Bio-technology Key for Modernizing Chinese MedicineConsidering the dilemma facing traditional Chinese medicine, experts proposed recently that the only way to modernize Chinese medicine is to combine it with biotechnology.Traditional Chinese medicine, dating back thousands of years, is faced with a shortage of resources and storage problems which have hindered this honored industry from prospering. The rapid progress in gene research, gene transfer therapy and clone technology in recent years could exempt Chinese medicine from such worries, experts said. The application of biotechnology could protect Chinese medicine from bacterium intrusion and insects and other pests, and could help produce Chinese medicine with greater efficiency. Moreover, production of Chinese medicine with biotechnology can help it meet the requirements of the international market. A most pressing problem is that many of the essential materials for Chinese medicine are organs of wild animals protected from being hunted. It is therefore a key subject at present to produce effective substances similar to the materials using the application of bio-technology, experts said. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |