In China, Lianhua Qingwen is used to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.
12 Aug 2020
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 12) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a traditional Chinese medicine called Lianhua Qingwen, but not for COVID-19 treatment.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo told CNN Philippines on Wednesday that the drug should only be used as indicated in the Certificate of Product Registration, a copy of which was released by the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
It states that the Lianhua Qingwen capsule got the government’s greenlight on August 7 as a “traditionally used herbal product [that] helps remove heat-toxin invasion of the lungs, including symptoms such as fever, aversion to cold, muscle soreness, stuffy and runny nose.”
In China, Lianhua Qingwen is used to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.
“It is our sincere hope that its entrance into the Philippine market will contribute to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in this country and help the patients with mild and moderate symptoms recover,” the Chinese Embassy said in its statement.
It also welcomed the FDA’s move as an “important progress” in the entry of traditional Chinese medicines in the local market, noting that the Lianhua Qingwen is produced by one of its renowned manufacturers, Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
The embassy advised consumers to purchase products only from qualified pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines is glad to learn that the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Chinese drug #LianHuaQingWen produced by one of China’s renowned Traditional Chinese Medicine (#TCM) manufacturers, Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., making the drug formally registered as TCM in the Philippines.👏👏👏
This marks an important progress in the entry of TCM products into the Philippine market, which we welcome.
The coronavirus disease originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019, but the East Asian country now has fewer infections than 29 other states, including the Philippines. China has recorded 89,020 COVID-19 cases while the Philippines has more than 143,000.
(CNN)China has approved threetraditional Chinese medicine(TCM) products for sale to help treat Covid-19, the government's National Medical Products Administration announced on Wednesday.
A woman mixing medicine at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China in 2018.
The agency used a special approval procedure to green-light the three products, which "provide more options for Covid-19 treatment," it said in a statement.
The herbal products come in granular form and trace their origins to "ancient Chinese prescriptions," said the statement. They were developed from TCM remedies that had been used early in the pandemic, and that were "screened by many academics and experts on the front line."
The three products are "lung-clearing and detoxing granules," "dampness-resolving and detoxing granules," and "lung-diffusing and detoxing granules," said the statement.
The safety and effectiveness of TCM is still debated in China, where it has both adherents and skeptics. Though many of the remedies in TCM have been in use for hundreds of years, critics argue that there is no verifiable scientific evidence to support their supposed benefits.
In recent years, ancient remedies have been repeatedly hailed as a source of national pride by Chinese President Xi Jinping, himself a well-known TCM advocate.
"Traditional medicine is a treasure of Chinese civilization embodying the wisdom of the nation and its people," Xi told a national conference on TCM in October 2019. Throughout the outbreak, Xi has repeatedly exhorted doctors to treat patients with a mix of Chinese and Western medicines.
Tens of thousands of Covid-19 patients received herbal remedies alongside mainstream antiviral drugs last year, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
"By adjusting the whole body health and improving immunity, TCM can help stimulate the patients' abilities to resist and recover from the disease, which is an effective way of therapy," said Yu Yanhong, deputy head of China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in March 2020.
In a clinical trial of 102 patients with mild symptoms in Wuhan, patients with combined treatments compared with the control group of patients receiving only Western medicine, Yu said. Their recovery rate was 33% higher, she added.
By late March last year, China had gotten its outbreak largely under control -- and though it has endured occasional flare-ups in various locations, numbers have stayed low and daily life has resumed. Restrictions have been lifted, allowing people to travel around the country and gather without face masks.
Authorities have praised TCM as helping contain Covid symptoms and limit the outbreak -- in January this year, up to 60,000 doses of TCM were sent to front-line police officers to protect them from Covid-19, according to the TCM administration. A number of provinces, including Jilin and Hebei, implemented "TCM Prevention Plans" in January to prescribe TCM to Covid patients.
Now, authorities are looking to expand the industry, which was estimated to exceed 3 trillion yuan ($430 billion) by 2020.
