So far the indigenous drugs have not been carefully and systematically studied. The Executive Committee of the Calcutta International Exhibition for 1883-84, reported that “it must be admitted that our ignorance of the properties and uses of indigenous drugs is scarcely pardonable. It seems highly desirable that the whole subject should be gone into with greater care than has yet been done, both with the view of weeding out the worthless from the good, and of preparing the way for a number of the better class native drugs taking the place of some of the more expensive and imported medicines of Europe. It seems remarkable that so large an amount of aconite should be collected in Nepal and exported to Europe, in order to be re-imported into India before it can find its way to the poor people who crowd around our dispensaries. Illustrations of a similar nature can be multiplied indefinitely. Atropa Belladonna, the deadly nightshade, for example, is a common weed on the Himalayas from Simla to Kashmir, yet every ounce of the drug used in India is imported from Europe, the Indian plant having apparently been entirely overlooked.
迄今為止,本土藥物尚未被認真、系統性的研究。1883-84 年加爾各答國際展覽會執行委員會報告指出:
「必須承認,我們對本土藥物的特性和用途的無知是不可原諒的。似乎非常需要比迄今所做的更加謹慎地研究整個主題,既是為了從好的東西中剔除無價值的東西,也是為了為一些更好的本土藥物鋪平道路。歐洲一些較昂貴的進口藥品的產地。尼泊爾應該收集如此大量的附子並出口到歐洲,以便在它到達擠在我們藥房周圍的窮人手中之前重新進口到印度,這似乎很了不起。類似性質的例證可以無限地增加。例如,顛茄(Atropa Belladonna) ,一種致命的茄科植物,是從西姆拉到克什米爾的喜馬拉雅山上常見的雜草,但印度使用的每一盎司藥物都是從歐洲進口的,印度植物顯然被完全忽視了。」
ut for the proper study of the subject, a work exclusively devoted to Indian medicinal plants has been a great desideratum in the medical literature of India. Messrs. Booker and Thompson writing as far back as 1855, said:—
“We have had a considerable experience both in medical and economic botany, and we announce boldly our conviction that so far as India is concerned these departments are at a standstill for want of an accurate scientific guide to the flora of that country.” .
但為了對此主題進行適當的研究,一本專門針對印度藥用植物的著作一直是印度醫學文獻中的一大渴望。布克和湯普森早在 1855 年就曾寫道:
「我們在醫學和經濟植物學方面擁有豐富的經驗,我們大膽地宣布我們的信念,就印度而言,這些部門由於缺乏對該國植物區系的準確科學指南而處於停滯狀態。」
The flora of British India commenced by Sir Joseph Hooker in 1872 is now completed. The great value of this work as a scientific guide to the plants of this country can hardly be doubted. The foundation of a medical botany of India should be grounded on this work. In this medical botany should be included all the plants that are used medicinally by the natives of this country. A very large number, perhaps the vast majority of these plants, will be found perfectly useless, but in the present state of our knowledge we are not justified in excluding any from the list. The great aim of this work being to collect and identify the medicinal plants of the country, it should, after giving the plants its modern scientific name, insert the synonyms under which it was known in former times.
由約瑟夫•胡克爵士於 1872 年開始的英屬印度植物誌現已完成。這部著作作為該國植物的科學指南的巨大價值是毋庸置疑的。印度藥用植物學的基礎應以這項工作為基礎。該藥用植物學應該包括了該國當地人藥用的所有植物。很大一部分,也許是這些植物中的絕大多數,將被發現是完全無用途的,但以我們目前的知識水平,我們沒有理由將任何植物從清單中排除。這項工作的偉大目的是收集和鑑定該國的藥用植物,在賦予這些植物現代學名後,應插入以前為人所知的同義詞。
The value of Sanskrit and vernacular names of plants has been much questioned by botanists for purposes of identification. But, I think, these synonyms help a great deal towards identification.
出於識別目的,植物學家對梵文和白話植物名稱的價值提出了許多質疑。但是,我認為,這些同義詞對辨識有很大幫助。
Much trouble will be saved to the experimenting physician by the help of the country names of plants. Modern India abounds with professional herbalists. There are the Musheras in Central and Upper India, whose principal livelihood consists in the collection and sale of medicinal roots and herbs.
植物國名的幫助將為實驗醫生省去許多麻煩。現代印度有很多專業的草藥師。中和上印度有穆謝拉人(Musheras),他們的主要生計是收集和銷售藥用根和草藥。
In Bengal there are the Malis, Bagdis, Kaibartas, Pods, Chandals, Kaoras and Karangas, who principally carry on the trade in jungle products. In Bombay, the Chadras, Bhils, and Gamtas are the herbalists. Now, these communities can prove of immense service to our medical practitioners in supplying medicinal plants. But as they are not trained in any university so as to be able to understand the Latin or scientific names of plants, the only way to secure their services lies with the medical practitioners in mastering the native names of plants. A great deal of time and trouble will be saved by thus giving the vernacular names of plants the importance they deserve.
孟加拉有馬利人、巴格迪斯人、凱巴爾塔人、波德人、昌達爾人、卡奧拉人和卡蘭加人,他們主要從事叢林產品貿易。在孟買,查德拉 (Chadra)、比爾 (Bhils) 和加姆塔 (Gamta) 是草藥師。現在,這些群落可以證明在供應藥用植物方面為我們的醫生提供了巨大的服務。但由於他們沒有在任何大學接受過能夠理解植物的拉丁名或學名的培訓,因此確保他們的服務的唯一方法在於醫生掌握植物的本土名稱。透過給予植物的俗名應有的重視,可以節省大量的時間和麻煩。
It is, however, proper to add that too much confidence can not be placed in the vernacular nomenclature. In India, in the same district, one and the same name is applied to two or more different plants. And in some instances, names without any significance are invented by villagers to satisfy the curiosity of enquiring botanists. These names are of no use. Such being the case, a knowledge of botany to critically examine a plant is absolutely necessary.
然而,需要補充的是,不能對白話術語抱有太大的信心。在印度,在同一地區,一種相同的名稱適用於兩種或多種不同的植物。在某些情況下,村民們為了滿足植物學家的好奇心而發明了一些沒有任何意義的名字。這些名字沒有任何用處。在這種情況下,絕對需要植物學知識來嚴格檢查植物。
Besides botanical description and vernacular nomenclature, illustrations of plants prove a great help in identifying them. Though illustrations of several thousands of Indian plants are scattered in the works of Rheede, Roxburgh, Royle, Wight, Wallich, Beddome, Brandis, and Griffith and in the journals of the Linnan and other learned societies, yet a very large number of medicinal plants of this country remains to be illustrated. The sooner illustrations of these plants are made the better for the cause of the study of indigenous drugs.
除了植物學描述和白話命名之外,植物插圖對識別植物也有很大幫助。儘管里德、羅克斯堡、羅伊爾、懷特、沃利奇、貝多姆、布蘭迪斯和格里菲斯的作品以及林南學會和其他學術團體的期刊中散佈著數千種印度植物的插圖,但仍有大量藥用植物.這個國家的情況還有待說明。越早對這些植物進行說明,就越有利於本土藥物的研究事業。
After proper means have been taken to identify the medicinal plants, so that we are quite sure that we all mean the same thing by the same name, we should turn our attention to the study of their properties and uses. We may commence such study with advantage, and it will be, moreover, of historical importance, if we first of all take into consideration the uses to which these plants were put in ancient times by the Hindus. With this view, we should consult the medical works of the Hindus, e. g., Charaka, Sushruta, Nighantu, &c.
在採取適當的方法來識別藥用植物之後,我們就應該把注意力轉向研究它們的特性和用途,以便我們確信同一個名字所指的是同一個東西。我們可以有利地開始這樣的研究,而且,如果我們首先考慮到印度教徒在古代對這些植物的用途,它將具有歷史重要性。有了這個觀點,我們應該參考印度教徒的醫學著作,例如:g .、Charaka、Sushruta、Nighantu 等。
Nor should we despise the experience and observation of the Greco-Arabic School of practitioners regarding the uses of the indigenous drugs. Thus the Taleef Sheriff (which has been translated into English), is an excellent work on therapeutics, and gives within a narrow compass the uses of some of the most important medicinal plants of this country.
