News From The American Chemical Society

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine;  Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 30 Oct 2007 - 7:00 PDT

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A Rosetta Stone for traditional Chinese medicine

Scientists in the United Kingdom have "decoded" the inscrutable language of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), revealing its strong chemical foundation in a way that may help scientists mine age-old Chinese medicines to develop tomorrow's new drugs. Their study is scheduled for the Nov./Dec. issue of ACS' bi-monthly Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling.

David J. Barlow, Thomas M. Ehrman, and Peter J. Hylands point out that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) -- regarded by many Western experts as an archaic system doomed to extinction 50 years ago -- has undergone a "remarkable renaissance" in recent years. However, the arcane language used to describe categories of medication in TCM has hindered effective understanding of one of the most developed and mature systems of alternative medicine in existence.

To overcome that barrier, the researchers analyzed patterns among 8411 compounds from 240 Chinese herbs in relation to the categories found in traditional Chinese medicine. Organizing their findings in a kind of herbal "map," their results reveal that many categories in Chinese medicine are amenable to translation to Western terminology. TCM's "fire poison" group, for example, is comparable to today's family of anti-inflammatory medicines. Now, future researchers will better understand the chemical basis of remedies that have been in use for thousands of years, the study indicated.

"This is likely to be of benefit both in the search for new drugs and, equally significantly, in understanding how Chinese medicine works," say the authors.

"Phytochemical Informatics of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Therapeutic Relevance"

CONTACT:
David J. Barlow, Ph.D.
King's College
London, U.K.

Boiled peanuts pack big antioxidant punch

Boiled peanuts, a regional treat from the southern United States, may be as healthy as they are delicious. In the Oct. 31 issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Alabama scientists report that boiling these legumes imbues them with more antioxidants than roasted peanuts or peanut butter.

Peanuts are usually consumed as processed products, mainly as peanut butter and roasted nuts. Studies have shown that peanuts contain powerful antioxidants called isoflavones which may reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes and coronary heart diseases. Although the effect of processing on the isoflavone content of legumes has been extensively studied, there has never been such a study on peanuts.

Lloyd Walker and colleagues evaluated the effect of boiling and oil- and dry-roasting on peanuts. They found that boiled peanuts -- South Carolina's official snack food -- contained up to four times more isoflavones than raw peanuts or oil- and dry-roasted ones.

"Changes in the Phytochemical Composition and profile of Raw, Boiled, and Roasted Peanuts"

CONTACT:
Lloyd Walker, Ph.D.
Alabama A&M University
Normal, Ala. 35762

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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The American Chemical Society -- the world's largest scientific society -- is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Source: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society