Suchergebnisse

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an integral part of mainstream medicine in China. Due to its worldwide use, potential impact on healthcare and opportunities for new drug development, TCM is also of great international interest. Recently, a new era for modernisation of TCM was launched with the successful completion of the Good Practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine Research in the Post-genomic Era (GP-TCM) project, the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) coordination action on TCM research. This 3.5-year project that involved inputs from over 200 scientists resulted in the production of 20 editorials and in-depth reviews on different aspects of TCM that were published in a special issue of Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2012; volume 140, issue 3). In this narrative review, we aim to summarise the findings of the FP7 GP-TCM project and highlight the relevance of TCM to modern medicine within a historical and international context. Advances in TCM research since the 1950s can be characterised into three phases: Phase I (1950s-1970s) was fundamental for developing TCM higher education, research and hospital networks in China; Phase II (1980s-2000s) was critical for developing legal, economic and scientific foundations and international networks for TCM; and Phase III (2011 onwards) is concentrating on consolidating the scientific basis and clinical practice of TCM through interdisciplinary, interregional and intersectoral collaborations. Taking into account the quality and safety requirements newly imposed by a globalised market, we especially highlight the scientific evidence behind TCM, update the most important milestones and pitfalls, and propose integrity, integration and innovation as key principles for further modernisation of TCM. These principles will serve as foundations for further research and development of TCM, and for its future integration into tomorrow's medicine. © 2013 Xu et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 calls for "strong global partnerships and cooperation" to support the other SDGs. The collections-based science community offers many examples of conservation of plant and fungal biodiversity, sharing, repatriation and aggregation of data, access to new technologies, supply of plant and fungal material, strengthening capacity of practitioners, and benefit sharing with the providers of biodiversity and genetic resources. Collaboration framed by workable multilateral treaties will increase our understanding of plant and fungal diversity, help halt biodiversity loss, and accelerate our sustainable use of plants and fungi and the exploration of their useful traits. Summary: Collections-based institutes are at the forefront of generating knowledge and understanding of plant and fungal biodiversity. Through the analysis of occurrence data, the use of modern technologies to better understand the evolutionary relationships between species and documentation of their useful properties, the work of collections-based institutes provides good models for conservation; addressing species loss and improving sustainable use of plants and fungi. Nevertheless, the pressure on the planet's plant and fungal diversity is relentless. We argue that a massive increase in the accessibility of preserved and living collections of plants and fungi is required. An increased scale of responsible exploration to both conserve and unlock the useful properties of plants and fungi is needed to deliver solutions to the many global challenges facing humanity and the planet. This article explores the role of collaborations between collections-based institutes and their partners in preventing biodiversity loss and delivering sustainable development. Drawing on examples from herbaria, agricultural and wild species genebanks, mycological collections, an international NGO, and the botanic garden community, we demonstrate how collaboration improves efficiency and impact. Collaborations can be peer to peer, institutional, governmental, national, or international, they may involve work with local communities and are frequently a combination of these. We suggest the five key benefits to collaboration and show that with trust, understanding, and mutual respect, powerful and sustainable partnerships develop. Such trust and respect are hard won, but once established, sustain a high level of commitment, enable development of shared long-term visions of success, and attract diverse funding streams.