gou ji (rhizoma cibotii), 'dog spine,' which resembles the spine of a dog. color color is not only a valuable means of identifying herbs, but in many cases also provides information about the therapeutic attributes of the herb. for example, yellow herbs are referred to as huang (yellow) or jin (gold). huang bai (cortex phellodendri) means 'yellow fir," and jin yin hua (flos lonicerae) has the label 'golden silver flower." smell and taste unique flavors define specific names for some substances. gan means 'sweet,' so gan cao (radix glycyrrhizae) is 'sweet herb," an adequate description for the licorice root. "ku" means bitter, thus ku shen (sophorae flavescentis) translates as 'bitter herb.' geographic location the locations or provinces in which herbs are grown often figure into herb names. for example, bei sha shen (radix glehniae) is grown and harvested in northern china, whereas nan sha shen (radix adenophorae) originated in southern china. and the chinese words for north and south are respectively bei and nan. chuan bei mu (bulbus fritillariae cirrhosae) and chuan niu xi (radix cyathulae) are both found in sichuan province, as the character "chuan" indicates in their names. function some herbs, like fang feng (radix saposhnikoviae), literally 'prevent wind," prevents or treats wind-related illnesses. xu duan (radix dipsaci), literally 'restore the broken,' effectively treats torn soft tissues and broken bones. country of origin many herbs indigenous to other countries have been incorporated into the chinese materia medica. xi yang shen (radix panacis quinquefolii), imported from north american crops, translates as 'western ginseng," while dong yang shen (radix ginseng japonica), grown in and imported from north asian countries, is 'eastern ginseng.' toxicity from the earliest records regarding the use of medicinals to today, the toxicity of certain substances has been described in all chinese materia medica. since tcm has become more popular in the western world, there are increasing concerns about the potential toxicity of many traditional chinese medicinals including plants, animal parts and minerals. for most medicinals, efficacy and toxicity testing are based on traditional knowledge rather than laboratory analysis. the toxicity in some cases could be confirmed by modern research (i.e., in scorpion); in some cases it could not (i.e., in curculigo). further, ingredients may have different names in different locales or in historical texts, and different preparations may have similar names for the same reason, which can create inconsistencies and confusion in the creation of medicinals, with the possible danger of poisoning. edzard ernst "concluded that adverse effects of herbal medicines are an important albeit neglected subject in dermatology, which deserves further systematic investigation." research suggests that the toxic heavy metals and undeclared drugs found in chinese herbal medicines might be a serious health issue. substances known to be potentially dangerous include aconite, secretions from the asiatic toad, powdered centipede, the chinese beetle (mylabris phalerata, ban mao), and certain fungi. there are health problems associated with aristolochia. toxic effects are also frequent with aconitum. to avoid its toxic adverse effects xanthium sibiricum must be processed. hepatotoxicity has been reported with products containing reynoutria multiflora (synonym polygonum multiflorum), glycyrrhizin, senecio and symphytum. the evidence suggests that hepatotoxic herbs also include dictamnus dasycarpus, astragalus membranaceus, and paeonia lactiflora; although there is no evidence that they cause liver damage. contrary to popular belief, ganoderma lucidum mushroom extract, as an adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy, appears to have the potential for toxicity. also, adulteration of some herbal medicine preparations with conventional drugs which may cause serious adverse effects, such as corticosteroids, phenylbutazone, phenytoin, and glibenclamide, has been reported. however, many adverse reactions are due to misuse or abuse of chinese medicine. for example, the misuse of the dietary supplement ephedra (containing ephedrine) can lead to adverse events including gastrointestinal problems as well as sudden death from cardiomyopathy. products adulterated with pharmaceuticals for weight loss or erectile dysfunction are one of the main concerns. chinese