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Treatment of β-Thalassemia with Chinese Herbs


β-thalassemia is a rare blood disorder in which hemoglobin is improperly formed due to an inherited genetic defect (mutation). The beta chain of the hemoglobin molecule is affected, which contributes part of the name of this disease (there is also an a-thalassemia). The disease is most prevalent in the Mediterranean region; and thalassa is Greek for sea, indicating the Mediterranean Sea in this context (-emia indicates the disorder is of the blood). The disease has been called Mediterranean anemia, since the primary effect is a severe anemia. The disease becomes apparent a few months after birth and, depending on its severity (for example, whether one or both genes contributed by the parents are affected), the anemia can be fatal within the first few years of life. For those with one gene affected, the disease is called β-thalassemia minor; when both genes are affected, the disease is called β-thalassemia major.

Illustration of the transference of the hemoglobin beta chain defect responsible for β-thalassemia    The hemoglobin beta chain

Severe β-thalassemia (major) occurs when both parents are carriers of the defect in the hemoglobin beta chain (illustrated right); carriers can survive to adulthood, but suffer from chronic anemia and secondary effects of it.

The disease is rare in China, but has been noted, particularly in the Nanning of Guangxi Province. Even though the Mediterranean Sea is the central area where the disorder occurs, it spreads eastward through the middle East and into East Asia. It is likely that the disease was transmitted over thousands of years by the caravans that traded between the Mediterranean area (Europe and Africa) and the populations to the East.

Modern treatments include blood transfusions, treatment with hydroxyurea (which promotes hemoglobin production), and stem cell transplants. Genetic engineering to repair the defective gene is a hoped for solution in the coming decades. Its treatment with Chinese medicine is of some general interest, in that it may reflect helpful measures that can be applied to a number of blood disorders, such as sickle cell anemia, that involve genetically-based defects in hemoglobin and resulting impairment of the blood.

According to the Chinese traditional descriptions, the "kidney" system (shen) is the source of the bone marrow (sui) that produces blood cells. The kidney and marrow store the essence that is present at birth and that is affected by prenatal factors (e.g., genetics). Tonifying the kidney essence is the basic principle of therapy to be applied. The herbal therapy has been called Bushen Shengxue Fang (bushen = tonify the kidney; shengxue = generate blood; fang = recipe) or, alternatively, Busui Shengxue Fang, or Yisui Shengxue Ling (yisui = to boost up the marrow; ling = effective remedy). The recipes used for this therapy can vary; they have not been identified fully in Chinese publications. One of the formulations that has been revealed is (1):

Astragalus 24 g
Lycium fruit 15 g
Antler gelatin 12 g
Tortoise shell gelatin 12 g
Donkey hide gelatin 12 g
Tang-kuei 12 g
Peony 12 g
Rehmannia, cooked 12 g
Ho-shou-wu 12 g
Placenta 12 g
Ginseng 10 g
Baked Licorice 6 g






  1. Gou Zhenxue, Sichuan Journal of Chinese Medicine 1984; (4) [complete reference unavailable]

May 2003