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Chinese Herbal Medicines for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Authors Zhang, Chi; Jiang, Miao; Guo, Hongtao; Zheng, Guang; Yang, Jing; Lu, Aiping

Journal RECENT TRENDS IN MEDICINAL PLANTS RESEARCH , 2012,:62

DOI 10.1016/B978-0-12-394591-4.00005-2

Abstract Herbal medicines have become a major source and main stream for future drug development and for human health care. This chapter provides a brief overview and perspective of the research topic related to Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) used for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Herbal medicine-related research is important to integrate the medical and pharmacological sciences with the plant sciences including agriculture.RA is a chronic, inflammatory, systemic autoimmune disease characterized by pain, swelling and stiffness. Increased attention is being given to the use of CHMs for the treatment of RA due to the limitations of existing drugs. In this review, an attempt has been made to highlight research on herbs with anti-arthritic potential. This chapter gathers valuable information from a wide variety of sources and supplies it to readers in figures and convenient tables. This chapter also considers various single herbs and herbal mixtures (products) in the context of clinical studies. In addition, experimental investigations that focus on the mechanisms of anti-arthritic activity are discussed.Our objective is to stimulate the researchers to perform further research on the potential use of medicinal plants with anti-arthritic properties.

Species covered 大黄属 Rheum