Anti-Cancer Herbs ⁽¹⁷¹⁾

The Chinese medicinal Kunbu is the thallus of Ecklonia kurome (family Laminariaceae) and of Eckloniaonia sp. (black Kunbu) and Undaria pinnatifida (wakame) of the Alariaceae family; it is also called haidai (kelp), haidaicai, and haibaicai. What is the relationship between medicinal Kunbu and the kelp…

Today, a family member from Jiangmen, Guangdong, whose child is suspected of having adrenal neuroblastoma, consulted me. She told me her child (now three and a half) had previously grown a lump on the neck (never confirmed by a hospital), and after a cold with…

Eggplant is a vegetable familiar to every one of us; it tastes delicious and is deeply loved by people. I myself love eggplant and eat it almost every day when it is in season. Many people already know that eggplant is one of the anticancer…

Xianchan Tablets is a commonly used antitumor Chinese patent medicine, listed in the Newly Compiled National Chinese Patent Medicines. Each tablet (weighing 0.25 g) contains Maqianzi powder (nux vomica) 50 mg, Chansu (toad venom) 10 mg, Buguzhi (psoralea) 0.17 g, Banxia (processed Pinellia) 50 mg,…

Shushe, also called Laomu Jun, Chise Laomu Jun, Bianzhi, Fengshuzhi, Muerduo, and Mulingzhi, is the fruiting body of the Polyporaceae Ganoderma fungus Ganoderma applanatum (Pers. ex Wallr.) Pat., which grows on the trunks of various broadleaf trees. Folk practice commonly uses the specimen growing on…

The Chinese herb Shifu (woodlouse) is the whole body of the common pill bug, Armadillidium vulgare (family Armadillidiidae, genus Armadillidium), or of Porcellio scaber (family Porcellionidae, genus Porcellio). It is also known as shifuchong, chaosichong, dishi, xiebanchong, shuishengchong, and xiguachong. Woodlice are widely distributed around…

Radiotherapy is a common treatment for cancer patients, but radiation is harmful to the human body. It kills not only cancer cells but also normal cells. Radiation therapy often damages the skin and mucous membranes and can lead to common sequelae such as radiation esophagitis,…

Fang Ji (Stephania root) is an herb used in Chinese medicine since very early times. In the writings of Zhang Zhongjing of the Han dynasty and Sun Simiao of the Tang dynasty, there are formulas composed of Fang Ji. In particular, in Zhang Zhongjing's Jin…

The Chinese medicinal herb jinqiaomai (Fagopyrum cymosum) is the rhizome of Fagopyrum cymosum of the Polygonaceae family. Because its leaves resemble buckwheat and its root interior is yellowish-red, it is named jinqiaomai ("golden buckwheat"); in some places it is also called "wild buckwheat," "bitter buckwheat…

The mulberry is the most common plant in China; in Chinese, sang (mulberry) is a household word. We even use "sang-ma" (mulberry and hemp) to stand for farming. Meng Haoran wrote: "Opening the window to face the garden and fields, raising the cup to talk…