Chem-TCM is the digital database of individual molecules, constituents of plants used in the traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The database consists of four major parts: chemical identification, botanical information, predicted activity against common Western therapeutic targets, and estimated molecular activity according to traditional Chinese herbal medicine categories.

Chem-TCM database is a profound ethnopharmacological study, the culmination of the years of committed research work and modern computational chemistry advancements. It could be the most comprehensive to date attempt to connect Chinese and Western medicine on the molecular level.

The database was developed at King’s College London, in the UK, in part with the support of Innovation China-UK. TimTec LLC, a USA based company, is the sole licensee of the database and the commercial partner. Chem-TCM sublicenses are available for purchase from TimTec.

This informative section lists science and business news about TCM, traditional Chinese medicine. If you would like to share related finding, please contact us

Chinese medicine may hold the key to treating diabetes.
Vanessa Mannix Coppard, The University of Queensland, Mar 23, 2013

Traditional Chinese medicine could be a key weapon in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a joint international study has found. The study involved a controlled clinical trial of 800 type 2 diabetic adults, comparing anti-diabetic drug Glibenclamide as a stand-alone treatment and treatment with Glibenclamide in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine. More

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Business Blockbuster or False Fad?
David Friesen, CKGSB Knowledge, Jan 8, 2013

According to a 2012 report by market research organization IBISWorld, government support and increasing demand in China has driven TCM to expected revenues of $25.7 billion in 2012, up 14.8% from 2011. The industry has grown by 20% each year on average since 2007, and profitability has continued to rise as well. More

TCM available in more than 160 countries, regions.
ChinaDaily, Dec 26, 2012

BEIJING - A white paper on medical and health services released Wednesday by the Chinese government underlined the irreplaceable role of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), because of its unique characteristics and advantages in curing diseases of different kinds. More

GSK to develop traditional Chinese medicine
Wang Hongyi, China Daily, Sept 7, 2012.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline will open a new research unit in China to look at traditional Chinese medicine.According to the company, Innovative TCM will be one of GSK's R&D programs in China, aiming to transform TCM from an experience-based practice to evidence-based medicines through innovation and differentiation. More

Yao Gives Insight into Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Story of Chinese character for medicine or drug.
Epoch Times, Aug 23, 2012.

The Chinese character 藥 (yào) refers to a medicine or drug. It is composed of two parts. The top part, 艹, is the Chinese radical that indicates grass and grass-related plants, including herbs. The lower part, 樂 (pronounced yuè or lè), is a Chinese character in its own right. It has two meanings: music, as well as delight and happiness. More

Traditional Chinese medicine to save lives.
Fong Yun-Wah, China Daily, Aug 03, 2012.

Of the long history of the Chinese nation, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been one of the most treasured cultural heritages. Only at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), did foreign missionaries bring Western knowledge and medicine to China. Over the 5,000 years before the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), our ancestors survived, relying mainly on herbal medicine, acupuncture, aijiu, orthopedic surgery and other ancient medical practices. More

Does traditional Chinese medicine have a place in the health system?
4 Apr, 2012. Transforming the Nation’s Healthcare

Marcello Costa, Professor of Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology at Flinders University asks whether or not traditional Chinese medicine has a place in the health system. More

First TCM medicine OK'd for EU market.
Cheng Yingqi. China Daily. 19 April, 2012

A Chinese traditional medicine has been authorized for sale in a European market for the first time, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday.Industry experts said the approval would lead the way for Chinese traditional medicine to enter the mainstream European market. Di'ao Xin Xue Kang, a well-known herbal medicine produced by the Chengdu-based Di'ao Group, received marketing authorization from the Medicines Evaluation Board of the Netherlands, making it the first Chinese traditional drug to be identified as a therapeutic medicine in the European Union. More

Wong advocates use of traditional Chinese medicine.
Erin Landau, The Dartmouth Staff. May 4, 2012

Traditional Chinese medicine can be integrated with Western medicine to reduce medication requirements, lessen side effects and make biomedicine more effective, Chinese medicine practitioner George Y.C. Wong said at the second Colloquium on Globalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center on Thursday. Wong was the keynote speaker at the event that focused on interactions between health care practices of different countries.Wong, a fourth-generation traditional medical practitioner who learned his trade from his grandfather through “osmosis,” spoke about the merits and disadvantages of traditional Chinese medicine, the uses of herbs for preventative medicine and how non-Western medicine can be incorporated into biomedicine. More

Experts meet in Italy to foster dialogue between Chinese and Western medicine.
Marzia De Giuli, May 11, 2012

BOLOGNA, Italy, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The first "Dialogue on Human Health between Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture and Western Medicine" kicked off in the Italian city of Bologna on Thursday to promote interaction between the Chinese and European medical cultures.In the two-day conference, for the first time outstanding Chinese and European speakers met in Italy to discuss differences and complementarities between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. More

Harnessing the secrets of Chinese medicine.
Sheradyn Holderhead, May 11, 2012

UNIVERSITY of Adelaide researchers will uncover how traditional Chinese medicine affects the human body in an effort to integrate it with Western medicine.The work will be the focus of a new Australian-Chinese research centre, which is being announced in Beijing today and worth millions of dollars to the university.It is a unique partnership bringing together an Australian university, the Shanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and direct investment from the Zhendong Pharmaceutical Company.Professor David Adelson, the director of the Zhendong Australia-China Centre for Molecular Traditional Chinese Medicine, said this research would provide an insight into how traditional Chinese medicine acts. More

The Globalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its Integration with Conventional Medical Treatments
Evelyn Maldonado, The Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, May 8, 2012

This past Thursday, Dr. George Y. C. Wong gave the keynote address on the globalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a colloquium sponsored by the department of Asian & Middle Eastern Languages & Literatures. Wong is a fourth generation TCM practitioner and senior research scientist at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City who specializes in cancer. He presented the history of TCM, a medical practice that has persisted for four thousand to five thousand years.In explaining the underlying theories of TCM, Wong emphasized the connection between the mind and the body and the importance of categorizing symptoms through narratives.  Wong stated that TCM differentiated between external and internal causes of disease. The six external causes were wind, cold, heat, damp, dryness, and summer heat. He also said that there are two internal causes, which can be divided between emotional and endogenous disorders. He listed the seven categories of emotional imbalances as unrestrained happiness, anger, anxiety, pensiveness, grief, fear and fright. The endogenous causes were improper diet, excessive physical challenge, and injuries. More

Chinese Medicine Goes Under the Microscope.
Shirley S. Wang, Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2012

Scientists studying a four-herb combination discovered some 1,800 years ago by Chinese herbalists have found that the substance enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with colon cancer.The mixture, known in China as huang qin tang, has been shown in early trials to be effective at reducing some side effects of chemotherapy, including diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The herbs also seem to bolster colon-cancer treatment: Tests on animals with tumors have shown that administering the herbs along with chemotherapy drugs restored intestinal cells faster than when chemo was used alone. More