

> endangered antelope horn and bear gall bladder in great detail with

only

> parenthetical discussions of the substitutes. Books and classes

should

> teach the replacements with parenthetical notes about the

historical or

> endangered or tortously acquired animal parts. Herbs that are

endangered

> are rarely specified as such. How are practicioners to know whether

> something is to be avoided?

>

> When I buy Western herbs I can readily find suppliers who refuse

> wildcrafted echinacea or goldenseal, suggest substitutes for

trillium and

> certify that their herbs are grown organically or harvested

sustainably.

> I haven't seen much of that from suppliers of Chinese herbs.

>

> If China leads the world in species extinction, then we are part of

the

> problem until we develop mechanisms to choose ethically, monitor

species,

> encourage sustainable agriculture and to teach responsibility in

> prescription.

>

> Karen Vaughan

> CreationsGarden@j...

> ***************************************

> Email advice is not a substitute for medical treatment.

> " Medicine...the only profession that labours incessantly to destroy

the

> reason for its existence. " James Bryce 1914

>

> ______________

> YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!

> Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!

> Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:

> http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/16/00 6:15:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

creationsgarden writes:

 

<<

The fact is that time is still spent on teaching the uses, doses and

properties of the endangered species but less effort on the

non-endangered substitutes. Is this due to questions on national exams

or just resistance to depart from traditional lists? Since no one is

using rhino or antelope horn (which are identified as endangered), why

are the substitutes not being stressed instead? >>

 

 

Karen, I always appreciate your intelligent messages in this group. I am

about to begin teaching an herbs class for the first time, and while I think

I know herbs, I realize I do not know the likely substitutes for the horn

products mentioned above. Can you tell me what they are please?

 

Julie

[Guest guest]

Todd-

 

The problem isn't demonization of China, but one of educating

practicioners so they can prescribe ethically. I've noted Andy Ellis's

comments on Mu Xiang, Tian Ma and Shi Hu in my MMs, and listmembers

probably know that similar cautions should be taken with Xi Yang Shen

(which tends to suffer from heavy fungicide application unless it is

organically woods-cultivated). Tan Xiang probably needs certificates of

cultivation as well, as is required when sourced from India.

 

I have trouble believing that there are only three species in danger,

given the population pressures and trade parameters of Chinese

botanicals. We have far more than three at risk species in the US

according to the United Plant Savers listings and botanical medicine is

far less prevalent here. How about Sheng Ma (Cimicifuga is at risk in

the US) or other slow growing roots or woods? Or Chan Su when toads and

frogs are rapidly disappearing? Or anything growing in a disappearing

habitat?

 

The fact is that time is still spent on teaching the uses, doses and

properties of the endangered species but less effort on the

non-endangered substitutes. Is this due to questions on national exams

or just resistance to depart from traditional lists? Since no one is

using rhino or antelope horn (which are identified as endangered), why

are the substitutes not being stressed instead?

 

Incidentally I have not heard classroom teaching about cruelty concerns

with Xiong Don or other animal parts, although I've picked up some things

on the web, have asked, or have surmised them based upon the animal and

part.

 

Incidentally materia medica courses which provide at risk status

information will be required by the American Herbalists Guild and the

Botanical Medicine Academy which will be administering national board

certification in herbal medicine, (open to practicioners of oriental

medicine). Lists of these endangered or at-risk species and medicinals

with cruelty concerns should be included in all TOM cirricula as well.

Similarly lists of patents with objectional components would be useful.

If anyone has made up such a list (more accurate than the WWF list)

perhaps you could upload a copy.

 

Karen Vaughan

CreationsGarden

***************************************

 

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[Guest guest]

Bensky lists waterbuffalo horn, shui niu jiao, at a _much_ higher dose

for rhino horn (1-2g vs 30-120g). John Pai at PCOM NY has used both (or

has seen rhino horn used) and says the waterbuffalo horn doesn't work as

well for fever-induced coma. This indicates that we need to look at

reformulation rather than substitution of one ingredient.

 

Goat horn, shan yang jiao, is listed in Bensky as a substitute for

antelope horn, again not as strong. K.Y. Yen lists the horns of Gazella

gutturosa, Panthalopos hodgsoni, and Naemorhedus goral (goat) as

substitutes.

 

And cow gallbladder is recommended as a substitute for xiong dan. I

understand that these can be taken directly from beef cattle rather than

the tortous practices of harvesting bile from caged bears. If someone

knows differently, please correct me.

 

Neither book addresses at risk or cruelty status of the substitutes.

 

Karen Vaughan

CreationsGarden

***************************************

Email advice is not a substitute for medical treatment.

" Medicine...the only profession that labours incessantly to destroy the

reason for its existence. " James Bryce 1914

 

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[Guest guest]

The article below does not specify endangered medicinal plants but can

give us some guidance in what types of vascular plants in our MM we might

consider avoiding or researching for at risk status.

