Manchester TCM Conference in summer - Brainstorming session

[Guest guest]

Hi All, & Hi Chris,

 

Phil wrote:

> I have argued that the labels of all CHM formulas [indeed, all

> medicines and health supplements] should display the % of all raw

> ingredients used. I did not include " fillers (starch, etc) in my

> original note, but I include it here.

 

Chris [TCM List] replied:

> ... why [settle for] the percentage of ingredients? Why not [use]

> mgs [instead]???? Virtually all supplements already list ingredients

> in mgs. I believe it will be a better idea to conform our standards

> to what is already out there. Less confusion. IF you insist we

> label our stuff. Go for mgs. Please. Chris

 

Chris, you are correct. I accept your point fully.

 

Next summer, there will be a large (circa 1000 delegate)

conference in TCM in Manchester, England. A proposed Brain-

storming workshop [probable, but not yet confirmed] will be on the

topic:

 

" The future of TCM in western nations increasingly obsessed with

regulation and " Evidence-Based-Medicine " .

 

I am proposing the following Subtopics, and am trying to cobble

together some points as discussion-openers to guide the

brainstorming as below.

 

I WOULD APPRECIATE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICAL COMMENT

UNDER ANY OR ALL HEADINGS:

 

(a) How should the TCM professions tackle the hypocrisy (double

standards) of the FDA & EU attitudes to Safety, Efficacy & Quality-

Control of medicines and supplements when applied to herbal

mediicines and homeopathic remedies?

 

[To be filled in later, but using concepts of " level-playing-field " and

highlighting the extent of iatrogenic disease caused by

PERMITTED (non-banned) allopathic drugs, tobacco, alcohol, cars

and " high-risk-sports. Why does FDA/EU not ban THOSE? They

kill and maim more people each year than all of integrative

medicine combined!]

 

(b) How can TCM professionals foster precise and accurate

labelling of Chinese Herbal Medicines & Supplements ( " Product

Batches - PBs " )?

 

Ideally, the label and/or data sheet with each PB would list (in

Hanzi, Pinyin & the Language of the importing Country):

 

Manufacturer's name and contact details,

Product Name

PB code, date of manufacture, & " use by " date,

Min, Max and Mean daily dose and instructions for use

Min & Max recommended duration of use,

Known and potential adverse-effects,

Known and potential interactions with allopathic medications,

Contraindications or cautions,

Procedure recommended if an adverse reaction should arise,

etc

 

Each PB should certify the amounts in the recommended daily

dose of: each raw ingredient, filler and binder (in mg on a DM

basis), and the nature and amount of each liquid vehicle or solvent

(water, alcohol, etc) in ml. [Chris! I have taken your point!]

 

To ensure a high degree of quality control, each PB should certify

the amount of the most important active agents (for example,

artemisin, ephedrine, ginkgolide, saikosaponin, ginsenoside,

salidroside & rosavin, etc) in ug or mg in the daily dose.

 

© How can TCM Professionals tackle the problem of unlisted

ingredients in Chinese Herbal Medicines?

 

All manufacturing plants should be licensed by their Government to

produce each Product sold under standards of international GMP.

 

The Government of the Country of Manufacture should police the

Quality Control strictly and penalise heavily any factory that adds

unlisted ingredients.

 

(d) Can TCM professionals persuade Asian manufacturers and

Governments to flag Hbs & Formulas known to contain toxic or

potentially toxic contaminants or agents, like AA, Hg, As, Pb, etc?

Can we propose a comprehensive and " agreed " list of suitable

alternatives that match ALL the actions of discarded ingredients of

existing Asian formulas?

 

Each PB should certify bacterial- (coli, salmonella, staphs &

strepts, etc) and heavy metal- (Cd, As, Hg, Pb, F, etc) levels and

display the acceptable international levels for comparison.

The Host Government should confiscate and destroy PBs that

breach pre-agreed safety standards.

 

Specific PBs that breach the safety standards of the Receiving

Government ahould not be exported to that Country.

 

(e) Can TCM professionals persuade Asian manufacturers and

Governments to flag raw materials & Formulas known to contain

human

tissues or products (hair, placenta, umbilical cord, urine sediment,

calculi, etc)?

 

The Host Government should ban the inclusion of human or primate

tissues or products in PBs for export and should enforce special

labelling on such products if they are to be used at home. Where

human or primate tissues are thought to be important to the action

of the PB, the trade should include suitable alternatives to match

ALL the actions of discarded ingredients.

 

(f) Can TCM professionals persuade Asian manufacturers and

Governments flag raw materials & Formulas containing animal

tissues or products, especially those from endangered species

(tiger, rhino, seahorse, etc), or tissues/products from animals

treated in inhumane ways (bear-bile, dog/otter/seal genitals, etc),

or harvested and processed in ways that fail to match standards of

Food Safety imposed by FDA and EU Authorities?

 

[To be discussed]

 

Where animal tissues are thought to be important to the action of

the PB, the professionals should agree a comprehensive list of

suitable alternatives for inclusion to match ALL the actions of

discarded ingredients.

 

(g) Because high quality software to handle machine translation of

Hanzi or Pinyin script to English and other non-Asian languages

will be unavailable for several years, how can we make TCM

Terminology readily available in DIGITAL form, so that users can

search WWW or databases under Chinese (Hanzi), Japanese and

Chinese characters, Pinyin (toned and untoned), Wade-Gilles,

common names in English and/or Latin terms, etc?

 

[To be discussed]

 

(h) How can we foster high-quality research, especially well

controlled clinical research, in Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal

Medicine in human and animal subjects?

 

[To be discussed]

 

etc.

 

If you have bright ideas, I would love to hear them. If you see major

raasons why my initial suggestions may not be feasable, please

spell them out!

 

Best regards,

Phil

 

PS: My plea for help with the files on TCM Terminology went down

like a lead balloon; Al, you are the only one left that is willing to

help!

Best regards,

 

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