Policies and Problems of Modernizing Ethnomedicine in China: A Focus on the Yi and Dai Traditional Medicines of Yunnan Province

Table 6

Toxic medicines in DPMs.

Scientific name	Pinyin name	Toxicity degree	Standard	DPM	Modern toxicology	References
Paris polyphylla Smith var. chinensis (Franch) Hara	Chonglou	LT	ChP	RBQC	Toxic to the digestive system and has cardio toxicity and neurotoxicity, LD50 = 2.68 g/kg (mice, p.o.)	[33]
Curculigo orchioides Gaertn.	Xianmao	MT	ChP	LXBST	LD50 = 215.9 g/kg (ethanol extract, rats, p.o.) and damages the liver, kidney, and reproductive organs with oral administration of 120 g/kg (ethanol extract, rats, 6 months)	[34]
Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cuss.	Shechuangzi	LT	ChP	LXBST	Nausea and vomiting, decreased spontaneous activity, shortness of breath, unstable gait, and tremor (ethanol extract), LD50 = 17.45 g/kg (mice, p.o.), MTD = 1.50 g/kg, or LD50 = 3.45 g/kg (osthol, mice, p.o.)	[35–37]
Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC.	Liangmianzhen	LT	ChP	7-JDHXO	Nitidine chloride damages the liver and kidney cells and decreases the heart rate of zebrafish	[38]
Pinellia ternate (Thunb.) Breit.	Banxia	MT	ChP	SBZKG	LD50 = 42.7 ± 1.27 g/kg (mice, p.o.), damages the renal and liver, causes serious damage to gastric mucosa, and has significant toxicity on pregnancy maternal mice and embryo (total alkaloids)	[39]
Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim	Kuxinren	LT	ChP	SBZKG	LD50 of amygdalin is 25 g/kg (mice, i.v.), 887 mg/kg (mice, p.o.) and hydrocyanic acid produced by amygdalin inhibits the activity of cytochrome oxidase, leading to cell respiration inhibition and cell death	[40]
Plumbago zeylanica Linn.	Bhuadan	LT	SYNP	DLBSC	Skin redness, swelling, and peeling when contacted and antiovulation activities for female rats (alcohol extract)	[41, 42]
Tacca chantrieri Andre	Jiangenshu	MT	SYNP	YGT	Diarrhea and vomiting in mild intoxication and intestinal mucosal exfoliation and hemorrhoea appear in severe poisoning patients	[43]
Tripterygium hypoglaucum (Levl.) Hutch	Huobahuagen	LT	SYNP	GTSL	LD50 = 79 g/kg (male mice, p.o.), LD50 = 100 g/kg (female mice, p.o.), and reversible antifertility effect	[44, 45]
Erythrina variegata L. var. orientalis (L.) Merr	Haitongpi	MT	SSCP	GTSL	Unknown

HT, high toxicity; MT, medium toxicity; LT, low toxicity; SSCP, Standards for Chinese medicinal materials in Sichuan Province (2010); SYNP, Standards for Chinese medicinal materials in Yunnan Province (2005); RBQC, Ru Bi Qing Capsule; LXBST, Lu Xian Bu Shen Tablet; 7-JDHXO, 7-Jie Du Huo Xue Ointment; SBZKG, Shen Bei Zhi Ke Granular; DLBSC, Dan Lv Bu Shen Capsule; YGT, YaGei Tablet; GTSL, Guan Tong Shu Oral liquid.