{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.04756242568370987, 'fraction_numerical': 0.006341656757827983, 'mean_word_length': 5.201474201474201, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Plant-derived lipid nanoparticles: a new potential therapeutic approach for traditional Chinese medicine’s fresh herbs

The application of fresh herbs runs through the origin and development of TCM. Ancient practitioners of TCM have a good understanding of the fresh herbs’ unique characteristics (distinct from dried herbs), which can be evidenced in many ancient medical books. More than two thousand years ago, the “Shennong Ben Cao Jing” highly praised that fresh ginger [Zingiber officinale Rosc.]’s efficacy is exceptionally better than dried ginger (1). In Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhongjing Zhang’s “Shanghan Lun” and “Jingui Yaolüe” documented fresh herbs’ applications to treat a variety of conditions. For example, the Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet, another name of the Jingui Yaolüe, recorded the use of Lily [Lilium Lanci folium Thunb; Lilium brownii F. E. Brown var. viridulum Baker; Lilium pumilum DC.] Rehmannia [Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch.] Soup, which employs lily roots and raw Rehmannia juices to nourish the atrium (heart chamber) and diminishes blood fever (2). It is also worth noting that Hong Ge’s book “A Handbook of Formulas for Emergencies” (written in the Eastern Jin Dynasty) introduced a fresh herb-based anti-malaria parasite approach: “mixing one grip of freshly collected Artemisia [Artemisia annua L.] with two liters of water and mashing to get the juice.”(3) This precious record became the source of inspiration for Professor Tu, Youyou, whose research brought the anti-malaria drug artemisinin that saved millions of lives and won her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 (4,5). With the prevalence of the Febrile disease theory, fresh medicines are also increasingly used in TCM prescriptions (6,7). For instance, Ziming Chen’s famous prescription “bolus of four fresh drugs” comprises fresh meshed lotus [Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.] leaves, fresh Argy wormwood [Artemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant.] leaves, fresh cypress [Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco] leaves, and raw Rehmannia (8). Kentang Wang’s “four-juice drink” is made from fresh grape [Vitis vinifera L.] juice, fresh lotus root juice, raw Rehmannia juice, and honey (9). In the Ming and Qing dynasties, TCM practitioners accumulated rich experience in the clinical application of fresh herbs, and the understanding of the extraordinary efficacy of fresh herbs is more in-depth. Since then, fresh herbs-based prescriptions have formed powerful TCM tools in treating diseases in clinical use (1,10).