The country will aim to cultivate 100,000 TCM professionals within the next 10 years, and implement measures such as TCM curricula in schools, announced the General Office of the State Council this February. More TCM rehabilitation centers will be built, some with clinical research centers.
State media has also promoted TCM in its coverage; state-run news agency Xinhua reported that TCM offered a source of "hope" for Chinese Americans in New York when the city's public health system was close to collapse, and that remedies have been adopted by Kuwait for Covid treatment.
The World Health Organization, which gave its first-ever endorsement of TCM in 2018, had originally advised against using traditional herbal remedies for Covid-19 on its website -- though that line was later removed due to it being "too broad."
Some in the biomedical community say WHO overlooked the toxicity of some herbal medicine and the lack of evidence that it works, while animal rights advocates say it will further endanger animals such as the tiger, pangolin, bear and rhino, whose organs are used in some TCM cures.
"Three formulas and three medicines" have been proven to be effective in curbing the virus ...
By Zhang Yangfei | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2020-03-17 10:00
Traditional Chinese medicine has been playing a critical role in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of the COVID-19.
Official figures showed that, up to Sunday, 91.6 percent of the patients in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, and 92.4 percent of the patients nationwide have been treated with TCM.
"Three formulas and three medicines" have been proven to be effective in curbing the virus, according to the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Let's have a look at them.
1. Jinhua Qinggan Granule (金花清感颗粒)
A pharmacist weighs Chinese herbal medicines for patients infected with the novel coronavirus at the Anhui Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hefei, Anhui province on Feb 18, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Jinhua Qinggan Granule was developed during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. It consists of 12 herbal components including honeysuckle, mint and licorice and can clear heat and detoxify lungs.
It has a curative effect in treating mild and moderate patients and can also improve the recovery rate of lymphocytes and white blood cells, as well as reduce the rate of patients turning more severe.
In early February, 102 mild patients in Wuhan took Jinhua Qinggan Granule in their treatment. Only 11.8 percent worsened, and it took only one and a half days for patients to reduce fever.
A comparative experiment showed patients who took Jinhua Qinggan Granule tested negative for coronavirus two and a half days earlier than a group that did not take the granule. The group treated with the granule also took eight days to show improvement, while the other group took 10.3 days.
Ingredients:jinyinhua (金银花，or honeysuckle), zhebeimu (浙贝母， or fritillari), huangqin (黄芩, or baical skullcap root), niubangzi (牛蒡子, arctium lappa), qinghao (青蒿, or sweet wormwood herb ), and so on.
2. Lianhua Qingwen Capsule/Granule (连花清瘟胶囊/颗粒)
A box of Lianhua Qingwen capsule.[Photo/IC]
Lianhua Qingwen medicine is a very common traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of cold and flu. Composed of 13 herbal components, it has shown curative effects on mild and common patients, especially in relieving fever, cough and fatigue. It can reduce the occurrence of deterioration and help patients test negative.
Ingredients:lianqiao (连翘, or forsythia fruit), jinyinhua (金银花, or honeysuckle), zhimahuang (炙麻黄, or honey-fried herba ephedrae), yuxingcao (鱼腥草, or herba houttuyniae), dahuang (大黄, or rhubarb root and rhizome), hongjingtian (红景天, or rhodiola root), banlangen (板蓝根, or radix isatidis), and so on.
3. Xuebijing Injection (血必净注射液)
The Xuebijing injection. [Photo/chasesun.cn]
This injection was developed and marketed during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. It consists of five herbal extracts, and its main function is to detoxify and remove blood stasis. It is typically used to treat sepsis.
It is effective in suppressing systemic inflammatory response syndrome induced by infection in the treatment of severe and critically ill patients, as well as repairing impaired organ function.
Initial clinical studies have shown the injection, combined with Western medicine, can increase the rate of hospital discharge and reduce the rate of deterioration. Basic research has also found it has a certain antiviral effect in vitro that can significantly inhibit inflammatory factors induced by novel coronavirus.
The novel coronavirus also tends to cause excessive clotting in the body that leads to organ embolism and damages tissues, and Xuebijing can help prevent excessive coagulation and the formation of thrombus.