我們也不應該輕視希臘-阿拉伯學派從業者關於本土藥物使用的經驗和觀察。因此,《Taleef Sheriff》(已被翻譯成英文)是一部出色的治療學著作,在狹窄的範圍內介紹了這個國家一些最重要的藥用植物的用途。
We should also take into consideration those drugs which are in much use amongst rustics and villagers, and of which no account is to be met with in the works of either the Hindu or Greco-Arabic school of practitioners. It is a pity that no attempt has yet been made to collect information from the villagers regarding the medicinal virtues of plants that grow around them and the uses to which they are put. If we turn to the past history of our art, we find that our knowledge regarding the properties of some of the most useful medicines has been obtained in this empirical way.
我們也應該考慮那些在鄉村和村民中廣泛使用的藥物,而在印度教或希臘阿拉伯學派的從業者的著作中都沒有提到這些藥物。遺憾的是,我們還沒有嘗試從村民那裡收集有關他們周圍生長的植物的藥用價值及其用途的資訊。如果我們回顧過去的藝術史,我們會發現我們對一些最有用的藥物特性的知識是透過這種經驗方式獲得的。
Lastly, we should not neglect to bestow our attention on those indigenous plants which have not been used medicinally by the natives of this country, but are in much use in other countries.
最後,我們不應忽視那些本土植物,這些植物尚未被本國當地人用作藥用,但在其他國家卻大量使用。
After recording the medicinal uses, we have to commence the more important subject, viz., that of “weeding out the worthless from the good” amongst these medicinal plants. For this purpose, we have to seek the aid of chemistry. It is well-known that plants generally owe their virtues as medicinal agents to certain characteristic alkaloids and principles present in them. Because a complete and full chemical analysis of the medicinal plants of this country has not yet been performed, it is therefore that there exists so much uncertainty regarding their actions. This isolation of principles will constitute a great improvement in pharmacy. For, then, instead of using preparations made from plants which differ in constitution from time to time, and vary in the strength of their active principles and physiological characteristics, depending on the climate, season, and amount of sunshine under which, and the soil in which, they have grown, we should use the active principles in which the same variability is unlikely to occur. Moreover, they would possess the advantages of being always alike, easily assimilable and capable of ready solubility, ease in administration and rapidity as well as certainty of action. Then a practitioner also could carry his whole dispensary in a portable form.
記錄完藥用後,我們就要開始更重要的課題,即這些藥用植物的「剔除良莠」。為此,我們必須尋求化學的幫助。眾所周知,植物作為藥物的優點通常歸功於其中存在的某些特徵生物鹼和成分。由於尚未對這個國家的藥用植物進行完整、全面的化學分析,因此他們的行動存在很大的不確定性。這種原則的分離將構成藥學的巨大進步。因此,不要使用由不同時間組成不同的植物製成的製劑,其活性成分的強度和生理特性也不同,這取決於氣候、季節、日照量和土壤。 ……在它們成長的過程中,我們應該使用積極的原則,在這些原則中不太可能發生相同的變化。此外,它們還具有始終相似、易於同化、易於溶解、易於給藥、作用迅速且確定的優點。然後,從業者還可以以便攜式形式攜帶他的整個藥廠。
This chemical analysis would also help us in determining the actions of medicines in health and disease. It should, however, be borne in mind, that chemical analysis but imperfectly reveals the real nature of many drugs. The presence of dissociated ions, of colloidal metals, with an action analogous to that of ferments, and of known and unknown physical properties, such as radio-activity, probably enter into the action of many drugs. All the phenomena of plant life are not explicable in terms of chemistry and physics; there are certain residual phenomena which point to the existence of what may be called in the present state of our knowledge, “vital force. 這種化學分析也將幫助我們確定藥物對健康和疾病的影響。然而,應該記住,化學分析並不能完全揭示許多藥物的真實性質。解離離子、膠體金屬的存在(其作用類似於發酵)以及已知和未知的物理性質(例如放射性)可能參與許多藥物的作用。植物生命的所有現像都無法用化學和物理學來解釋;某些殘餘現象表明,在我們目前的知識水平下,存在著所謂的「生命力」
It is hence, that many medical practitioners have been disappointed with tinctures and other preparations of medicinal plants, because such preparations did not give any satisfactory results when prescribed to patients. Speaking of Oolut-Kumbal, (Abroma augusta) Dr. Bhoobun Mohun Sirkar wrote in the Indian Medical Gazette for May, 1900:—
“Attempts have been made to administer the drug in the more acceptable forms of tincture, pill or powder, but none prove so efficacious as the fresh viscid sap in substance in which form I have used it with wonderful results.”
