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World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2014; 20(29): 9952-9975
Published online Aug 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i29.9952
Published online Aug 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i29.9952
Therapeutic uses of animal biles in traditional Chinese medicine: An ethnopharmacological, biophysical chemical and medicinal review
David Q-H Wang, Martin C Carey, Gastroenterology Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Digestive Diseases Center, Boston, MA 02115, United States
David Q-H Wang, Liver Center and Gastroenterology Division, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Digestive Diseases Center, Boston, MA 02215, United States
David Q-H Wang, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Edward Doisy Research Center, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63104, United States
Author contributions: Both authors contributed to this work.
Supported by Grants DK54012, DK73917, to Wang DQ-H; DK36588, DK34854, and DK73687, to Carey MC; all from the National Institutes of Health (US Public Health Service)
Correspondence to: David Q-H Wang, MD, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Edward Doisy Research Center, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63104, United States. dwang15@slu.edu
Telephone: +1-314-9778737 Fax: +1-314-9779909
Received: November 26, 2013
Revised: March 11, 2014
Accepted: April 21, 2014
Published online: August 7, 2014
Revised: March 11, 2014
Accepted: April 21, 2014
Published online: August 7, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: We investigated during what periods of Chinese history each of the animal biles were introduced as therapeutic agents. What categories of diseases were subjected to “bile therapy” and why was a wide assortment of animal biles required for effective medicinal use? We catalogued the principal bile acids and bilirubin species in each animal bile based upon high-quality chemical analyses. We provided insights on the pharmacological mechanisms whereby different animal biles have been effective in treating a variety of acute and chronic diseases. We believe that this is the first time that this subject has been systematically collated and critically addressed.