Preclinical Research

Laboratory research provides a critical step in understanding the cellular and molecular basis of how herbal medicines work in the body. Chemical analysis of herbal products for quality assurance provides an important extension to the clinical studies programme, and provides a wealth of opportunities for innovation in medicinal product development.

Our preclinical laboratory research focuses on the identification, bioactivity and mechanisms of action of herbal medicines and herb-drug interactions:

• Quality assurance through authentication of the botanical identity of raw herbs and identification of active ingredients.
• Extraction, isolation and quantification of herbal biomarkers.
• Method development for quality assurance of complex herbal medicines and stability studies herb-drug interactions.
• Preclinical bioactivity and clinical availability studies.
• Molecular basis of the neuroprotective and anti-ageing effects of traditional Chinese herbal medicines.