herbal medicine has been a major cause of acute liver failure in china. most chinese herbs are safe but some have shown not to be. reports have shown products being contaminated with drugs, toxins, or false reporting of ingredients. some herbs used in tcm may also react with drugs, have side effects, or be dangerous to people with certain medical conditions. efficacy further information: traditional chinese medicine § efficacy, and drug research only a few trials exist that are considered to have adequate methodology by scientific standards. proof of effectiveness is poorly documented or absent. a 2016 cochrane review found "insufficient evidence that chinese herbal medicines were any more or less effective than placebo or hormonal therapy" for the relief of menopause related symptoms. a 2012 cochrane review found no difference in decreased mortality for sars patients when chinese herbs were used alongside western medicine versus western medicine exclusively. a 2010 cochrane review found there is not enough robust evidence to support the effectiveness of traditional chinese medicine herbs to stop the bleeding from haemorrhoids. a 2008 cochrane review found promising evidence for the use of chinese herbal medicine in relieving painful menstruation, compared to conventional medicine such as nsaids and the oral contraceptive pill, but the findings are of low methodological quality. a 2012 cochrane review found weak evidence suggesting that some chinese medicinal herbs have a similar effect at preventing and treating influenza as antiviral medication. due to the poor quality of these medical studies, there is insufficient evidence to support or dismiss the use of chinese medicinal herbs for the treatment of influenza. there is a need for larger and higher quality randomized clinical trials to determine how effective chinese herbal medicine is for treating people with influenza. a 2005 cochrane review found that although the evidence was weak for the use of any single herb, there was low quality evidence that some chinese medicinal herbs may be effective for the treatment of acute pancreatitis. successful results have been scarce: artemisinin is one of few examples, as effective treatment for malaria derived from artemisia annua, which is traditionally used to treat fever. chinese herbology is largely pseudoscience, with no valid mechanism of action for the majority of its treatments. ecological impacts dried seahorses like these are extensively used in traditional medicine in china and elsewhere. the traditional practice of using (by now) endangered species is controversial within tcm. modern materia medicas such as bensky, clavey and stoger's comprehensive chinese herbal text discuss substances derived from endangered species in an appendix, emphasizing alternatives. parts of endangered species used as tcm drugs include tiger bones and rhinoceros horn. poachers supply the black market with such substances, and the black market in rhinoceros horn, for example, has reduced the world's rhino population by more than 90 percent over the past 40 years. concerns have also arisen over the use of turtle plastron and seahorses. tcm recognizes bear bile as a medicinal. in 1988, the chinese ministry of health started controlling bile production, which previously used bears killed before winter. now bears are fitted with a sort of permanent catheter, which is more profitable than killing the bears. more than 12,000 asiatic black bears are held in "bear farms", where they suffer cruel conditions while being held in tiny cages. the catheter leads through a permanent hole in the abdomen directly to the gall bladder, which can cause severe pain. increased international attention has mostly stopped the use of bile outside of china; gallbladders from butchered cattle (牛胆; 牛膽; niú dǎn) are recommended as a substitute for this ingredient. collecting american ginseng to assist the asian traditional medicine trade has made ginseng the most harvested wild plant in north america for the last two centuries, which eventually led to a listing on cites appendix ii. herbs in use chinese herbology is a pseudoscientific practice with potentially unreliable product quality, safety hazards or misleading health advice. there are regulatory bodies, such as china gmp (good manufacturing process) of herbal products. however, there have been notable cases of an absence of quality control during herbal product