因此,許多醫生對酊劑和其他藥用植物製劑感到失望,因為這些製劑在開給患者時沒有給出任何令人滿意的結果。說到Oolut-Kumbal,(Abroma agusta)博士。Bhoobun Mohun Sirkar 在 1900 年 5 月的《印度醫學公報》中寫道:
「已經嘗試過以更容易接受的酊劑、丸劑或粉末形式服用該藥物,但事實證明沒有一種比新鮮的粘性汁液物質更有效,我使用這種形式取得了美妙的效果。
It is well-known that the people of India use the juice of fresh vegetables for medicinal purposes. But on chemical analysis, these vegetables do not yield any peculiar chemical substances to which their curative virtues could be justly attributed. It has been the tendency of late, therefore, to disapprove the use of such vegetable remedies. A well-known medical man writes in Allbutt’s System of Medicine:—
“The chemical composition of a drug is not unfrequently the key to its pharmacological action............... If a drug have no active properties, it is surely devoid of medicinal effect unless it be a food; for medicinal action is the outcome of the effects of active principles on tissues. It is always possible that in any particular drug the active medicinal agent may have escaped notice; but in the present state of chemical science it is not likely that undiscovered principles reside in such substances as sarsaparilla and hemidesmus: yet these drugs are given on the testimony of experience,—a testimony no stronger than that which has supported scores of other agents eventually discarded. If the indications, given by the pharmacological examination of a drug, are opposed to experience in its favour, the latter must almost certainly be at fault.
眾所周知,印度人將新鮮蔬菜的汁液用於藥用。但從化學分析來看,這些蔬菜並沒有產生任何特殊的化學物質,這些化學物質可以歸因於它們的療效。因此,最近的趨勢是不贊成使用此類植物療法。一位著名的醫學家在《奧爾布特醫學體系》中寫道:
「藥物的化學成分通常是其藥理作用的關鍵............如果藥物沒有活性,那麼它肯定沒有藥效,除非它是食品;藥物作用是活性成分對組織作用的結果。在任何特定的藥物中,活性藥劑總是有可能被忽略。但就化學科學的現狀而言,菝葜和半地鼠等物質中不太可能存在未被發現的原理:然而這些藥物是根據經驗的證據而給出的,這一證據並不比最終支持數十種其他藥物的證據更強有力. 丟棄。如果藥物藥理學檢查給出的指示與有利於其的經驗相反,那麼幾乎肯定是經驗有錯。」
But clinical experiences and observations of eminent physicians on the actions of a drug are as much entitled to respect and consideration as its pharmacological examination. So the view of the writer quoted above does not seem to us to be sound.
但傑出醫師對藥物作用的臨床經驗和觀察與藥理檢驗一樣值得尊重與考慮。所以我們認為上面引用的作者的觀點並不合理
The modern method of therapeutical investigation is, first, to observe the action of a drug on a healthy animal, and then to make the results applicable to pathological states. The ancients recognised only one mode of studying the effects of a remedy, and that was by the simple observation of effects produced by drugs when administered in disease. This clinical observation of the action of remedies has been productive of some good, but it is questionable if much progress was effected so long as this method alone was employed. Towards the beginning of the nineteenth century, the necessity for ascertaining the actions of remedies by experiments on animals, was recognised by Bichat, Majendie, and others. This modern method of therapeutical research promises a great success. Working on this line, Lauder Brunton was able to use with success nitrite of amyl in angina pectoris. Here a correct application of a known action in a drug was made serviceable in the very first trial. The pharmacological experiments and clinical observations will thus settle the claims of Indian drugs on our attention.