Clinical Kampo Medicine

We study clinical Kampo medicine and conduct research to solve existing challenges and elucidate its mechanisms of action.

Analysis of the biological effects of Kampo medicines.

Much remains unknown about the actual effects of Kampo medicines on the living body. Unlike single-compound Western drugs, Kampo formulas are multi-component systems that trigger various biological events simultaneously, which inherently limits the effectiveness of conventional approaches. Therefore, as a novel approach, we use various analytical instruments to examine the overall biological response, viewing the organism as a whole rather than focusing solely on microscopic targets like specific molecules.

Historical evolution of crude drugs in classical literature.Studies on the quality evaluation of crude drugs listed in the Pharmacopoeia.

Some crude drugs are used after undergoing specific processing methods (known as Shuji or Paozhi), such as heating, steaming, or cutting. While many of these techniques are based on clinical experience—with some scientifically proven to reduce side effects or enhance efficacy—the details of many others remain unknown. We conduct research to scientifically clarify the significance of classical processing methods by analyzing chemical changes in components and evaluating their pharmacological effects.