Editing Traditional Chinese medicine (section)

===Raw materials===
There are roughly 13,000 compounds used in China and over 100,000 TCM recipes recorded in the ancient literature.<ref name="Certainprogress">{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=K |last2=Yu |first2=B |title=Certain progress of clinical research on Chinese integrative medicine |journal=Chinese Medical Journal |date=1999 |volume=112 |issue=10 |pages=934–937 |pmid=11717980 |url=https://medcentral.net/doi/abs/10.5555/cmj.0366-6999.112.10.p934.01 }}</ref> Plant elements and extracts are by far the most common elements used.<ref name="Foster 1992">Foster, S. & Yue, C. (1992): [https://books.google.com/books?id=y78zzxTN570C "Herbal emissaries: bringing Chinese herbs to the West"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320172949/https://books.google.com/books?id=y78zzxTN570C&printsec=frontcover&dq=herbal+emissaries&hl=zh-CN |date=20 March 2017}}. Healing Arts Press. {{ISBN|978-0-89281-349-0}}</ref> In the classic ''Handbook of Traditional Drugs'' from 1941, 517 drugs were listed – out of these, 45 were animal parts, and 30 were minerals.<ref name="Foster 1992" />

====Animal substances====
Some animal parts used include cow gallstones,<ref name="Hesketh1997">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hesketh T, Zhu WX | title = Health in China. Traditional Chinese medicine: one country, two systems | journal = BMJ | volume = 315 | issue = 7100 | pages = 115–7 | date = July 1997 | pmid = 9240055 | pmc = 2127090 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.315.7100.115 }}</ref> hornet nests,<ref name="mnfl6">{{cite web| url = http://tcm.health-info.org/Herbology.Materia.Medica/lufengfangproperties.htm| title = Lu Feng Fang, Materia Metrica| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180614121358/http://tcm.health-info.org/Herbology.Materia.Medica/lufengfangproperties.htm| archive-date = 14 June 2018}}</ref> [[leech]]es,<ref name="LAT">{{Cite web |url=http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/herbcentral/leech.php |title=Leech, Acupuncture Today |access-date=6 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105042335/http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/herbcentral/leech.php |archive-date=5 January 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[scorpion]].<ref name="SAT">{{Cite web |url=http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/herbcentral/scorpion.php |title=Scorpion, Acupuncture Todady |access-date=6 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104235049/http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/herbcentral/scorpion.php |archive-date=4 January 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other examples of animal parts include horn of the antelope or buffalo, deer antlers, testicles and [[penis bone]] of the dog, and snake bile.<ref name="Still 2003" /> Some TCM textbooks still recommend preparations containing animal tissues, but there has been little research to justify the claimed clinical efficacy of many TCM animal products.<ref name="Still 2003">{{cite journal | vauthors = Still J | title = Use of animal products in traditional Chinese medicine: environmental impact and health hazards | journal = Complementary Therapies in Medicine | volume = 11 | issue = 2 | pages = 118–22 | date = June 2003 | pmid = 12801499 | doi = 10.1016/S0965-2299(03)00055-4 }}</ref>

Some compounds can include the parts of endangered species, including tiger bones<ref name="ezyCZ">{{cite book| vauthors = Wiseman N, Feng Y |title=A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine|publisher=Paradigm Publications|edition=2|year=1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FyGk5QnjhAC&pg=PA904|page=904|isbn=978-0912111544|access-date=18 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320195430/https://books.google.com/books?id=_FyGk5QnjhAC&pg=PA904|archive-date=20 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[rhinoceros horn]]<ref name="FTCMRH">''Facts about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM): rhinoceros horn'', Encyclopædia Britannica, [http://www.britannica.com/facts/5/1035448/traditional-Chinese-medicine-TCM-as-discussed-in-rhinoceros-mammal Facts about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM): rhinoceros horn, as discussed in rhinoceros (mammal): – Britannica Online Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629095329/http://www.britannica.com/facts/5/1035448/traditional-Chinese-medicine-TCM-as-discussed-in-rhinoceros-mammal |date=29 June 2011}}</ref>
which is used for many ailments (though not as an aphrodisiac as is commonly misunderstood in the West).<ref name="0luMq">{{cite web|title=Poaching for rhino horn|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/rhinoceros-rhino-horn-use-fact-vs-fiction/1178/|website=Save The Rhino|access-date=25 March 2016|date=20 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321143824/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/rhinoceros-rhino-horn-use-fact-vs-fiction/1178/|archive-date=21 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