A comparative experiment of 710 cases jointly conducted by over 30 hospitals showed the injection, combined with regular treatment, can reduce the mortality rate of severe patients by 8.8 percent and shorten intensive care unit hospitalization by 4 days.
Another project saw Xuebijing Injection applied clinically to severe and critical patients from the end of January, with 156 patients in 32 hospitals treated. They all saw improvement.
Research on the clinical safety of Xuebijing also showed the adverse reaction rate was about 0.3 percent, a very safe figure, and will not react adversely with other antibiotics or treatment.
Ingredients:honghua (红花, or safflower), danggui (当归, or Chinese angelica root), chishao (赤芍, or red peony root), chuangxiong (川芎, or ligusticum wallichii), danshen (丹参, or miltiorrhiza) and danggui (当归, or angelica sinensis) and other Chinese herbal extracts, and one of its main components is safflor yellow (A).
4. Lung Cleansing and Detoxifying Decoction (清肺排毒汤)
Pharmacists dispense medicines according to Lung Cleansing and Detoxifying Decoction prescriptions at Anhui University of Chinese Medicine on Feb 21, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Lung Cleansing and Detoxifying Decoction is derived from several classic recipes in a traditional Chinese medicine work known in English as Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases (Shang Han Za Bing Lun), which was written by Zhang Zhongjing sometime before 220 AD. It has 21 herbal components and is mainly effective in improving symptoms of fever, cough and fatigue as well as lung condition, as shown by CT scans, in severe patients.
Studies have proved the decoction can regulate multiple cell signaling pathways –as cells communicate with each other by receiving and processing chemical signals in response to environmental changes - to inhibit virus replication and avoid or mitigate cytokine storms, which are an overreaction of cells that damage the immune system.
The decoction targets lungs and can also protect other organs. It can be used as a general recipe for treating mild, moderate, severe and critical patients.
Tong Xiaolin, chief researcher of the Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said 1,261 novel coronavirus patients in 10 provinces took the decoction, with 1,102 recovering and symptoms no longer appearing in 29, a further 71 showing improvement and no cases deteriorating.
There were also 40 severe patients who used the decoction. After taking the medicine, 28 were discharged from hospital and the condition of 10 improved, with their symptoms changing from severe to mild.
Recommended prescription: 9g mahuang (麻黄, or ephedra herb), 6g zhigancao (炙甘草, or radix glycyrrhizaepreparata), 9g xingren (杏仁, or almond), 15-30g shengshigao (生石膏, or gypsum (fried first)),9g guizhi (桂枝, or cassia twig), 9g zexie (泽泻, or Alisma Orientale), 9g zhuling (猪苓, or polyporusumbrellatus), 9g baishu (白术, or largehead atractylodes rhizome), 15g fuling (茯苓, or poria), 16g chaihu (柴胡, or bupleurum chinense), 6g huangqin (黄芩, or baical skullcap root), 9g jiangbanxia (姜半夏, or pinelliaternata processed with ginger), 9g shengjiang (生姜, or green rhizomes), 9g ziwan (紫菀, or aster), 9g donghua (冬花, or flosfarfarae), 9g shegan (射干, or rhizomabelamcanda), 6g xixin (细辛, or manchurian wild ginger), 12g shanyao (山药, or rhizome dioscoreae), 6g zhishi (枳实, or fructus aurantiiimmaturus), 6g chenpi (陈皮, or dried tangerine or orange peel), 9g huoxiang (藿香, or ageratum)
Suggested use: 1 dose per day, boiled with water, twice a day at morning and evening (40 minutes after lunch and meal). Three doses are a course of treatment.
5. HuaShiBaiDu Formula (化湿败毒方)
A pharmacist processes granules of traditional Chinese medicine at the Gansu Provincial Hospital of TCM in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on Feb 20, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]
HuaShiBaiDu Formula is a core recipe developed by the national traditional Chinese medicine team from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Made up of 14 herbal components, the formula is based on the recommendations of the early national diagnosis and treatment plan as well as the experiences from clinical practice at Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital.
