Uyghur medicine: cooperation between France, China and Thailand

Published 2011/03/10

Used for centuries for their curative properties, medicinal plants are currently being subjected to highly advanced scientific studies in Besançon, with a view to treating high blood pressure in particular, one of the scourges of our time. This research takes the form of an unusual cooperation initiative between France, China and Thailand, and is based on traditional Uyghur medicine.
 
Certain plants are traditionally used to treat high blood pressure and synthesize molecules with powerful vasodilator properties. It is also possible that these molecules may be able to modulate the activity of arginase, a new potential target for the treatment of high blood pressure. Defining and characterizing these compounds as accurately as possible is the objective of the research work being conducted within the University of Franche-Comté: the "Endothelial Dysfunction" group, which works on high blood pressure and its treatment, and the "Natural Substances" group are together developing cross-disciplinary research activities to highlight the assets of plants with therapeutic properties.

In 2008, the development of this expertise allowed the teams to respond to a call for tender from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, entitled BioAsie, with the submission of its PLANTASAFE project (ASian PLANT-derived drugs and hepatic SAFEty: studies to improve research transfer to applications in patients). 
 
The objective of the contract and the focus of the Besançon team is to scientifically analyze traditional plant-based medicine in China and Thailand, with a view to optimizing its use. The research represents a new avenue of exploration at a time when obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, all factors that contribute significantly to cardiovascular risk, are increasing everywhere in the world, including in emerging countries.

Traditional Uyghur medicine lies at the centre of the research. This ethnic group, making up most of the population in Xinjiang, a province in western China, has developed its own pharmacopoeia over the centuries, based on the vast botanical biodiversity of the region. A Chinese professor from the University of Urumqi, and who is also a member of the Uyghur ethnic group, has submitted a list of plants to the French team. After cross-checking with bibliographical databases, certain species were selected for research.

Used empirically, these plants, on which Uyghur medicine is based, are subjected to rigorous analysis in the PLANTASAFE program so that they can be scientifically approved for more widespread use, as herbal medicine is not a matter that should be treated lightly. Studies of their properties, hepatic toxicity, potential interactions with allopathic drugs and administration methods are all examined, the plants being dissected to the minutest molecule before their pharmacological credibility can be established. And the hope is that they can then be used in the development of treatments, both in Western countries and in their countries of origin, where chemical options are sometimes beyond the reach of many, and above all where traditional medicine is an integral part of the culture.