noun
drugs; medicinal ingredients
Often refers to crude drugs or raw materials used in traditional Chinese medicine (漢方). Can also broadly mean medicinal substances.
漢方薬局で様々な薬種を扱っている。
The Chinese medicine pharmacy handles various medicinal ingredients.
この薬種は高麗人参から作られている。
This drug is made from Korean ginseng.
Compound of 薬 (medicine) and 種 (seed, kind). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the word has been used since the Edo period to refer to medicinal materials.