Its main use is to detoxify, remove dampness and heat from the body and relieve cough to achieve an inner body balance. It can be used to treat light, moderate and severe patients.
This prescription has a comprehensive treatment effect in different stages of novel coronavirus pneumonia and can significantly shorten the length of hospital stays and improve clinical symptoms and lung conditions, as shown by CT scans and other examinations. Studies on guinea pigs found the formula can reduce lung viral load by 30 percent.
Recommended prescription: 6g shengmahuang (生麻黄, or raw ephedra), 9g xingren (杏仁, or almond), 15g shengshigao (生石膏, or gypsum), 3g gancao (甘草, or licorice), 10g huoxiang (藿香, or ageratum) (adding later), 10g houpo (厚朴, or officinal magnolia bark), 15g cangshu (仓术, or rhizoma atractylodis), 10g caoguo (草果, or fructus tsaoko), 9g fabanxia (法半夏, or rhizoma pinellinae praeparata), 15g fuling (茯苓, or poria), 5g shengdahuang (生大黄, or raw rhubarb) (adding later), 10g shenghuangqi (生黄芪, or membranous milkvetch root), 10g tinglizi (葶苈子, or lepidium seed), 10g chishao (赤芍, or red peony root).
Suggested use: 1-2 doses per day, boiled with 100 ml to 200 ml water, two or four times per day, oral or nasal feeding.
6. XuanFeiBaiDu Granule (宣肺败毒颗粒)
A pharmacist prepares a TCM prescription at the Sixth Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei province. [Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]
Xuanfeibaidu Granule, with 13 herbal components, originates from several classic traditional recipes.
It can detoxify the lungs and clear dampness and heat, and is used for treating light and moderate patients. Research has shown the prescription can shorten the time it takes for clinical symptoms to vanish and temperature to return to normal, and can effectively prevent light and moderate patients from deteriorating.
Recommended prescription: 6g shengmahuang (生麻黄, or raw ephedra), 15g kuxingren (苦杏仁, or bitter apricot kernel), 30g shengshigao (生石膏, or gypsum), 30g shengyiyiren (生薏苡仁, or raw coix seed), 10g maocangzhu (茅苍术, or lance atractylodes rhizome), 15g guanghuoxiang (广藿香, or patchouli), 12g qinghaocao (青蒿草, or southernwood), 20g huzhang (虎杖, or polygonum cospidatum), 30g mabiancao (马鞭草, oreuropean verbena), 30g ganlugen (干芦根, or dried phragmites communis), 15g tinglizi (葶苈子, or lepidium seed), 15g huajvhong (化橘红, or pummelo peel), 10g shenggancao (生甘草, or raw licorice)
Suggested use: 1 dose per day, boiled with 400 ml water, twice a day at morning and evening.
Source: National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Cao Zinan and Zhao Shiyue contributed to the story.
Local and International News media related to TCM and COVID-19
China is promoting coronavirus treatments based on unproven traditional medicines. published on Nature (5/6/2020) The Chinese government and its state media are encouraging the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to combat COVID-19 symptoms. Although there is no evidence that explicitly proves TCM as effective, comparative studies report TCM remedies to have reduced mortality rates.
Why people are turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine in the wake of COVID-19. published on The Coveteur (5/5/2020) For people who are interested in learning about traditional Chinese medicine, this article gives background information about TCM and explains how you can start incorporating it into your own life.
To fight the coronavirus, some patients turn to alternative medicine. published on Los Angeles Times (4/17/2020) Since there is yet to be a cure for COVID-19, China and India are advising their residents to use traditional medicine and herbal treatments to prevent conditions from worsening. However, public health officials are criticizing their claims due to the lack of scientific evidence.
China backs unproven treatments for covid-19. published on The Economist (4/11/2020) China’s government claims that TCM is more than a palliative or placebo. A senior official announced 90% of coronavirus patients who received traditional therapies had been effective nearly 100% of the time.
