2026-10-14T16:55:04Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33828841 2026-09-16T05:33:22Z category_19 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Table 1_Pharmacotherapy of the spleen and stomach in Li Shizhen’s Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of materia medica, 1596): a text-statistical analysis of 994 entries and a bridge to modern pharmacology.xlsx Wan Sun (7549115) Pharmacology Bencao Gangmu digestive system ethnopharmacology Li Shizhen medicinal plants spleen–stomach disorders text mining traditional Chinese medicine Background<p>Bencao Gangmu (本草纲目, 1596), Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica, is among the most comprehensive pre-modern compilations of East Asian materia medica, yet the full-text distribution of its content on the spleen–stomach (pi-wei 脾胃) system, the digestive functional axis of Chinese medicine, has never been systematically quantified or mapped onto modern pharmacological evidence.</p>Aim of the study<p>To construct a reproducible text-statistical inventory of all spleen- and stomach-related entries in Bencao Gangmu; to characterize the resulting pharmacopoeia by plant identity, taste–nature (qi-wei), channel tropism (gui-jing), declared function, indication and preparation form; and to relate the most frequently recorded botanical drugs to current pharmacological evidence on gastrointestinal disease.</p>Materials and methods<p>The Jinling (1596) edition was searched in full text for pi (脾), wei (胃) and pi-wei (脾胃). Candidate hits were adjudicated by two reviewers against predefined inclusion criteria (Cohen’s κ = 0.84) and coded into a relational dataset (drug, taste–nature, channel tropism, function, indication, preparation). Plant identities were authenticated against World Flora Online and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2025) and reported under the ConPhyMP framework.</p>Results<p>Of 994 retained entries, 703 specified a concrete drug or therapy. The most frequent botanical drugs were Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (Baizhu, n = 26), Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Shengjiang, n = 25) and Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Cangzhu, n = 20). Sweet (n = 16), warm (n = 15) and slightly-cold (n = 14) taste–natures dominated; channel tropism converged on the spleen (32%) and the spleen–stomach pair (26%); the leading functions were spleen-tonifying (n = 46) and qi-replenishing (n = 41); the leading indication was fan-wei (food regurgitation, n = 108). Decoction accounted for 79% of preparation records and medicinal porridge (yao-zhou) for 11%.</p>Conclusion<p>Bencao Gangmu codifies a balanced spleen–stomach pharmacotherapy prioritizing sweet–warm tonification counterweighted by a deliberate cooling–draining arm. The leading botanical drugs converge on phytochemical leads, including atractylenolides, gingerols/shogaols, atractylodin/β-eudesmol, berberine and processed-Pinellia alkaloids, with documented effects on gastrointestinal motility, mucosal protection, gut-microbiota modulation and anti-inflammatory activity, providing a reproducible bridge between classical Chinese materia medica and contemporary ethnopharmacology.</p> 2026-09-16T05:33:22Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fphar.2026.1889778.s002 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Table_1_Pharmacotherapy_of_the_spleen_and_stomach_in_Li_Shizhen_s_Bencao_Gangmu_Compendium_of_materia_medica_1596_a_text-statistical_analysis_of_994_entries_and_a_bridge_to_modern_pharmacology_xlsx/33828841 CC BY 4.0