title: [Herbological study of the botanical origin of Chinese crude drugs "Du-hua" and "Qiang-hua" in ancient China].
abstract: The Chinese crude drug Qiang-hua was listed as an alias of Du-hua in Shen-nong-ben-cao-jing, an herbal journal written during the Han Dynasty, China. Du-hua and Qiang-hua are recognized as different herbs in China these days; the main botanical origin of Du-hua is Angelica spp. and that of Qiang-hua is Notopterygium spp., of the family Umbelliferae. To make clear the botanical origins of Du-hua and Qiang-hua in ancient China, the authors made a herbological study. The findings were as follows: the name of Qiang-hua was given to the genuine Du-hua, which is produced in Qiang Province, an ancient province located in northwest China; the botanical origin of Qiang-hua is presumed to be Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H.T. Chang and N. forbesii Boissieu based on both the morphology and habitat written in ancient herbal journals. Both species are prescribed as having the plant origin of Qiang-hua in the present Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Therefore, we concluded that Du-hua and Qiang-hua were essentially the same drug, and were originally derived from the Notopterygium species in ancient China.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Natural Science & Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mikage
authors.forename: Akane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ochimori
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000266:history*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C067415:qiang-huo