Artificial bile a possible substitute

SHENYANG - With the extraction of bile from bears arousing public disputes, some pharmacists believe there is a substitute - though after decades of experiments it has not been approved by the country's drug authority.

Shenyang Pharmaceutical University began to study artificial bear bile as early as 1983, with trials covering acute tonsillitis, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids as well as swollen eyes.

According to Zhou Jie, former Party secretary of Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, hundreds of clinical trials have shown that there is no clear difference between artificial bear bile and natural bile.