A Systematic Study On Chinese Snake Drugs

The Chinese snake drugs known to have action of dispel wind, removing obstruction of the collaterals, and relieving spasms and convulsion, are commonly used Chinese traditional drugs. The use of snakes to cure the sickness has a long history in China. The Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China ( 1990 edition) stipulated that "Wushaoshe" is the dried body of Zaocys dhumnades, "Qishe" is the dried body of Agkistrodon acutus , and "Jinqian Baihuashe" is the dried body of Bungarus multicinctus multicinctus. The identification of the commercial snake drugs revealed that the they are commonly mixed with substitutes and adulterants and are difficult to identify. Based on the herbal study and study of the origins of the snake drugs, a comprehensive studies were conducted in the following aspects: taxonomic identification of original animals,crude drugs description, microdermatoglyphic identification, commercial drugs identification, physico- chemical analysis and molecular genetic marker identification.After a thorough study on ancient herbals, we concluded as follows: 1. "Wushaoshe" is the "Wushe" in the ancient herbals, and is derived from Zaocys dhumnades. The earliest record of pharmaceutical use of 'Wushe' was found in "Lie Gong Pao Zhi Lun" published in the Liu-Song Period of the Southern Dynasties ( AD. 420 ~ 479 ) . The name "Wushaoshe" first appeared in the notes under "Wushe" in "Ben Cao Gang Mu". 2. "Qishe" is the "Baihuashe" in the ancient herbals, and is derived from Deinagkistrodon acutus . The earliest record of pharmaceutical use of "Qishe" was found in "Lie Gong Pao Zhi Lun". 3. "Jinqian Baihuashe" had not been recorded by the ancient herbals. Current references believe that it was first recorded in "Yin Plan Xin Can". But our herbal study revealed that it was mentioned by Read (1934) in the English translation of "Ben Cao Gang Mu" which was published earlier than "Yin Pian Xin Can". It is derived from Bungarus multicinctus.