preparation. there is a lack of high-quality scientific research on herbology practices and product effectiveness for anti-disease activity. in the herbal sources listed below, there is little or no evidence for efficacy or proof of safety across consumer age groups and disease conditions for which they are intended. there are over 300 herbs in common use. some of the most commonly used herbs are ginseng (人参; 人參; rénshēn), wolfberry (枸杞子; gǒuqǐzǐ), dong quai (angelica sinensis, 当归; 當歸; dāngguī), astragalus (黄耆; 黃耆; huángqí), atractylodes (白术; 白朮; báizhú), bupleurum (柴胡; cháihú), cinnamon (cinnamon twigs (桂枝; guìzhī) and cinnamon bark (肉桂; ròuguì)), coptis (黄连; 黃連; huánglián), ginger (姜; 薑; jiāng), hoelen (茯苓; fúlíng), licorice (甘草; gāncǎo), ephedra sinica (麻黄; 麻黃; máhuáng), peony (white: 白芍; báisháo and reddish: 赤芍; chìsháo), rehmannia (地黄; 地黃; dìhuáng), rhubarb (大黄; 大黃; dàhuáng), and salvia (丹参; 丹參; dānshēn). 50 fundamental herbs in chinese herbology, there are 50 "fundamental" herbs, as given in the reference text, although these herbs are not universally recognized as such in other texts. the herbs are: binomial nomenclature chinese name english common name (when available) agastache rugosa, pogostemon cablinhuò xiāng (藿香)korean mint, patchouli alangium chinensebā jiǎo fēng (八角枫)chinese alangium root anemone chinensis (syn. pulsatilla chinensis)bái tóu weng (白头翁)chinese anemone anisodus tanguticusshān làng dàng (山莨菪)(trans.) mountain henbane ardisia japonicazǐ jīn niú (紫金牛)marlberry aster tataricuszǐ wǎn (紫菀)tatar aster, tartar aster astragalus propinquus (syn. astragalus membranaceus)huáng qí (黄芪) or běi qí (北芪)mongolian milkvetch camellia sinensischá shù (茶树) or chá yè (茶叶)tea plant cannabis sativadà má (大麻)cannabis carthamus tinctoriushóng huā (红花)safflower cinnamomum cassiaròu gùi (肉桂)cassia, chinese cinnamon cissampelos pareiraxí shēng téng (锡生藤) or (亞乎奴)velvet leaf coptis chinensisduǎn è huáng lián (短萼黄连)chinese goldthread corydalis yanhusuoyán hú suǒ (延胡索)chinese poppy of yan hu sou croton tigliumbā dòu (巴豆)purging croton daphne genkwayuán huā (芫花)lilac daphne datura metelyáng jīn huā (洋金花)devil's trumpet datura stramoniumzǐ huā màn tuó luó (紫花曼陀萝)jimson weed dendrobium nobileshí hú (石斛) or shí hú lán (石斛兰)noble dendrobium dichroa febrifugacháng shān (常山)blue evergreen hydrangea, chinese quinine ephedra sinicacǎo má huáng (草麻黄)chinese ephedra eucommia ulmoidesdù zhòng (杜仲)hardy rubber tree euphorbia pekinensisdà jǐ (大戟)peking spurge flueggea suffruticosa (formerly securinega suffruticosa)yī yè qiū (一叶秋) forsythia suspensaliánqiáo (连翘)weeping forsythia gentiana loureiroidì dīng (地丁) gleditsia sinensiszào jiá (皂荚)chinese honeylocust glycyrrhiza uralensisgān cǎo (甘草)licorice hydnocarpus anthelminticus (syn. h. anthelminthica)dà fēng zǐ (大风子)chaulmoogra tree ilex purpureadōngqīng (冬青)purple holly leonurus japonicusyì mǔ cǎo (益母草)chinese motherwort ligusticum wallichiichuān xiōng (川芎)szechwan lovage lobelia chinensisbàn biān lián (半边莲)creeping lobelia phellodendron amurensehuáng bǎi (黄柏)amur cork tree platycladus orientalis (formerly thuja orientalis)cè bǎi (侧柏)chinese arborvitae pseudolarix amabilisjīn qián sōng (金钱松)golden larch psilopeganum sinenseshān má huáng (山麻黄)naked rue pueraria lobatagé gēn (葛根)kudzu rauvolfia serpentinashégēnmù (蛇根木), cóng shégēnmù (從蛇根木) or yìndù shé mù (印度蛇木)sarpagandha, indian snakeroot rehmannia glutinosadìhuáng (地黄)chinese foxglove rheum officinaleyào yòng dà huáng (药用大黄)chinese or eastern rhubarb rhododendron qinghaienseqīng hǎi dù juān (青海杜鹃) saussurea costusyún mù xiāng (云木香)costus root schisandra chinensiswǔ wèi zi (五味子)chinese magnolia vine scutellaria baicalensishuáng qín (黄芩)baikal skullcap stemona tuberosabǎi bù (百部) stephania tetrandrafáng jǐ (防己)stephania root styphnolobium japonicum (formerly sophora japonica)huái (槐), huái shù (槐树), or huái huā (槐花)pagoda tree trichosanthes kirilowiiguā lóu (栝楼)chinese cucumber wikstroemia indicaliāo gē wáng (了哥王)indian stringbush other chinese herbs in addition to the above, many other chinese herbs and other substances are in common use, and these include: akebia quinata (木通) arisaema heterophyllum (胆南星) chenpi (sun-dried tangerine (mandarin) peel) (陳皮) clematis (威灵仙) concretio silicea bambusae (天竺黄) cordyceps sinensis (冬虫夏草) curcuma (郁金) dalbergia odorifera (降香) myrrh (没药) frankincense (乳香) persicaria (桃仁) patchouli' (广藿香) polygonum (虎杖) sparganium (三棱) zedoary (curcuma zedoaria) (莪朮)