title: Angel of human health: current research updates in toad medicine.
abstract: There are currently 34 genera and 410 species of toads in the world. The medicinal parts of toads mainly include their venom, skin, and clothing. The toad's venom and skin possess the same chemical components, mainly the toad venom lactone class, and their pharmacological effects primarily include the maintenance of strong heart, antitumor, antivirus, anti-infection, and analgesic effects. So far, the produces from the medicinal raw materials of the toad are widely used clinically around the world, especially in China, Japan, and South Korea. About 50 varieties of medicines are used in the clinical treatment of various complicated diseases in China, such as "Liushen pills" which was popular in the whole world. Toads are mainly used in treating malignant tumors (e.g., liver cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer, among others), and some major diseases such as hepatitis B. Despite the therapeutic effects of toad-derived medicines on human health, there is insufficient research and development of toad-derived medicines by leading drug companies. In order to harness the beneficial effects of the resources of the toad species, it is the responsibility of global pharmaceutical researchers to develop and generate economically feasible toad-derived therapeutic products, while promoting maximum protection to the resources of the toad species.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Xuanxuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Linlin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Jiyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, 710032, China ; The Cultivation Project of Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine in QinBa Mountains Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Siwang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Toad; cancer; hepatitis B