highlight of the 17th Congress of the Medical Pharmaceutical Society for WAKAN-YAKU, which took place September 2-3 in Aichi Prefecture, was the award of the Society’s prize for this year to Professor Masaaki Morohashi of the Dermatology Department of Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University and his research group.

WAKAN-YAKU is a general term referring to East Asian traditional medicine, including Kampo. The society’s origins go back to 1967 and the initiation of a Symposium on WAKAN-YAKU intended to promote the modernization of research in the field. Subsequently, in 1984, the group formally established itself as an academic society. Its goal was to encourage the development of research on WAKAN-YAKU from the viewpoint of modern medicine and pharmacology, and to help achieve this objective, the society began publishing the Japanese Journal of Traditional Medicines. Today, the Society’s membership is made up of about 1,200 medical and pharmacological researchers, and the annual Congress is a major focus of the Societys activity.

Panorama of Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutial University

Professor Morohashi and his colleagues at Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University were recognized at this year’s Congress for their accomplishments in scientifically evaluating the effectiveness of Kampo formulations for various types of dermatological problems using current medical and pharmacological methodologies. Specifically, they treated patients suffering from common acne vulgaris, atopic dermatitis, and common psoriasis vulgaris with Kampo formulations, carrying out both clinical evaluation and basic research at the same time.

In regard to acne vulgaris, by measuring the anti-bacterial action of ten Kampo formulations and 21 varieties of their constituent herbs against P. acnes in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and then using an electron microscope to inspect minute changes in the skin’s structure, Professor Morohashi’s team was able to confirm that two formulations long cited for treatment of acne vulgaris in clinical reports – namely, Seijo-bofu-to and Keigai-rengyo-to – showed the lowest MIC value. Moreover, the team was able to make clear that among the constituent herbs of the two formulations, Coptis Rhizome (MIC value: 1.5 - 6.1 µg/ml) and Phellodendron Bark (MIC value: 6.1 - 24 µg/ml) – two herbs containing berberine, a compound with strong anti-bacterial action – were equal to or almost as potent in terms of MIC as tetracycline (value: 1.5µg/ml).

In addition, using organ hamster culture skin to examine anti-lipid formation activity in sebaceous glands, it was confirmed that among the herbs used in Kampo formulations, Scutellaria Root, Coptis Rhizome, Phellodendron Bark and Forsythia Fruit have strong anti-lipid formation action. These same herbs are the principal ingredients of the aforementioned formulas, Seijo-bofu-to and Keigai-rengyo-to. Thus Professor Morohashi and his colleagues were able to establish a pharmacological basis for the clinical effectiveness of formulations used to treat acne vulgaris.

The Department of Japanese Oriental (i.e., Kampo) Medicine at Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University was designated a Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine by the World Health Organization in 1988. The work recognized by the prize from the Medical Pharmaceutical Society for WAKAN-YAKU exemplifies the on-going research the Department carries out in cooperation with specialized researchers in various fields.