Chinese government increase funding into TCM As Beijing shifts
its growth engine to cleaner hi-tech industries, committing $1.7
trillion over the next five years to nurture them, Chinese
scientists are enjoying unprecedented government support and
access to funding to design better drugs and diagnostic tools
for chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. Part of
that effort and money is going into traditional Chinese
medicines (TCM). Researchers are re-examining roots and herbs
that have been used for thousands of years, seeking to find and
reproduce their active ingredients and putting them through
rigorous Western-style clinical tests so they may hopefully find
wider acceptance - and be sold - globally. Below are some facts
on TCM: * What is it: There are 12,807 TCM materials, including
1,146 herbal species, 1,581 animal species and 80 minerals.
There are more than 100,000 medicinal recipes recorded in
ancient Chinese literature. * How are they obtained and
administered: Traditionally, TCMs are mad