The black market in rhinoceros horns (driven not just by TCM but also unrelated status-seeking) has reduced the world's rhino population by more than 90 percent over the past 40 years.<ref name="RH">{{cite news |title=Rhino horn: All myth, no medicine |first1=Rhishja |last1=Larson |date=July 2010 |url=http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2010/07/07/rhino_horn_and_traditional_chinese_medicine_facts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411123924/http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2010/07/07/rhino_horn_and_traditional_chinese_medicine_facts/ |archive-date=11 April 2015 }}</ref>
Concerns have also arisen over the use of [[pangolin]] scales,<ref name="70aUc">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/26549963|title='Shocking' scale of pangolin smuggling revealed| vauthors = Davies E | date=13 March 2014|work=Nature News|publisher=BBC|access-date=1 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018062653/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/26549963|archive-date=18 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> turtle [[plastron]],<ref name="guiban">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Chen TH, Chang HC, Lue KY |journal= Chelonian Conservation and Biology|volume= 8|issue=1|pages=11–18|year= 2009|doi= 10.2744/CCB-0747.1 |title=Unregulated Trade in Turtle Shells for Chinese Traditional Medicine in East and Southeast Asia: The Case of Taiwan |s2cid= 86821249}}</ref> seahorses,<ref name="Pbs.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/seahorse/vincent.html |title=NOVA Online &#124; Amanda Vincent |publisher=PBS |access-date=7 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209055422/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/seahorse/vincent.html |archive-date=9 December 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Gill plate trade|gill plates]] of [[mobula]] and [[manta ray]]s.<ref name="Rc0qN">{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2013/03/201332715299451455.html|title=Diminishing ray of hope| vauthors = Chou CT |date=2 April 2013|work=101 East|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=6 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502175216/http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2013/03/201332715299451455.html|archive-date=2 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Poachers hunt restricted or endangered species to supply the black market with TCM products.<ref name="Weirum">{{Cite web |vauthors = Weirum BK |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/11/TR10T8RBN.DTL |title=Will traditional Chinese medicine mean the end of the wild tiger? |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=11 November 2007 |access-date=3 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201170930/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2007%2F11%2F11%2FTR10T8RBN.DTL |archive-date=1 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Newscientist.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/endangered-species/dn3376 |title=Rhino rescue plan decimates Asian antelopes |work=New Scientist |access-date=17 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517124015/http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/endangered-species/dn3376 |archive-date=17 May 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> There is no scientific evidence of efficacy for tiger medicines.<ref name="Weirum" /> Concern over China considering to legalize the trade in tiger parts prompted the 171-nation [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species]] (CITES) to endorse a decision opposing the resurgence of trade in tigers.<ref name="Weirum" /> Fewer than 30,000 [[saiga antelope]]s remain, which are exported to China for use in traditional fever therapies.<ref name="Newscientist.com" /> Organized gangs illegally export the horn of the antelopes to China.<ref name="Newscientist.com" /> The pressures on [[seahorse]]s (''Hippocampus'' spp.) used in traditional medicine is enormous; tens of millions of animals are unsustainably caught annually.<ref name="Vincent2011" /> Many species of [[syngnathid]] are currently part of the [[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] or national equivalents.<ref name="Vincent2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Vincent AC, Foster SJ, Koldewey HJ | title = Conservation and management of seahorses and other Syngnathidae | journal = Journal of Fish Biology | volume = 78 | issue = 6 | pages = 1681–724 | date = June 2011 | pmid = 21651523 | doi = 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03003.x | bibcode = 2011JFBio..78.1681V | s2cid = 37920910 }}</ref>

Since TCM recognizes [[bear bile]] as a treatment compound, more than 12,000 [[asiatic black bears]] are held in bear farms. The bile is extracted through a permanent hole in the abdomen leading to the [[gall bladder]], which can cause severe pain. This can lead to bears trying to kill themselves. As of 2012, approximately 10,000 bears are farmed in China for their bile.<ref name="Xia Sheng" /> This practice has spurred public outcry across the country.<ref name="Xia Sheng" /> The bile is collected from live bears via a surgical procedure.<ref name="Xia Sheng">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sheng X, Zhang H, Weng Q | title = Traditional Chinese medicine: China's bear farms prompt public outcry | journal = Nature | volume = 484 | issue = 7395 | pages = 455 | date = April 2012 | pmid = 22538598 | doi = 10.1038/484455c | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2012Natur.484R.455S }}</ref> As of March 2020 bear bile as ingredient of ''Tan Re Qing'' injection remains on the list of remedies recommended for treatment of "severe cases" of COVID-19 by National Health Commission of China and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.<ref name="7CLiE">{{Cite web|title=We've been accused of peddling 'fake news' – so here are the facts about China's recommended use of bear bile - EIA|url=https://eia-international.org/news/weve-been-accused-of-peddling-fake-news-so-here-are-the-facts-about-chinas-recommended-use-of-bear-bile/|website=eia-international.org|date=25 March 2020 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516155613/https://eia-international.org/news/weve-been-accused-of-peddling-fake-news-so-here-are-the-facts-about-chinas-recommended-use-of-bear-bile/|archive-date=16 May 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[deer penis]] is believed to have therapeutic benefits according to traditional Chinese medicine. Tiger parts from poached animals include [[tiger penis]], believed to improve virility, and tiger eyes.<ref name="Harding">{{cite news | vauthors = Harding A  |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5371500.stm |title=Beijing's penis emporium |work=BBC News |date=23 September 2006 |access-date=16 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420070528/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5371500.stm |archive-date=20 April 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The illegal trade for tiger parts in China has driven the species to near-extinction because of its popularity in traditional medicine.<ref name="JLrVS">{{cite book |vauthors=van Uhm DP |title=The Illegal Wildlife Trade: Inside the World of Poachers, Smugglers and Traders (Studies of Organized Crime) |date=2016 |volume=15 |publisher=New York: Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-42129-2 |isbn=978-3-319-42128-5 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319421285 |access-date=16 May 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803101218/https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319421285 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Harding" /> Laws protecting even [[critically endangered]] species such as the [[Sumatran tiger]] fail to stop the display and sale of these items in open markets.<ref name="2008 report from TRAFFIC">{{Cite web |url=http://www.traffic.org/home/2008/2/13/tiger-tiger-future-not-so-bright.html |title=2008 report from TRAFFIC |access-date=16 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122105541/http://www.traffic.org/home/2008/2/13/tiger-tiger-future-not-so-bright.html |archive-date=22 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Shark fin soup]] is traditionally regarded in Chinese medicine as beneficial for health in East Asia, and its status as an elite dish has led to huge demand with the increase of affluence in China, devastating shark populations.<ref name="Sfgate.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/archive/2003/01/20/urbananimal.DTL |title=Shark Fin Soup: An Eco-Catastrophe? |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=20 January 2003 |access-date=3 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614142217/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fg%2Farchive%2F2003%2F01%2F20%2Furbananimal.DTL |archive-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The shark fins have been a part of traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.<ref name="VBTdV">{{Cite web|vauthors=Radford B|date=9 July 2011|title=Sharks Fin Soup Bans Don't Stop Strong Demand|url=https://www.livescience.com/14964-sharks-fin-soup-bans-stop-strong-demand.html|access-date=2020-09-07|website=livescience.com|language=en|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814234452/https://www.livescience.com/14964-sharks-fin-soup-bans-stop-strong-demand.