 

Karen Vaughan

CreationsGarden

***************************************

 

1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants

First Global Assessment of Plants Rings Alarm Bells Worldwide

------

Washington, D.C., April 8, 1998

 

More than one out of every eight plant species worldwide is at risk of

extinction, according to the most comprehensive scientific assessment

ever assembled on the status of the world's plants.

 

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants released today revealed that 12.5

percent or 34,000 of the world's plant species are threatened. In the

United

States, perhaps the most thoroughly studied country in the world, 29

percent

of the nation's 16,000 plant species are at risk of extinction.

 

" The numbers are staggering, not only because they are exceedingly large,

but

because we are talking about the organisms on which all animal life

depends. "

said David Bracken, chairman of IUCN's Species Survival Commission.

" Plants

clothe us, feed us and our domestic animals, and provide us with most of

our

medicines, yet our knowledge of their status is woefully inadequate. This

needs to change. We need to invest in botany. We cannot afford to neglect

the

fate of the world's plants. "

 

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants is the result of a 20-year effort

by a

unique coalition of scientists, conservation organizations, botanical

gardens

and museums. The major U.S. contributors to this global partnership were

The

Nature Conservancy (TNC), The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum

of

Natural History, and the New York Botanical Garden. The global

partnership

pooled its expertise to present a snapshot of the status of plant

biodiversity. The picture is troubling:

 

*Of the estimated 270,000 known species of vascular plants, 33,798

specific

are considered at risk of extinction. These plants are found in 369 plant

families and are scattered throughout 200 countries. Of the plant species

named in the Red List, 91 percent are found only in a single country. A

limited geographic distribution can make a species much more vulnerable

and

may reduce options for its protection. A great number of plant species

known

to have medicinal value is at risk of disappearing, leaving their human

healing potential unfulfilled. For instance, 75 percent of the species

from

the yew family, a source of important cancer-fighting compounds, are

threatened. The willow family, from which aspirin is derived, has 12

percent

of its species threatened.

 

*The dipterocarps, a family of trees that includes some valuable timber

species in Southeast Asia, have 32.5 percent of their close relatives

threatened.

 

*With the loss of each species, we lose access to critical genetic

material

that may have contributed to producing hardier, healthier crops for human

and

animal consumption.

 

*Close relatives to many familiar plants are at risk of extinction. For

instance, 14 percent of the rose family, 32 percent of the lily family

and 32

percent of the iris family are threatened. Numerous other species whose

value

has not yet been studied are also at risk. " The reasons for the rapid

loss of

plant life vary, but we know that loss of habitat and the introduction of

alien or non-native plant species, are the two main factors " said John C.

Sawhill, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. " The findings in

the Red

LIst should sound alarm bells around the world. It is not too late to

take

steps to protect what we are about to lose. We must act now. "

 

The information about the status of U.S. plant species contained in the

Red

List was provided through the National Heritage Network, a public-private

partnership involving state and federal agencies and The Nature

Conservancy.

 

" Only through the concerted efforts of botanists working in natural

history

museums, botanical gardens and universities has it been possible to

assemble

the vital worldwide information contained in the Red List, " said Dr. John

Kress, Chair of the Smithsonian's botany department. " The 4.5-million

plant

collection housed at the National Museum of Natural History, when coupled

with

the specimens at our collaborating institutions, comprise an invaluable

reference library of nearly 20 million plant specimens. If we are to

conserve

the world's plant species, we need more interaction between government,

scientific institutions, botanical gardens and conservation

organizations. "

 

Brian Boom, vice president for botanical science and Pfizer curator of

botany

at The New York Botanical Garden added, " Every nation understands and

appreciates its biotic wealth. Ironically, it is precisely the biological

assets that are the most at risk.

 

Efforts such as the Red List are instrumental in drawing attention to

threatened plant resources, and thereby fostering a climate of awareness,

appreciation and understanding of the economic value of these resources

as the

basis for new foods, fuels, fibers, fragrances, and medicines.

 

While the Red List of Threatened Plants is a comprehensive assessment of

the

status of known plant species there is much that remains unknown. For

instance, the Red List reflects a distinctly regional bias. Comprehensive

assessments from North America, Australia and Southern Africa are

included.

Coverage of other regions is far more fragmentary and often very

incomplete.

The rest of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and South America, when more

fully

studied will undoubtedly be found to harbor many more threatened plants

than

are documented in this edition of the Red List. It should be noted that

the

list is an assessment of vascular plants only. Vascular plants include

ferns,

conifers and flowering plants. Plants not assessed for this publication

include mosses, lichens, and algae. Fungi are also not included on this

list.

 

Bracken of IUCN added, " I have no doubt that once we do more research, we

will find that the figure of 12.5 percent of the world's plants

threatened with

extinction is a very conservative estimate. We all need to step up our

commitment to effective conservation action and move quickly to conserve

those

species that we already know are at risk. "

 

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