How to treat COVID-19 with TCM. published on China Daily (4/4/2020) This article provides a brief introduction of how TCM theory explains COVID-19, introduces the key experts who are fighting the pandemic in China, provides an overview of the East-West integrated treatments and discusses the efficacy of treating COVID-19 with TCM.
Demand for TCM surges in New York as coronavirus fears take hold. published on CGTN (3/19/2020) This article and accompanying video depicts a Chinese herbal dispensary in New York Chinatown and describes the demand for Chinese herbal medicine by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in the US.
Exploring the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine against COVID-19. published on Elsevier (3/18/2020) A Chinese respiratory specialist, Zhong Nanshan, said that an herbal prescription called “Pneumonia No.1” has shown to be effective in clinical trials. In a systematic review, authors concluded a Chinese herbal formula to be a possible alternative approach for preventing COVID-19.
What if the cancer treatments doctors prescribed more than 2,000 years ago work better than today’s drugs – with few or no side effects?
What if your doctor saw the patient’s cancer as the “uppermost branch” rather than the “root” of the problem?
And best of all: What if this ancient treatment could improve your odds of survival by 70 percent? Keep reading. . .
Chinese doctors may use about 133 different herbs to treat lung cancer. These herbs decrease cancer symptoms in 85 out of a hundred patients.
What’s the biggest symptom they help erase? Pain!
In addition, the right selection of Chinese herbs can reduce tumor size by 38 percent, improve quality of life, and prevent relapse.
Here are nine of the herbs Chinese doctors most commonly use to heal lung cancer. Many are beneficial against other cancers too.
1. Astragalus
One of the most widely used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, astragalus root boosts your immune system and helps prevent infection.
In the cancer world, it stops tumor growth, thwarts tumor spreading, and reduces the immune-suppressing side effects of chemotherapy. Astragalus increases your T-cell levels – and they in turn kill cancer cells.
Astragalus improves quality of life for people with non-small cell lung cancer. It enhances the effects of platinum-based chemotherapy treatments, such as cisplatin, by counteracting the damage to the immune system caused by chemo, according to research by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. For the best results, the patients in the study took astragalus while receiving chemotherapy.
In addition to killing cancer cells and reducing the toxic effects of chemotherapy, astragalus protects your kidneys and lungs from autoantibody attacks.
It also heals burns, protects from heart disease, fights the common cold, increases stamina, and lowers blood pressure. As an adaptogen, it increases your general resistance to stress and disease.
2. Nan Sha Shen
This root (also known as American silvertop root) acts as an antibiotic. Doctors often prescribe it to help heal a dry cough that involves only a little phlegm.
Nan sha shen’s healing powers also help cancer patients.
The herb reduces cancer-promoting compounds. When injected, it reduces inflammation and vascular permeability, making it harder for cancer-promoting compounds to grow and expand.
3. Gan Cao
Gan cao (licorice root) acts as an expectorant, accelerating mucus secretion. It helps relieve coughs and shortness of breath. This is of particular benefit to lung cancer patients.
Several components in gan cao – Licochalcone-A, glabridin, and licocoumarone – stop cancer growth and kill breast cancer cells, prostate cancer cells, and leukemia cells.
Overall, the herb helps cleanse and refresh your body to keep you younger and healthier.
Traditional Chinese medicine doctors often prescribe gan cao in combination with other herbs. Gan cao aids their absorption and increases their effectiveness.
4. Poria
Poria is a medicinal mushroom that helps heal many ailments. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory useful for edema – fluid buildup under the skin.
The herb (also known as fu ling) balances electrolytes, energizes your spleen, reduces phlegm, and helps insomnia patients sleep better. It is an antibacterial that can also lower your blood sugar.
Plus, it helps fight cancer by:
Down regulating nuclear factor-kappa B activity
Preventing new blood vessels from growing
Killing cancer cells outright
5. Oldenlandia diffusa
Oldenlandia diffusa helps you eliminate toxins.
Known as snake-needle grass in the U.S., this herb stops cancer cells from growing and increases the natural death rate of cancer cells. It stimulates your immune system to kill or overwhelm tumor cells – without killing normal cells.
