Written in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shennong's Herbal Classic is the earliest known monograph on pharmacology in China. It is also known as the Herbal Classic or This Classic. Although the book of Materia Medica is named after Shennong, it is actually the result of the drug treatment experience summarized by many medics in the Qin and Han dynasties. A total of 365 kinds of drugs were recorded in the Book of Materia Medica, including 67 kinds of animal drugs, 252 kinds of plant drugs and 46 kinds of mineral drugs. According to the drug effect is divided into upper, middle and lower three products. The text of "The Classic of Materia Medica" is simple and simple, and a large number of effective drug treatment experiences are recorded in detail, which is the first systematic summary of early clinical drug use experience. The Classic of Materia Medica is regarded as one of the "four classics" of Chinese medicine, and has high academic research value up to now.

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by plasmodium infection. The common types are vivax malaria, ovale malaria, malariae malariae and falciparum malaria. The main routes of infection include bites from Anopheles mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite, blood-borne transmission and mother-to-child transmission. The main symptoms are chills, high fever, sweating, headache, aching limbs and weakness. The main treatment of malaria is drug therapy, including artemisinin and its derivatives, quinoline derivatives and anti-folate drugs. In addition, Chinese medicine is also effective in the treatment of malaria.

In recent years, malaria research has also made remarkable progress. For example, Tu Youyou's team in the Eastern Jin Dynasty Ge Hong "elbow reserve emergency formula" : "sweet wormwood a grip, with two liters of water stains, twisted juice, and take it." Finally, after 190 failures, the final results of the anti-malaria experiment of Artemisia annua No. 191 ether neutral extract sample were released - the inhibition rate of malaria parasites reached 100%!

Shennong Materia Medica is an important book of ancient Chinese medicine, in which there are abundant and in-depth records of drugs for treating "malaria". It provides valuable information for us to study the traditional Chinese medicine treatment of malaria today.

Judging by the quantity of drugs

The total number of drugs used to treat malaria in Shennong's Herbal Classic is 23, accounting for 6.30%(23/365) in the whole book, which reflects the ancient doctors' emphasis on malaria treatment. Among these drugs, mainly plant drugs, a total of 18 flavors, animal drugs 5 flavors, no mineral drugs, reflecting the diversity and nature of ancient drug sources.

Judging from the classification of drugs
These drugs are classified as top, middle and bottom. Among them, top medicine 5 taste, Chinese medicine 5 taste, bottom medicine 13 taste. This classification not only reflects the difference in the quality and efficacy of drugs, but also reflects the understanding of ancient doctors on the safety and effectiveness of drugs.

Judging by the sex of the drug
Spicy taste "can disperse, can do, can moisten"; Sour taste "can receive, can astringent, can supplement the liver body and drain the liver, can anascaris"; Sweet "can replenish, reconcile, slow, detoxify"; Bitter "can drain, dry, firm, hair"; Saltiness "can be lowered, can be soft". The drugs used to treat malaria in Shennong Herbal Classic are mainly Xinwen and Xinping, including 7 bitter drugs, 1 sweet drugs, 11 sour drugs, 4 salty drugs, and no sour drugs. There are 9 kinds of warm and hot drugs, 5 kinds of cold and cool drugs, and 9 kinds of flat drugs. These characteristics are consistent with the pathological characteristics of malaria, which reflects the ancient doctors' understanding of the matching of drug flavor and disease nature.

From the point of view of the efficacy of the drug
According to the "Shennong Herbal Classic" recorded 23 taste with the effect of "malaria" drugs were classified, these drugs mainly treat warm malaria, a total of 16 taste. In addition, there were two different flavors of drugs to treat malaria and two different flavors of drugs to intercept malaria, and two different flavors of drugs to treat malaria, malaria and malaria. The efficacy of these drugs is closely related to the clinical manifestations of malaria, which reflects the ancient doctors' deep understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of malaria and accurate treatment.

It is worth mentioning that the Shennong Herbal Classic clearly recorded the efficacy of malaria drugs such as Changshan, Shu paint and so on. These drugs have been widely used and verified in the treatment of malaria by traditional Chinese medicine. Such as Changshan, it has the function of robbing phlegm and stopping malaria, and is one of the important drugs for the treatment of malaria by traditional Chinese medicine. Shu lacquer is the main malaria and cough against cold and fever, and has a remarkable effect on the treatment of malaria.
In addition, artemisia annua is also one of the important drugs to treat malaria. Although the Shennong Herbal Classic did not clearly record the efficacy of artemisia annua in the treatment of malaria, the Eastern Jin Dynasty Ge Hong clearly put forward artemisia annua as an important drug for the treatment of malaria. This understanding has been verified in later practice, and in the 1970s, researcher Tu Youyou and her team successfully extracted artemisinin from the Institute of Chinese Medicine of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, making a major contribution to global malaria prevention and control.
According to modern research, there are 6 kinds of malaria parasites that infect the human body. Patients infected with malaria parasites can have symptoms such as anemia, liver and spleen enlargement, and brain malaria and even death in severe cases. According to the Book of Materia Medica, among the 23 kinds of drugs that have the effect of treating "malaria", there are 16 kinds of drugs for treating warm malaria. Tertian drugs for treating malaria and tertian drugs for intercepting malaria have 2 flavors respectively. Treatment of malaria, main malaria, ghost malaria drugs 1 taste each. The essence of traditional Chinese medicine is syndrome differentiation and treatment. The ancients had certain limitations in their understanding of malaria. Therefore, when summarizing the treatment of "malaria" drugs in the Herbal Classic, the anti-malaria effect of drugs should be more accurately confirmed according to clinical application and pharmacological action analysis.

Sum up

The drugs used to treat malaria in Shennong's Herbal Classic have the characteristics of large quantity, complete classification, variety of sex and taste, and clear efficacy. These drugs not only reflect the rich experience and deep understanding of the ancient doctors on malaria treatment, but also provide valuable reference and reference for the later doctors. At the same time, the modern research and application of these drugs also provide us with more inspirations and ideas, and help to promote the further development of traditional Chinese medicine in the field of malaria prevention and control.