有关a balance of yin and yang

有关a balance of yin and yang

It was written in The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine that "the imbalance of yin-yang was the cause of all diseases" and "those who are experts in examining patients, judge their patients' general appearance, feel the pulse and distinguish whether it is yin or yang that caused the disease". That was about 2,500 years ago. Today, scientists think that there may be a correlation in the yin-yang concept with the western concept of oxidation. An ongoing research led by Assistant Professor Huang Dejian, Department of Chemistry, investigates the links between the two concepts.
A pioneer oxygen chemist, Antoine Lavoisier pointed out about 150 years ago that the animals that respire are true combustible bodies that burn and consume themselves.
Biological combustion involved in the respiration process, produces harmful intermediates called reactive oxygen species (ROS). Excess ROS in the body can lead to cumulative damage of protein, lipid and DNA resulting in "oxidative stress". Oxidative stress is defined as "the imbalance between oxidants and anti-oxidants in favour of the oxidants potentially leading to damage". This has been suggested to be the cause of ageing and chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases. In western medicine, the balance between anti-oxidation and oxidation is believed to be a critical concept for maintaining health. Would this be the western equivalent of the yin-yang concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?
The yin-yang concept however, said Dr Huang, does not have any concrete physical meaning within the modern scientific scope. "There is no equivalent term in western medicine to express this dichotomy. In TCM, yin-yang is a term to express the dual opposite qualities of matter. Maintaining yin and yang in harmony is akin to attaining the homeostatic state," he said.
He posited that the antioxidation process that prevents over-oxidation can be called yin, and energy-generating oxidation processes belong to yang. In an earlier study with researchers of Brunswick Laboratories, Wareham, Massachusetts, USA, he has shown that such a correlation is supported. He has also conducted a study on what TCM consider as "cooling" drinks -- herbal concoctions which are supposed to counteract the "heat" in the body. Hot weather and inflammation caused by bacteria or virus infections can lead to "heatiness" -- or too much yang according to TCM. Certain herbs are supposed to clear the body of "heat" and hence relieve the symptoms. Working with junior college students under the Science Research Programme (SRP), he did a study on 30 different "cooling" drinks and found that such drinks do possess anti-oxidation properties. The SRP is a collaboration scheme between the Faculty of Science and the Gifted Education Branch of the Ministry of Education.
Working with Associate Professor Benny Tan and others from the Department of Pharmacology, Dr Huang is also testing the effect of "heat-clearing" herbs in reducing the oxidative stress of diabetic animals. This is especially relevant -- diabetes mellitus being a common disease today due to modern lifestyle. It is characterised by abnormal increase of blood sugar concentration and decrease of glucose tolerance. The disease is closely related to the advance of age, obesity, sedentary life-style, and unhealthy diet.
Explained Dr Huang: "Chronic inflammation is one of the problems of diabetic patients and high oxidation stress level contributes chronic inflammation. Western medicine reduces the blood glucose, but not the oxidation stress level which causes excessive radical damage to the body.
"Combining the use of western medicine and that of heat-clearing herbs, we may be able to also bring down oxidative stress level, besides blood glucose."
Once researchers know the active compounds in these herbs, they can synthesise them and use them as complementary treatment for diabetes mellitus.