One study found that Oldenlandia diffusa prevents inflammation by reducing the body’s production of three commonly over-expressed cancer compounds – tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, and prostaglandin-2.
Oldenlandia diffusa is also said to treat hepatitis, snakebites, arthritis, and liver and stomach cancers.
6. Asparagus root
Like Oldenlandia diffusa, asparagus root acts as an anti-inflammatory and prevents the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha.
Even though scientists have conducted only animal studies on asparagus root, they believe the evidence and data collected show that this plant remedy effectively fights lung cancer and leukemia.
The herb is also useful for constipation, coughs, and hepatitis.
7. Huang Qin
Also known as Baikal skullcap or Chinese skullcap, this Chinese herb prevents secondary tumors from forming in lung cancer patients.
Huang qin (scientific name Scutellaria baicalensis) kills human lung cancer cells without damaging healthy cells. A component named wogonin triggers cancer cell death while leaving healthy cells undamaged.
Huang qin prevents tumor cell reproduction, especially for A549 cells. In this way, it stops tumor growth and can dissolve tumors completely. The herb also decreases inflammation.
Besides helping lung cancer patients, huang qin also treats digestive system cancers, liver cancer, breast cancer, and chorioepithelioma (a malignant fast-growing tumor that forms from trophoblastic cells, the cells that help an embryo attach to the uterus and help form the placenta).
8. Sea Cucumber
Sea cucumber extract kills cancer cells and prevents tumor growth.
A compound found in sea cucumber fights against multiple types of cancer, including lung, pancreatic, prostate, colon, breast, skin, and liver cancers, leukemia, and glioblastoma.
Sea cucumber prevents angiogenesis – the process in which tumors grow new blood vessels that enable them to access food for growth.
More than just preventing growth, sea cucumber kills cancer cells outright. According to studies, the compound Frondoside A kills 85 to 88 percent of three different types of lung cancer cells. It also kills 95 percent of breast cancer cells, 90 percent of melanoma cells, and 95 percent of liver cancer cells.
In addition to killing these harmful cells directly, Frondoside A activates your immune system so your body can fight back against the cancer naturally.
9. Green Tea
Green tea extract is a potent antioxidant. It starves tumors by preventing new blood vessels from growing. This starving action targets cancer cells without hurting healthy cells.
Green tea contains a polyphenol named EGCG that prevents tumor growth. Studies demonstrate its benefits for breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers.
Other polyphenols found in green tea lower cholesterol, fight free radicals in your body, protect your brain from dementia, lower your risk of diabetes and heart attacks, and slim you down.
One of green tea’s lesser known benefits is its ability to kill bacteria and inhibit viruses, thereby lowering your risk of infections.
In a study of more than 40,000 Japanese adults, those who drank five or more cups per day reduced death from all causes by 23% in women and 12% in men. For risk of death from stroke, the results are even better – 42% reduction in women and 35% lower in men.
Chinese herbs part of a larger system
Herbal medicine is one of the most common alternative therapies used by cancer patients. Doctors who use Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) do not use these herbs in isolation, though.
Instead, TCM doctors most often use these herbs in combination with each other. Although there are more than 3,000 different medicinal herbs in TCM, 300 to 500 are commonly used. Nearly all Chinese herbal formulas I’ve seen contain a long list of ingredients, many of them unknown to me. The formulas tend to be complicated.
They try to address three main functions in TCM:
Treat acute diseases and conditions
Heal chronic conditions
Maintain daily health and wellness through balance in the body
As part of a program of total healing, TCM herbs are also combined with acupuncture, massage therapy, and breathing and movement exercises (such as qi gong or tai chi). By using these treatments, doctors aim to restore your qi (pronounced “chee”). Your qi is your body’s flow of energy.
In the Chinese way of looking at things, good health requires good qi.
I don’t recommend self-medicating with Chinese herbs because there are so many choices and combinations, and so many questions about where the herbs come from and how they were grown. If you want to try this type of medicine, it’s best to seek out a trusted practitioner.
