“辨状论质”的历史沿革与现代研究进展

Historical Evolution and Modern Research Progress of Quality Evaluation Based on Character Identification of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials

"辨状论质"是历代医药学家长期用药经验的智慧结晶,是一种具有中医药特色的质量评价体系。因具有语言简练、通俗易懂、操作简便等特点,在中药的质量评价中具有重要的指导作用。现代电子感官仪器技术可实现中药性状的客观化表达,一些学者将其表达结果与中药中主要化学成分的含量进行关联分析,证明了"辨状论质"具有一定的科学依据。但目前"辨状论质"的科学内涵尚未被阐释清楚,中药的哪些"状"可真正反映其"质"还缺乏系统的研究。故笔者从"辨状论质"的思想来源与历史沿革、"状-质"相关性分析的现代研究及其应用价值3个方面进行综述,明确了"辨状论质"的思想来源于法象思维,梳理了其形成过程中所经历的萌芽、发展、鼎盛、成熟4个阶段;对"辨状论质"的现代研究进展进行了归纳总结;并阐明了该理论在评价药材品质、指导商品规格等级划分和药材采收加工等方面的作用。建议后续应加大对"辨状论质"的研究力度,充分利用电子感官仪器、液质联用、生物药效评价等技术,加强中药性状特征的客观化描述,重视中药整体性状与药效的关联性分析,建立中药材"性状-有效成分-药效"相关联的研究新模式,以期为阐明"辨状论质"的科学内涵提供参考,使之更好地服务于中药品质评价。

Quality evaluation based on character identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials is the wisdom crystallization of the long-term medication experience of the pharmacists in the past dynasties,and is a quality evaluation system with the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).Because of its simple language,easy to understand and easy to operate,it plays an important guiding role in the quality evaluation of TCM.Modern electronic sensory apparatus technology can realize the objective expression of TCM characters.Some scholars correlated their expression results with the contents of the main chemical components in TCM,proving that quality evaluation based on character identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials has a certain scientific basis.However,the scientific connotation of quality evaluation based on character identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials has not yet been clearly clarified.There is a lack of systematic research on which characters of TCM can truly reflect its quality.Therefore,the author summarizes quality evaluation based on character identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials from three aspects.It makes clear that the idea of quality evaluation based on character identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials is derived from analogical thinking,and combs the four stages of germination,development,prosperity and maturity experienced in its formation process,summarizes the modern research progress of this theory,clarifies that the role of the theory in evaluating the quality of medicinal materials,guiding the classification of commodity specifications,and harvesting and processing of medicinal materials.It is recommended that the follow-up should be strengthened on the research of quality evaluation based on character identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials,make full use of electronic sensory instruments,liquid-mass spectrometry,biological efficacy evaluation and other technologies,strengthen the objective description of the characteristics of TCM,and attach importance to the analysis of the correlation between the overall characteristics of TCM and its efficacy,and establish a new research model related to the characteristics-active ingredients-pharmaceutical effects of TCM,in order to elucidate the scientific connotation of quality evaluation based on character identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials,so as to better serve the quality evaluation of TCM.