Traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of reproductive disorders of large animals in Asia

Reproductive diseases have been a great threat in large animal herds. before induction of western medicines,traditional chinese medicine (tcm) that is based on the use of herbal medicine,acupuncture,massage and other forms of therapy has been practiced in china for thousands of years. the foundational text of chinese medicine dated back to 5th century to 3rd century bce,humans in china began developing the tcm therapy by maintaining normal homeostasis and body functions. traditional chinese medicine prophylaxis is a very different strategy from that of the western medicine,targeting the balance of the diseased animals as compared to the single lesion. traditional chinese medicine was also applied to cure ruminant's reproductive disorders such as infertility,abortion and retained placenta. with the increasing concerns of the antibiotic resistance and drug abuse happened,tcm has acquired re-recognition as compared to western medicines due to eco-friendly consumer-driven developments and less residue in food chains. more importantly,a growing number of active substances or extracts with the reliable efficacy are being identified,meanwhile,the quality control measures are satisfied in the large-scale production already. however,few tcm is recognized to be used internationally as the popular human medication. even less tcm is prescribed legally to animal industry due to poor understanding tcm philosophy and lack of the right guidelines of the registration. this summary aims to elucidate the tcm application in the treatment of the reproductive disorder in large animals and offer alternative strategies for prophylaxis. � 2016 pvj. all rights reserved.