"Ginseng alone has been the subject of hundreds of research papers, and the components that make it effective are still in dispute," says Chang Chi Hsien, Chairman of the Committee on Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy of the ROC Department of Health.
就在中國人鑽研使用天然藥材時，西方醫學、藥學與化學的研究正如大海奔流。十九世紀歐洲人首先由天然藥材鴉片中提煉出嗎啡、在金雞納皮中抽取出奎寧。到了本世紀初，部分藥材開始以人工合成製造，不再直接食用天然生藥。