ABSTRACT
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of a range of complementary treatments that are widely used in Asia, but are also becomingly increasingly popular in Western countries. This popularity is growing even in countries such as England where conventional medical treatment is free to the end-user, whereas TCM rarely is (1). Annual sales of herbal remedies in the United States exceed US$350 million (2) and the global market for all herbal and homoeopathic remedies has been estimated at over US$4 billion in the United States, over US$6 billion in Europe (3), and over US$2 billion in Asia (4). TCM encompasses several different treatments, including acupuncture, moxibustion, medicinal food, herbs, traditional massage, and qigong, but I will concern myself here only with herbal therapies. These “natural” remedies are widely perceived as safer than pharmaceutical company drugs, more “natural,” “gentle,” and less likely to cause side effects. In fact, just because a product is natural does not mean it is safe: examples of plant-produced toxins include cyanide (5), many carcinogens, a prime example being the powerful carcinogen aflatoxin (6), digitalis, ergot, and belladonna. Indeed the use of selected plant extracts to eliminate enemies and induce abortion has been widespread throughout the centuries. In general also, the more effective a drug, the more side effects might be predicted. Thus by reasoning from first principles, the safest medicine might be homoeopathic, although its effectiveness is as yet uncertain.
