Reactions 443 - 20 Mar 1993

A database for Chinese medicinetoxicity in Hong Kong

In a letter to the Lancet, PP-H But from Hong Kong hasdescribed a computer database which contains data ontoxicity and adverse effects of Chinese foods andmedicines. The database was devised by the ChineseMedicinal Material Research Centre (CMMRC) at theChinese University of Hong Kong. It was developed asan aid to providing information to authorities enquiringabout cases of possible herbal poisoning Currently,there is no legal surveillance of Chinese medicines inHong Kong (see Reactions 439: 20 Feb 1993). PP-H Butstresses that the correct identification of implicatedherbs is required to ensure the accuracy of the database.‘Once the herbs involved are identified, practitioners oftraditional Chinese medicine and the public canimplement measures to prevent or restrict further use ofsuch herbs’, he says. However, erroneous identificationof herbs reduces the credibility of a report and causesconfusion in the medical and scientific communitiesBut PP-H. Need for correct identification of herbs in herbal poisoning. Lancet 341:637, 6 Mar 1993 800184271

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Reactions 20 Mar 1993 No. 4430114-9954/10/0443-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved