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There's a lot of interests in the plants and fungi, or even some animal extracts, used in traditional Chinese medicine because they often do contain active chemicals that may be used.

It's like traditional remedies in the West: The plants used usually really do have medicinal properties.

(I'm not saying that a rhino horn has any useful properties, though...)

Edit: What's wrong, guys?




Once a plant, fungus or animal extract is proven to work (or a compound isolated from it, and that proven to work) it is no longer "traditional medicine". It is simply "medicine".

There is no evidence of any use for tiger penis or rhino horn.


> There is no evidence of any use for tiger penis or rhino horn.

I made it clear that I didn't think there was.

You guys need to calm down and put the pitchforks away.


Why should we put the pitchforks away? The stuff that works isn't traditional medicine, and at best traditional medicine harms people by keeping them away from actual treatment. Its role in driving tigers and rhinos closer to extinction is merely a more obvious, albeit less serious, example of the problems it causes.


> Why should we put the pitchforks away?

Lynch away. It's easier than thinking.


It's not clear whether you're arguing against applying the scientific method to TCM, or perhaps overstating the effectiveness of it.

(I'm not downmodding you; I can't on replies to my own comments.)




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