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Shark finning is banned in many countries, but the trade is thriving in Hong Kong and China, where the fins are part of shark fin soup, a dish considered a delicacy, and used in some types of traditional Chinese medicine.<ref name="NaomiNg2013">{{cite web | url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/09/world/asia/china-ban-shark-fin/index.html | title=China bans shark fin dishes at official banquets | website=[[CNN]] | date=9 December 2013 | access-date=27 March 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501103823/http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/09/world/asia/china-ban-shark-fin/index.html | archive-date=1 May 2014 | url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[tortoise]] ([[freshwater turtle]], ''guiban'') and turtle ([[Chinese softshell turtle]], ''biejia'') species used in traditional Chinese medicine are raised on farms, while restrictions are made on the accumulation and export of other endangered species.<ref name="dharma4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.itmonline.org/arts/turtles.htm|title=Endangered Species Issues Affecting Turtles And Tortoises Used in Chinese Medicine| vauthors = Dharmananda S |access-date=10 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004124346/http://www.itmonline.org/arts/turtles.htm|archive-date=4 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> However, issues concerning the [[overexploitation]] of Asian turtles in China have not been completely solved.<ref name="dharma4" /> Australian scientists have developed methods to identify medicines containing DNA traces of endangered species.<ref name="REKkt">[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-13/dna-may-help-weed-out-toxic-chinese-medicine/3949356 DNA may weed out toxic Chinese medicine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413211547/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-13/dna-may-help-weed-out-toxic-chinese-medicine/3949356 |date=13 April 2012}} – By Carolyn Herbert – Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Retrieved 14 April 2012.</ref> Finally, although not an endangered species, sharp rises in exports of donkeys and donkey hide from Africa to China to make the traditional remedy ''ejiao'' have prompted export restrictions by some African countries.<ref name="0VO1T">{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-donkeys-buying-kill-africa-ejiao-medicine-hide-burkina-faso-niger-donkey-shortage-a7339181.html |title=China's quest to buy up global supply of donkeys halted by African nations |work=The Independent |date=30 September 2016 |access-date=17 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003171037/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-donkeys-buying-kill-africa-ejiao-medicine-hide-burkina-faso-niger-donkey-shortage-a7339181.html |archive-date=3 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Human body parts====
{{Main|Traditional Chinese medicines derived from the human body}}
[[File:Ziheche.jpg|thumb|right|Dried [[Placenta|human placenta]] (Ziheche ({{lang|zh|紫河车}}) is used in traditional Chinese medicine.<ref name="Tierra" />]]
Traditional Chinese medicine also includes some human parts: the classic ''[[Materia medica]]'' ([[Bencao Gangmu]]) describes (also criticizes) the use of 35 human body parts and [[excreta]] in medicines, including bones, fingernail, hairs, dandruff, earwax, impurities on the teeth, feces, urine, sweat, organs, but most are no longer in use.<ref name="HDCM">{{cite book |doi=10.1007/0-306-46867-0_7 |chapter='Human Drugs' in Chinese Medicine and the Confucian View: An Interpretive Study |title=Confucian Bioethics |year=1999 |last1=Nie |first1=Jing-Bao |pages=167–206 |isbn=978-0-7923-5723-0 }}</ref><ref name="HBNC">THE HUMAN BODY AS A NEW COMMODITY, Tsuyoshi Awaya, The Review of Tokuyama, June 1999</ref><ref name="CBSH">Commodifying bodies, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Loïc J. D. Wacquant, 2002</ref>

Human placenta has been used an ingredient in certain traditional Chinese medicines,<ref name="News-Medical.Net">{{Cite news |url=http://www.news-medical.net/print_article.asp?id=1333 |title=Traditional Chinese medicine contains human placenta |publisher=News-Medical.Net |date=8 May 2004 |access-date=29 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116073621/http://www.news-medical.net/print_article.asp?id=1333 |archive-date=16 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> including using dried human placenta, known as "Ziheche", to treat infertility, impotence and other conditions.<ref name="Tierra">{{Cite book | vauthors = Tierra L, Tierra M |title=Chinese traditional herbal medicine |publisher=Lotus Light Pub |location=Twin Lakes, WI |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-914955-32-0 | pages = [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zm6QTqNt3JEC&pg=PT225 225]}}</ref> The consumption of the human placenta is a potential source of infection.<ref name="News-Medical.Net" />