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Earthworms: A Potent Herbal Target for TCM (CAM) Research

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Book cover Biology of Earthworms

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 24))

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Abstract

Earthworms, also known as Dilong, have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. The medicinal applications of earthworms in various remedies included blood stagnation removal, wound healing, epilepsy, asthma, hemiplegia, and rheumatism. Recently, evidence-based research has examined the therapeutic effects of earthworm and the current state of knowledge that earthworms have and the impact on and response to their environment. In this chapter, we discuss several observations: neurobiological mechanisms, with particular attention to nerve regeneration induced by earthworms, pharmacological functions, and impact on ecological systems.

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Acknowledgment

This study is supported in part by Taiwan Department of Health Clinical Trial and Research Center of Excellence (DOH99-TD-B-111-004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of Chinese Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Yung-Ming Chang & Chih-Yang Huang

  2. School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Yung-Ming Chang

  3. School of Nursing and Health Professions, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA

    Wei-Yi Chi

  4. School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Wei-Yi Chi

  5. Laboratory of Comparative Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1763, USA

    Edwin L. Cooper

  6. Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Wei-Wen Kuo

  7. Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan

    Chih-Yang Huang

  8. Department of Health and Nutrition Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung, 413, Taiwan

    Chih-Yang Huang

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  1. Yung-Ming Chang
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  2. Wei-Yi Chi
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  3. Edwin L. Cooper
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  4. Wei-Wen Kuo
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  5. Chih-Yang Huang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chih-Yang Huang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Agriculture, Dept. Soil Science, Ankara University, Ankara, 06110, Turkey

    Ayten Karaca

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Chang, YM., Chi, WY., Cooper, E.L., Kuo, WW., Huang, CY. (2011). Earthworms: A Potent Herbal Target for TCM (CAM) Research. In: Karaca, A. (eds) Biology of Earthworms. Soil Biology, vol 24. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14636-7_15

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