Elucidation of Islamic drugs in Hui Hui Yao Fang: a linguistic and pharmaceutical approach

Hui Hui Yao Fang, an Islamic formulary, was probably the official formulary of the Mongolian administration during the Yuan dynasty (13th – 14th century) in China. In the three chapters of prescriptions that remain extant today, there are 517 Islamic drugs carrying Arabic or Persian names, each with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ethnopharmacology 1996-11, Vol.54 (2), p.85-102
Main Authors: Kong, Y.C., Chen, D.S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Chinese medicine
Cognitive problems, arts and sciences, folk traditions, folklore
drugs
ethnobotany
Ethnology
Formularies as Topic
General pharmacology
history
History of medicine
History, Medieval
Islam
Islamic drugs
Medical ethnobotany
Medical practices
Medical sciences
Medicine, Arabic
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
Mongolia
Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Plants, Medicinal
Terminology as Topic
traditional medicine
Traditional sciences and medicine
transliteration
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Summary:Hui Hui Yao Fang, an Islamic formulary, was probably the official formulary of the Mongolian administration during the Yuan dynasty (13th – 14th century) in China. In the three chapters of prescriptions that remain extant today, there are 517 Islamic drugs carrying Arabic or Persian names, each with its Chinese transliteration. Chapter 12 deals with the ‘wind’ diseases, containing 199 Islamic drugs. In this research, 129 items were identified, and each of which was assigned to a definite taxon; these are the most frequently cited drugs in the formulary. Identifications were corroborated by botanical, pharmacological and phonetic considerations. This exercise demonstrates the inherent affinity between Islamic and Chinese medicines. The reciprocal influence between them greatly enriched the content of these two important bodies of drug science, thus, setting a pattern for the synthesis of drug knowledge and the regulation of therapeutic substances. Recognition of different bodies of ethnomedicine is necessary in view of the fact that there is an increasing mobility of people today, who tend to bring with them their drug knowledge.
ISSN:0378-8741
1872-7573
DOI:10.1016/S0378-8741(96)01452-3