Innovative development path of ethnomedicines： the interpretation of the path

• Published in: Frontiers of medicine 2017-03, Vol.11 (1), p.32-47
• Main Authors: Zhu, Zhaoyun, Fu, Dehuan, Gui, Yali, Cui, Tao, Wang, Jingkun, Wang, Ting, Yang, Zhizhong, Niu, Yanfei, She, Zhennan, Wang, Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Drug Discovery; ethnomedicines; Humans; Industrial Development - trends; industrialization; innovative development path; Internationality; internationalization; Inventions; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Traditional - standards; Medicine, Traditional - trends; R&D; Research & development; Research - standards; resource study; Review; standardized development research
• ISSN: 2095-0217; 2095-0225
• DOI: 10.1007/s11684-016-0495-2

One of the primary purposes of the innovative development of ethnomedicines is to use their excellent safety and significant efficacy to serve a broader population. To achieve this purpose, modern scientific and technological means should be referenced, and relevant national laws and regulations as well as technical guides should be strictly followed to develop standards and to perform systemic research in producing ethnomedicines. Finally, ethnomedicines, which are applied to a limited extent in ethnic areas, can be transformed into safe, effective, and quality-controllable medical products to relieve the pain of more patients. The innovative development path of ethnomedicines includes the following three primary stages: resource study, standardized development research, and industrialization of the achievements and efforts for internationalization. The implementation of this path is always guaranteed by the research and development platform and the talent team. This article is based on the accumulation of long-term practice and is combined with the relevant disciplines, laws and regulations, and technical guidance from the research and development of ethnomedicines. The intention is to perform an in-depth analysis and explanation of the major research thinking, methods, contents, and technical paths involved in all stages of the innovative development path of ethnomedicines to provide useful references for the development of proper ethnomedicine use.