Abstract
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a critical role in healthcare; however, it lacks scientific evidence to support the multidimensional therapeutic effects. These effects are based on experience, and, to date, there is no advanced tool to evaluate these experience based effects. In the current study, Chinese herbal materials classified with different cold and heat therapeutic properties, based on Chinese medicine principles, were investigated using spectral distribution, as well as the decay probability distribution based on delayed luminescence (DL). A detection system based on ultraweak biophoton emission was developed to determine the DL decay kinetics of the cold and heat properties of Chinese herbal materials. We constructed a mathematical model to fit the experimental data and characterize the properties of Chinese medicinal herbs with different parameters. The results demonstrated that this method has good reproducibility. Moreover, there is a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the spectral distribution and the decay probability distribution of Chinese herbal materials with cold and heat properties. This approach takes advantage of the comprehensive nature of DL compared with more reductionist approaches and is more consistent with TCM principles, in which the core comprises holistic views.
Highlights
The cold and heat properties of Chinese medicinal herbs are classified according to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) principles, which comprise a core concept of TCM
We report delayed luminescence (DL) data collected from the roots of Chinese medicinal herbs
We selected two representative Chinese medicinal herbs with heat and cold properties to measure the reproducibility of the DL experiments
Summary
The cold and heat properties of Chinese medicinal herbs are classified according to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) principles, which comprise a core concept of TCM. The cold or heat property reflects a trend that Chinese medicinal herbs affect the transformation of heat or cold properties of the human body. Cold is a Yin disease factor that causes symptoms such as chilliness, headache, and body aches. Chinese medicinal herbs regulate the cold or heat properties of the body to achieve a balance between them [1]. The cold or heat properties of Chinese medicinal herbs and the application of the corresponding knowledge regarding the diagnosis, differentiation, and treatment of diseases comprise important aspects in TCM. The scientific evidence regarding the cold and heat properties of Chinese medicinal herbs has remained unclear. The development of a novel scientific method that provides a quantitative measure of these properties is a challenge and represents the aim of the present study
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